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A Tiny House in a Tiny Community Outside of Atlanta
One of the most exciting developments in housing is the explosion of tiny house communities springing up around the country. These communities take away some of the challenges associated with tiny house ownership—such as zoning requirements and simply finding a place to put it—and allow likeminded homeowners to develop communities that model more sustainable livelihoods.
RISE recently sat down to talk with Vicki Williams, the proud homeowner of a beautiful, 204 square foot tiny home located in a unique tiny home community in the Appalachian mountains of northern Georgia—about a two hour drive northwest from Atlanta.
The Home
Vicki’s tiny home was designed and built by Wind River Tiny Homes, a construction company specializing in tiny home construction located out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. While Wind River Tiny Homes built the home on wheels, Vicki had her home professionally set on piers and skirted to get it situated into the community. While the relatively mild climate of Georgia didn’t make skirting a necessity, the extra insulating material tucked around the bottom of the home reduced the amount of cold air flowing into her tiny house on wheels, protecting the exposed utility and significantly increasing the thermal performance and energy efficiency of the home.
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Vicki had the tiny home community owner do the site work for her with the skirting, along with placing river rocks situated beautifully around the foundation of the home. The community also helped get into place the pathways and utility hookups for her home.
For bathing, Vicki’s home has a unique outdoor shower. A site-built deck adds outdoor living space for the home, with an awning and booth where the outdoor shower is located. Inside, the unique floor plan maximizes the amount of livable space. Vicki also worked with the builders to include all different types of deluxe features, including custom cabinets, stainless steel counter tops, and a built-in couch with custom upholstery.
The Community
Vicki had lived in different homes of reduced square footage in the past. A 200 square foot home on wheels, however, would most likely have led to certain legal challenges had she tried to find a plot of land for the home on her own. Fortunately, she was able to find Little River Escape, a unique tiny home community located in the beautiful, mountainous landscape of Lookout Mountain in northern Georgia.
Little River Escape is a private gated community that only allows tiny houses to be built. Nestled into the woods atop a 1,500 foot mountain, the community is composed of 50 acres along the East Fork of the Little River. Surrounded by forest and nature, the rustic community encourages biophilic architectural design, allowing the homesteads to blend into the surrounding natural landscape.
The community sells plots of lands for tiny house construction, many of which are located next to the river. They also offer five year leases on 3/4+ acre wooded lots. The lots are completely move-in ready and include a driveway, patio, utilities, and natural landscaping. The community also includes a common guest house, a community pool, and river-front activities.
An Interview with Homeowner Vicki Williams
Tell us a little bit about your house. What are the main features?
My tiny house is 24 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. I have a beautiful deck with an outdoor shower. My kitchen has stainless steel countertops and dark blue cabinets with a farmhouse sink. I decided to use a turbo, convection cooker instead of an oven with a 2 burner induction cooktop.
Wind River built a storage couch that folds into a bed. There are storage stairs leading up to the loft, and I have four small closets for hanging my clothes and everything else. I wanted a house with a modern design, so there are nine windows and a full glass door. I like Nordic design, so we choose blue gray paint for the walls and kept the trim natural or medium stain. I have a washer and dryer combo with full shower and lots of storage.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
