'We did it all': The father-daughter duo who built a tiny house from scratch

Tiffany Falzon had been a Sydneysider for almost a decade when she had an idea that sparked a move back to her small South Australian hometown.

She decided it was time to enlist her dad’s help to build a coastal tiny house that could accommodate guests in Marion Bay (around three hours’ drive from Adelaide) where she grew up.

The area is known for its beaches and nearby Innes National Park. Falzon had been going through “some big life lessons” in Sydney, and the natural beauty of home had been on her mind.

Though she’d never built anything before, the assistant accountant knew she’d have ample help from an experienced chippy – her father George, who Falzon describes as the “world’s best dad” and her hero.

And he’s also her housemate. Falzon moved back into George’s home – into her old bedroom – so they could work on the project together.

“He’s good company,” she says. “He’s got great friends and he’s a laugh a minute. We both have a big appetite, and we love our gin o’clock in the afternoon.”

And when things got rough on-site, Falzon would put on some ’70s tunes and turn the work site into a disco.

The refreshments came in handy as the father-and-daughter team spent 12 months building the tiny house, which Falzon says “was about 10 times harder than we thought”.

Even with his carpentry experience, George had to learn to do things differently on his first tiny house build, which Falzon jokes is also possibly his last.

“He said it was harder than a house,” she says, a fiddly job that required different measuring and building methods, and additional challenges getting a composting toilet, solar panels and the right-sized fridge to a small town in the year of COVID-19.

Their work paid off, and the result is an off-grid, 2.5-metre by 8-metre house complete with outdoor deck and external relaxation “hut”.

“We did it all,” Falzon says. “Everything. We built the whole thing. I helped as much as possible.”

They’ve kept the tiny house interior white, bright and beachy to capitalise on the coastal location. There’s a small kitchen, a bench table with a view, a bathroom with a hot shower, and a loft bed accessed by a ladder.

Outside, the combination of reclaimed timber and tin used for the exterior and deck exudes a rustic charm that Falzon and her dad love, and which also saved the thrifty pair some money.

“The deck is two different types of decking, and dad got one lot out of a dump pile somewhere. I pulled the nails out, and we even reused the nails. The iron is off my boyfriend’s family roof,” Falzon says.

She credits George with knowing how to combine materials to enhance the overall look. “Dad’s got a really good eye for showing off material like that and mixing it with the new. I think there’s quite an art to that.”

The spacious deck has a barbecue and outdoor kitchen area, and a separate, semi-detached “hut” made from pallets and tin that offers views of the surrounding grassland and native wildlife.

The build sits on a vast piece of land belonging to a friend of George’s, who offered the location so guests could enjoy a private rural experience immersed in nature.

“It used to be farmland and he planted heaps of natural grasses, so it’s quite a unique spot,” Falzon says. “I’d never seen anything like it and I grew up here. There are kangaroos and emus. It’s pretty special.”

Though only open since early September, the tiny house has been solidly booked, which Falzon attributes partly to increased local travel due to COVID-19.

While she’s happily surprised at its popularity, this wasn’t Falzon’s first foray into hosting visitors. While still in Sydney she also managed a glamping tent she’d set up on her dad’s block, which was also booked out every day.

It’s given her a career change that she’s grateful for, and a reason to stay in Marion Bay, “where she belongs”.

“I’m super-passionate about showing it off,” she says. “You can be the only person on the beach, which is pretty special. And you’re pretty much guaranteed to see wildlife in the national park – kangaroos or emus. You’ve got baby emus this time of year.”

Falzon also reconnected with another special person when she moved back to Marion Bay – Luke, a former primary school classmate, had also returned to the town around the same time as she did, and is now her much-loved partner.

“God I’m lucky,” she says. “He’s one of a kind, like my dad.”

The success and the enjoyment have encouraged Falzon to expand next year, and she’s looking into different accommodation options to add to her offerings.

“I’ve found my calling, which is nice.”