When Isabelle Nagel-Brice was looking for a place to live in Colorado, she was quickly discouraged by the soaring rent costs. With a background in permaculture and sustainable design, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Isabelle realized that for the amount of rent she’d spend in a few years, she could easily purchase materials to construct an eco-friendly home of her own — so, she did just that.
Isabelle wanted to make sure that, not only would she have a comfortable and cozy home, but that it was environmentally as well. She was extremely conscientious about what types of materials were used to build her creative yet humble abode.
A view from the sleeping loft shows the clever use of space for her eco-friendly home.
To construct the home, Isabelle made sure to use materials that could be recycled or biodegrade after the life of the tiny home was over. Her mobile green dwelling has been designed to be completely off-the-grid and insulated to live in any climate.
The cozy seating area sits next to a propane heating unit.
As with most tiny homes, creative storage solutions are key. The sofa has hidden shelves and drawers underneath for storage and it can also be transformed into a comfortable queen-sized bed for visiting guests. Notice her small workspace to the right as well.
Cooking, canning, and preserving food is important to Isabelle – so she made sure to design a kitchen that could accommodate all three.
The kitchen features a sink, a stovetop range with oven, lots of counter space, and plenty of cabinetry for dishes and pantry items. She made sure to place a long vertical window in the kitchen for plenty of natural light and the light blue paint gives the kitchen a pop of color.
Isabelle wanted a bathroom with a tub that was large enough not only for her to bathe but for her large dog too.
The bathroom also features a composting toilet so she doesn’t have to worry about any black water. “The toilet is designed to separate liquids and solids and the constant 12v fan which runs inside the unit eliminates any potential odor from the bathroom,” Living Big in a Tiny House says on their website.
Head upstairs to her beautiful and spacious sleeping loft.
The cozy sleeping loft is small but Isabelle installed windows on all three walls to help open up the space. The windows open for a nice cross breeze and airflow. Her mattress is only 7 inches high so that she has plenty of room to sit upright in bed.
For the cost of a few years rent, Isabelle now has a home that she can call her own and is set up for a sustainable future. She even started her own website to help others do the same thing.
Take the full tour of Isabelle’s eco-friendly tiny home on wheels in the video below.
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