Home Designs by Modern Tiny Living
College friends Daniel Hamilton, his wife Cindy Lee Hamilton, Robbie Hendricks, Trent Haery, and Rachel Pitman wanted lives with more freedom and more flexibility. Discovering the tiny-home movement helped them realize that their path to real freedom was to go tiny. In June 2016, they formed Modern Tiny Living (MTL), a company devoted to helping other similarly minded people live their tiny-house dreams. MTL creates a one-stop shop for tiny-house buyers by providing all the information and product they need. “Our company now includes our growing families and renowned Ohio-certified architect and tiny-home designer (and dweller) Bruce Faris,” explains Dan 
Hamilton. “We also have a bigger team that builds the homes hand in hand with skilled and talented Amish craftsmen in Northern Ohio.”
Interestingly, tiny home–owners come from a real cross section of the population. “About 50 percent of our customers are business people who buy and then rent tiny homes as an investment,” explains Hamilton. “The rest are split between millennials who are out of college and burdened with paying off student loans and baby boomers who are tired of carrying expensive homes with outrageous overhead. They just want to simplify their lives.”
The Nugget was MTL’s first micro home. “Outfitted with complete off-grid capability, the Nugget is the most livable twelve-foot-long home on the market,” says Hamilton. “Whether it is being used as a weekend getaway or travel companion, the Nugget demonstrates that you don’t need to sacrifice livability even when sacrificing space.” The 102-square-foot interior holds a modern and efficient kitchen with a huge sink, a full bath, and a charming sitting area that becomes a bed at night. Many windows keep the entire home bright with natural light. The pictured version of this remarkable micro home costs only about $36,000.
The Point is twenty feet long by eight-and-a-half feet wide and the pictured version can be purchased for about $69,000. It has a simple, classic exterior with striking interior walls and ceiling in finished shiplap poplar accented by sage-green cabinetry. The kitchen, with its large sink and concrete countertops, is efficient and modern. There is a full bath, a loft bedroom with a queen-size bed, and generous shelving and storage. The living area has a U-shaped built-in sofa with sage-green storage cabinets below it. “The U-shaped couch is a great design,” says Hamilton. “It has a homey feel and comfortable seating for several people, and it can be converted into a second bed.” Another unique feature of this beautiful 240-square-foot space is that the access to the loft is a stairway rather than the typical ladder in many tiny homes. The sides of the stairs are open to the living area and provide traditional and hanging storage.
For those who want more room, the Kokosing is twenty-four feet long with 256 square feet of interior area. “From its Nantucket-y color themes to unique navy cabinets to Acacia flooring, we believe the Kokosing is one of the most beautiful tiny homes on the market,” says Hamilton. The cozy couch area, with expansive storage underneath the chairs and hidden in the floor, can be turned into a second bed. The full kitchen has a farmhouse sink, marble backsplash, white-quartz countertops, and even includes a washer and dryer. A large, roomy loft holds a queen bed and is accessible by stairs that also provide storage. The price for the pictured model runs about $79,000.
All of MTL’s tiny homes are delivered and positioned by the company and include a trailer for long-term towing. If you’re interested in the tiny-house movement, you might want to stay put on your own piece of land or find one through your Realtor. If you’d rather travel, finding locations to stay can be complicated. Fortunately, MTL works in coordination with Try It Tiny (tryittiny.com). The company connects land owners to tiny-house owners for temporary and long-term parking solutions across the United States.
The Mohican, MTL’s first tiny home design, was named one of the Top 25 Tiny Homes in the United States by the online magazine VacationIdea and was featured on HGTV’s Journey to the Tiny House Jamboree. Now the company has eleven available designs and can customize any of the plans to suit a client. Tiny living on your own terms. Written by Carolyn M. Runyon. Photography courtesy of www.moderntinyliving.com.