After our weird and surreal vacation in Gatlinburg and a quick visit to the World’s Largest Treehouse, we headed west to a little-known Tennessee town called Nashville…….. Oh, you’ve heard of it?
We picked up two hitchhikers in the Smokies – Guillaume’s mother and brother. They wanted to experience country music’s capital in the tiny house. But how would we fit both of them and the three of us in the tiny house? That’s four people and a dog in a tiny house with only one real bed!! A hotel room is always an option, but Deb and Justin wanted to experience the tiny life. Who am I to deny them of such an experience?
To make matters more complicated, we didn’t have a spot to park in Nashville. For all I knew, our house might have to stay at a campground far away from city center, like we did in Washington D.C. and New York. City visits are always complicated. So, I put on my thinking cap.
I knew of another tiny home in Nashville, one that I consider to be “famous,” and that teeny home is Music City Tiny House. Many tiny house hopefuls have spent the night in Music City TH as vacation rental. I’d seen photos online of course, but I didn’t know the owners directly. So I introduced myself and explained our debacle.
Sarah from Music City TH got back to me within a few hours. Not only did she already know about our travels, but she also offered us a parking spot AND pre-booked their tiny home for Deb and Justin!
“We like to help out the tiny house community when we can,” Sarah said. WOW! She solved both of our problems in one fell swoop. This was better than perfect.
Sarah and I were able to organize a open house during our stay in Nashville. They do this every month, but this open house was very special because we had THREE finished tiny homes present for touring: Music City Tiny House, the Shenandoah from Valley View Tiny Houses, and ours.
If you missed our open house, don’t worry, we documented it!
1). Music City Tiny House is 24 feet long and features a french doors, a shed roof, full kitchen, two lofts, and a dry flush toilet.
2). The Shenandoah has a standard gable roof, like ours, and features a side door, a bump out over the tongue, loft over the rear of the trailer, flush toilet and nifty hidden storage in the loft.
3). Our tiny house was the smallest of the three at 20 feet long, and features a compost toilet, wood stove and was the only house present with a built-in porch. If you’d like to see a video tour of our house, click here.
Sarah and I sipped hot chocolate, warmed ourselves near the backyard fire pit and answered questions from open house visitors. It was fun to chat with Sarah about “all things tiny” and chuckle about our respective HGTV tiny house episodes; Our episode is re-playing this Saturday at 11:30p EST if you missed it.
Sarah and I agreed on a lot of things, including the misconception that the tiny house movement is about “cheap housing.” Of course, tiny homes can be a form of cheap housing, but most aren’t. On average, tiny homes are less expensive than normal-sized homes, but they also cost more in construction per square foot. This confuses people, but the basic principal is that tiny homes are about quality over quantity. Read Sarah’s article about tiny homes vs. cheap housing here.
MY CHICKEN ANALOGY for TINY HOMES:
I have $5 to spend on chicken for lunch. I could spend it on: 1). A bucket of low-quality chicken, or on 2). One high-quality piece of chicken. I, personally, do not require a bucket of chicken for lunch. And I prefer high-quality food over low-quality. So, I pick the later option. I receive less chicken, yes, but I’m happy with my choice because I created less waste and I consumed the higher-quality product. Either way I’m full and I spent $5, but the smaller portion appeals to my mentality.
Thank you to those that came out to our open house in the rain! We even had a few visitors from out of state, now that’s dedication!
Later on, Guillaume, Justin and I hit the town. I donated my cowgirl boots when we downsized, so I went out on Broadway in my sneakers, which made me a little sad at first. But, guess what? The world didn’t collapse! I was still able to shake my booty, sing at the top of my lungs and catcall to the cute guitarists. The three of us visited five or six Honky Tonks, including the famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge. We ate fried pickles, drank local beer, listened to eight excellent bands and ended our night at the Big Bang Piano Bar.
Guillaume, I’ve learned, is a big fan of Elton John. “I think everything is better with a piano playing,” he confessed. Guess I shouldn’t have sold my keyboard in the downsize. As far as musical instruments go in our tiny home, we keep them… well, tiny. We have two ukuleles, six harmonicas and one melodica. I can play all of them, just not well.
While in Nashville, we also visited the Johnny Cash Museum. The exterior of the museum is rather unimpressive (you have to enter and exit through the gift shop), but once you are through the doors the museum is an interactive delight! We traveled through the decades with Mr. Cash himself, learning a little about his life and his music. If you’re a fan, check out this museum next time you’re in Music City.
Next, we head south, to a place of peaches and coke. Can you guess where?
– Jenna
I’m in the process of developing a 75 acre track of land in East Tn. for Tiny Houses and RV’s. If you could put the word out for us I would appreciate it. Right now you can pick out the place you want and the size of acreage you would like. This will be a rural development. With easy access. There will be On and Off Grid properties
Ron Mann
Broker/Owner
webste http://www.ronaldmann.com
Offce 423-586-3100
Home 423-733-4173
Cell 865-567-5780
I am happy I got to visit your home. I rushed down the hour to Nashville right after work. I thought I had a long trip to visit until I heard one lady say they came down from Indiana just for this open house.
Being 6’5″, I was surprised at how much more headroom there is even for MY head to not hit anything. 🙂 Very spacious.
I was excited that I got to visit all the tiny houses. I wanted to wish you well on your travels in the new year.
Thank You.
Author
Thank you very much Daniel! Glad to hear that you got something out of it.