Joanie, Sandy, and Karen have been friends since they were kids and always dreamed of building their homes close to each other. They loved playing together and even built matching playhouses with their parents.
As children, they became very close friends and planned to never separate. However, as they grew up, their lives took different paths.
Joanie went to university, Sandy moved away to follow a boy, and Karen got married and stayed in their hometown. They stayed in touch, but for many years, they thought they might never live near each other again.
Years later, Karen’s husband had passed away, Joanie had retired, and Sandy was divorced. They all ended up back in their hometown, remembering the fun times from their childhood.
One day, Karen mentioned their old dream of building houses next to each other. Sandy and Joanie agreed that they should make it happen.
They sat down together, excited to plan out their tiny house neighborhood and make their childhood dream come true.
Joanie had worked at an architecture firm for over ten years, which helped them plan their project.
The friends quickly started designing their tiny houses to suit their own styles and needs. Joanie chose a modern and minimalist look, Sandy went for a cozy, cabin-like feel, and Karen picked a quaint, colorful cottage style.
They decided that the outside of each house would match in their favorite colors: teal, burgundy, and yellow.
Finding the right piece of land to build on was tough because of zoning rules, but they eventually found a small lot zoned for multi-family homes.
They started the challenging process of getting permits and beginning construction.
Building their tiny houses had some problems.
One big issue was not having enough supplies. Even though Joanie had a lot of experience with building projects, getting the permits took 18 months.
Luckily, they could build the tiny houses off-site and move them to the lot once they were allowed to start working there.
They had to change their original house designs to follow building rules.
Karen’s tiny home needed almost a complete redesign because she found it hard to climb stairs as she got older.
After they got all the permits and finished designing, they moved the pre-built tiny homes to the property in just a few months.
The process took many years, but in the end, it was worth it. The friends were able to move into the tiny home neighborhood they had dreamed about as children.
Sandy’s house was painted burgundy. She loves nature, so she chose a spot at the back of the lot, which slopes down a bit and has trees on both sides.
Sandy wanted to feel like she was waking up in nature every day.
Karen’s house was painted canary yellow, her favorite color since childhood.
Because she has weak knees, she chose a fold-out sofa instead of a bed in a loft. This way, everything she needs is on one floor.
After a long journey, the trio had faced many challenges, worked together, and made sacrifices to turn their childhood dream into reality.
In the end, they did more than just build a neighborhood; they created a community filled with love, friendship, and shared memories.
Sitting in their rocking chairs, looking at their tiny houses, Karen, Joanie, and Sandy knew it was all worth it, and they wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.