Taupo couple consider making 'tiny house' business

Holly Bowen and Oli Bucher built their "tiny house" themselves, only hiring a plumber and an electrician. Photo/supplied

A Taupo couple are considering building and selling "tiny houses" for a living after their own tiny house gained attention when it went up for sale.

Holly Bowen and Oli Bucher, both 28, built their 7m x 3m home themselves with the help of YouTube, only hiring a plumber and electrician.

The mini-abode is open plan, containing a small kitchen, bathroom, living room, and loft-style bedroom. It has both a staircase and a climbing wall up to the loft, cupboards with room for a washing machine, insulation and double glazing.

They have been living in the house for 10 months, but are moving on after they received an offer on their land that they couldn't refuse.

The house cost $45,000 to build, and they have now sold it and it's attachable deck for $81,000.

"We thought it was time for us to move on . . . it's quite sad to leave," Bowen said.

Land was hard to come by, and they hadn't found somewhere new they could take the house, which is built on a trailer and can be towed.

They hoped to own another tiny house in the future, she said.

"It's definitely not the end of our tiny house journey."

Bowen said living in the house was "actually awesome".

"It was really, really good. We really enjoying living in it. The space never got to us."

Bowen works as a marketer for a skydiving company, while Bucher works for a surveying company.

They are both "quite seriously" considering starting to build the houses as a business, after their Trade Me listing raised so much attention.

They had had people asking them if they would build them one as well.

"There's just been so much interest," she said.

Another upside to living in the tiny house was their average $13 power bills, she said.

The couple did not have Wi-Fi in the house, but that was only because Wi-Fi could not be connected in the area they were living.

They were inspired to build the house after browsing through YouTube and watching a channel called Living Big In A Tiny House.

They will soon be featuring on the channel after a visit from the man who ran it, Bryce Langston.

Bowen and Bucher will have vacated their tiny house by October 9.

"It's really given us a step up in life."

Bowen said they didn't build the house because it would be cheaper, but because they wanted "the adventure".

"This tiny house has been built with plenty of love and thoughtful design, and the quality materials and attention to detail make it a delight to live in," they said on their Trade Me listing.

"We have absolutely loved building and living in our little tiny house and hope that the new owner will love it as much as we do."