When Daniel and Ebony Wynne moved to Little Hartley with three kids they couldn't afford a mortgage on a house, and so they spent nearly three years living in a Tiny House.
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"We found it really hard to save up and get into the housing market, as most people do, and we just decided to try something different," Mr Wynne said.
They found the experience so helpful that they're turning it into a livelihood, building Tiny Houses for others through their business, Ridgeline Tiny Homes.
Tiny Houses are mobile, usually small residences with full in-built amenities. Their typically compact size provides a cheap alternative to the wider housing market, and their mobility allows them to be moved or resold to a property elsewhere.
The couple said it was this flexibility that gave them a leg-up for getting their own three bedroom house, and they now hope to help others in the battle to find a first home.
"There's a need for alternative housing solutions. A lot of people are not interested in getting a million-dollar-plus mortgage... so to be able to build something for $150,000 can be a real game changer for people," Mr Wynne said.
Having their own Tiny House experience in Little Hartley, the pair consider the Central West uniquely suited to the concept, thanks to its beautiful outdoor offerings and large properties - which encourage use of Tiny Houses as AirBnBs for a secondary source of income.
"For the size that they are there's a huge amount of windows and glass, so there is a real indoor-outdoor connection with them. So I feel like when you're in a beautiful spot like out here, there's so many gorgeous paddocks and hill tops and rivers, it doesn't feel that small because you're looking out at really expansive areas," Mrs Wynne said.
The couple said while there were challenges with the small living space - such as the kids' LEGO swarming the living space, or weather conditions forcing the family indoors - the advantages were ultimately greater.
"There's a compromise in choosing tiny living, but there's also a lot of benefits. It meant that I didn't have to go back to work full time, because we could afford to live off one income," Mrs Wynne said.
"It just helped us keep our life to a minimum so we could actually enjoy being outside and doing stuff with the kids."
With their business, Ridgeline Tiny Homes, the couple builds Tiny Houses on their property to be sent all over. The business is now getting increasingly more orders, and the pair is already working on more designs for their offerings.
Ridgeline Tiny Homes will be at Mudgee Field Day, which runs between July 12 and 13. For more information about Ridgeline Tiny Homes contact info@ridgelinetinyhomes.com or 0403 800 730.
