Sweet couple Meredith and Cody live in a tiny house on a waterfront property in Blackwater Bay, Florida. The affordable cost of living helped them fulfill their dream of owning a bakery. Since she was a teenager, Meredith dreamed about how she would do it. Starting any small business can be a real challenge and financial risk. Ultimately, lowering their monthly expenses through tiny homeownership made all the difference.
“Going tiny definitely helped us trim down some of our expenses like our utilities; they’re generally $100 or less a month, which is great. We were super blessed to be able to be on land for free, so we don’t have to pay RV rental lot fees or anything like that. So that was really helpful for us to be able to do something crazy like start our own business.
I’ve really planned to open a bakery for 10 years now. Since I was a teenager, I wrote down a note on my phone that said The Makery and ideas for it. So, finally, being able to realize that idea was very surreal. Sometimes I’m like, ‘I own a bakery; it’s kind of crazy.’ We expected that I would just work there by myself because we wouldn’t be busy enough to hire anyone. And now we have staff and regular customers, and it’s been really amazing.”
-Meredith, tiny house dweller & owner of The Makery in Pace, Florida
Cody and Meredith’s tiny house on wheels is parked on her parents’ property. It’s where her childhood home once stood before being destroyed by a hurricane. Later, it became an RV getaway spot for the family. While her parents won’t accept rent from them, Cody and Meredith thoughtfully caretaker the property. Importantly, if a storm comes, they’ve created an emergency plan to tow their home away to a safe location.
After much research on tiny house builders who offered financing, Cody and Meredith chose to work with Tumbleweed. They selected a 30-foot Farallon model. Not surprisingly, they prioritized cooking and dining space. A counter-height table with nesting chairs plays double duty. Cody uses it as a workspace and serves as a dining table. When they host friends, it gets pulled away from the wall to seat four. This is one reason Cody and Meredith decided the front of their tiny home would serve as flex space instead of a living room.
By going with the downstairs bedroom instead of using their larger loft, they created a lofted living room. That’s definitely not common in tiny homes on wheels. Cody and Meredith really love the cozy feel of hanging out up there. It also allows them to enjoy beautiful views of the bay. Cody used to have a dedicated “nerd room” in their previous house. So when they decided to downsize, Meredith took it upon herself to create a mini “nerd room” with all his favorite knick-knacks, graphic novels, and video games.
With their bakery taking off, Cody and Meredith’s future seems bright. They plan to expand the menu to offer a more robust cafe menu. When the time comes, they hope to buy their own land. There, Cody and Meredith will build a larger home for their family and rent out their tiny house.