Have House, Will Travel

For Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder, building a tiny home was not just about having a cute, compact place to live. It was a way to get out of a rut.

- Tim McKeough

As production designers working on film sets and photo shoots in the 2010s, it seemed like they were continually struggling to scrape together enough money for basic necessities.

"We were sharing the same vehicle to go to multiple jobs, juggling this really insane schedule and feeling like we worked all the time but never had enough money to make ends meet or even spend quality time together," said Barcelou, 35, describing the couple's life in Nashua, New Hampshire. "It was just this frustrating situation of 'How do we get out of this?"

When they were tapped to design the sets and costumes for the 2015 movie Aimy In A Cage, it was both a dream job and a lifeline. Between the money they earned and the materials they could reclaim from the set after shooting was over, they figured, they would be able to build something. Wanting a home of their own that would allow them to stop sinking money into rent, but lacking the resources to buy a conventional house, Barcelou happened to see a tiny, towable home online, which seemed like a possible solution.

As soon as she mentioned the idea to Batchelder, he embraced it.

"Not to be overly dramatic about our situation, but it felt like we could never be homeless if we built a house on wheels," said Batchelder, 44. "It could always go with us, no matter what was going on in our lives."