Witnessing your child take their first steps is a monumental moment in parenting.
However, when Vicky Freese-Brayer observed her one-year-old daughter Naya pulling herself up on the sofa, a wave of panic accompanied her pride.
Vicky Freese-Brayer, 38, and her husband Uriah Brayer, 34, reside in a tiny home with their daughter Naya.
The family has since expanded their home to include a playroom for their active toddler, Naya.
The extension currently serves as Naya’s playroom, complete with a slide and play kitchen, but will eventually become her bedroom.
“I locked eyes with my husband Uriah Brayer and we both understood. It was time to give our tiny house a small extension!”
In October 2024, the trio was living in a home measuring just 7 meters long and 2.5 meters wide.
The couple first met in 2014 while Vicky, 38, was traveling through Asia.
“After falling in love, we transitioned from living in a van on an Australian sheep farm to a small apartment in New York,” she recalled.
“When we returned to the UK in 2019, living with my parents in Wales and yearning for our own space, I had a sudden inspiration.”
Vicky remembered a beloved American TV show about people living in extremely small houses.
“If they could do it, why couldn’t we? Uriah, 34, who had begun a career in property, needed some persuasion.
“But once I showed him that we could live mortgage-free and build on a plot of land owned by my parents in the Vale of Glamorgan—saving on rent—I convinced him.”
The couple had enough savings to purchase a £4,500 flatbed trailer, and with some assistance, they got started.
“We were aware that we could buy a ready-made tiny home. However, we are practical people and not afraid of hard work.
“Why should we pay someone else to build it when we could do it ourselves?”
They had to be inventive, as every inch mattered in a tiny house.
“After countless hours on a computer program, we figured out how to fit in a kitchen, living area, and a mezzanine floor for sleeping. We would use bottled gas to run the boiler and connect to mains electricity.
“I did have to abandon my dream of a bathtub, as there simply wasn’t enough space.”
Four months later, after completing their own plumbing and electrical work, maximizing storage space wherever possible, and cladding the entire building in cedar, it was finished.
“We spent a total of £28,000 and were incredibly proud of what we had accomplished.
“That first morning I awoke to sunlight streaming into the tiny house we had built; it felt amazing.”
The couple utilized their savings to buy a £4,500 flatbed trailer and transformed it with guidance from YouTube.
Vicky had planned to give birth in the tiny home but ended up doing so in a friend’s bell tent.
As for friends and family, Vicky admits there were a few raised eyebrows when they learned about their compact living space with a composting toilet.
“It took some time for them to adjust to the idea. But when they saw what we had built, they were astonished.”
The couple embraced minimalist living.
“I operate my own conscious living brand, and Uriah often works from home.
But we had just
