Tiny trendsetter
Small, energy-efficient Habitat for Humanity house is a big deal
In some ways, the little house on the corner looks like a normal house. A little newer and smaller than most of the other houses in North Little Rock’s Baring Cross neighborhood, but otherwise, typical.
But look a little closer. There are solar panels installed on the roof. And, inside, Energy Star-certified appliances.
This 750-square-foot house is a dream come true for homeowner Raymond Donaldson. The wish fulfillment this house brings is just starting.
“This is a home for the community so that everyone can grow as an individual and this can be a tool for them to make steps forward to be in the life they want to be in,” Donaldson says of his vision for his home.
The “not so tiny” house is the first one built as a partnership between the Green Building Council and Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas. Every aspect of the house, from the insulation to the gas tankless water heater, was chosen with an eye to energy efficiency and protecting the environment.
The partnership came about when Linda Smith, director of the U.S. Green Building Council in Arkansas and Oklahoma, presented the idea for a “green” building in a low-income neighborhood and approached Habitat for Humanity.
The potential benefits were twofold and appealed to Habitat. On the one hand, the energy-saving appliances and features help the environment. But they also help the homeowner financially.
Habitat Chief Executive Officer Bill Plunkett says, “We’re trying to help homeowners lower their bills and at the same time help the environment. It’s a natural fit for us.”
And for Smith, it’s a project that furthers her organization’s mission: “Green buildings for all in a generation.”
On a bright sunny day, the three solar panels on the roof will more than cover basic electric use. And in a house with the white walls and natural lighting this one has, it won’t even be necessary to turn electric lights on until evening. The electric bill for November was about $11, Plunkett says.
And the light bulbs are long-lasting LED lights that should last for years.
“You’ll never have to change a light bulb your whole lifetime,” Smith says.
“I don’t think I can!” Donaldson replies with a chuckle, glancing far up to the recessed lighting in the vaulted ceiling high over his head.
The house’s star-rated, energy efficient refrigerator and stove were donated by Whirlpool. Habitat shopped for the other kitchen appliances, but stuck with the green models.
Smith says, “You may pay a tiny bit more on the front end, but it’ll keep your bills down for 10 or 20 years, however long those appliances last.”
The solar panels were donated and installed by Seal Energy Solutions, a North Little Rock-based company. The idea is spreading. The house is already serving as a model Habitat home. Right next door, another house, just a few weeks behind Donaldson’s, is a carbon copy on the inside — same floor plan, same green features. The Habitat for Humanity in Northwest Arkansas has already started building energy-efficient houses. The Atlanta Habitat for Humanity asked for the floor plans so they could build a similar house right outside Atlanta.
Smith and Plunkett praise the city of North Little Rock for its interest and cooperation in the project and they hope that Donaldson’s house and its next-door twin won’t be the last.
While Habitat plans to continue the trend with more “green” houses, the size of the homeowners’ families will determine whether the house is “tiny” or not. Not many families could fit comfortably into 750 square feet but it’s a good fit for a single person like Donaldson.
Donaldson’s house has been a learning process and there have been changes along the way as the house has been built.
Originally, they put in a divider wall and small closet separating the kitchen and living room but the team and Donaldson didn’t feel like it was necessary and, in fact, made the room seem smaller. Removing the wall and closet opened up the space. Now, the high living room ceilings and the windows letting in light give the house an airier, more open feel that make it seem larger than it is.
At one time, the house was to include a porch but North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith suggested Donaldson might appreciate a little more privacy. Instead, a back patio was laid out.
“We’re not custom home builders,” Plunkett says. “But if we can do something simple that helps the person or family who’s moving into the house, we’re more than happy to do that.”
Big or small, it doesn’t really matter to Donaldson. What matters to him is that this is his. His space. His home. Built for him and, to some extent, by him thanks to Habitat for Humanity.
Donaldson put in what they call “sweat equity,” logging about 300 hours helping to build his house.
“The more I sweated, the more I could fit into the tiny house,” he jokes.
Joking aside, Smith says, “I feel like this house is a goodsize house. It doesn’t feel tiny to me.”
Donaldson agrees. “Everything is right there when you need it.”
More than a year after ground was broken, Donaldson is finally moving in, making up the bed, putting things in kitchen cabinets.
The clothes dryer isn’t plugged in yet and is still partway in the hall. Donaldson explains he needs a new cord for it, one with five prongs to fit the outlet.
Plunkett tells him to be sure to check the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (the second-hand shop that is run by and benefits Habitat), pointing out that the store will probably have some furniture, such as a kitchen table, as well.
Friends and co-workers are pitching in to help fill and furnish his new home.
A fellow Habitat homeowner who was about to leave to do mission work in Africa gave him “adult plates.” Co-workers threw him a housewarming gift party. Another friend handed over a plastic tray from Golden Corral.
“My friend, I don’t know how he found this,” Donaldson says. “He’s like, ‘Here, I want you to have this.’ I’m like, ‘This isn’t Golden Corral!’”
Like all Habitat homeowners, Donaldson has an interest-free mortgage and his payments go into the Fund for Humanity, a Habitat fund that helps pay for the next Habitat house.
It’s a “pay it forward” system that is set in place to benefit future homeowners and the community as a whole.
Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas has been an active presence in Baring Cross for years, building dozens of houses and repairing many, many more. The pavilion in Vestal Park, right across the street, was built by Habitat as well.
“There’s a lot of history in this neighborhood,” Plunkett says. “It’s a neighborhood in transition. Guys like Raymond will help make that transition possible. You bring in good families and you look around and all of a sudden things start to change.”
Community involvement and helping others have long been a part of Donaldson’s life. He has been very active at First Assembly of God church, where he has worked as a youth leader. This month, he starts as a leader for a new service geared to young adults.
He plans to use his new house to continue helping others, particularly young people, who he hopes will see his home as a safe place where they can come to do homework or just hang out.
Donaldson also sees it as a creative space, where friends and neighbors alike can brainstorm ideas and work on hobbies and artistic endeavors.
The main place for that, he thinks, will be in the spare bedroom, which right now is furnished with a simple desk.
“That’s where a lot of homework will be done, a lot of studying, a lot of creating. A lot of opportunities will be made back there.”
Donaldson’s community is already a large one, between friends, church and family.
“There’s a whole crowd that came along with Raymond,” Smith says.
“A whole community,” says Becky Pittman of Pittman Strategies, marketing and communications consultant for Habitat. “This is about building community and making sure that everybody’s part of a community that loves them.”
And now he can include the Habitat team as part of his clan.
It has, Donaldson says, been a sometimes stressful journey, but one that the Habitat team has guided him through with care and personal attention that has made all the difference.
The most surprising thing, he says, has been “God’s hand in all of it. I send all my problems and issues up and He makes the blessings come down.”
In late December, the landscaping still remained. But even there, the plan is to make it as environmentally friendly as possible, focusing on native plants that are adapted to the central Arkansas climate and that will require little — if any — extra watering.
Inside, there was hardly a need to turn on those LED lights as sunlight streamed through the windows, which offer a view of Vestal Park, right across the street. With the light, the view and the high ceilings, Donaldson’s “tiny” living room feels large.
“This is a tiny home but it’s just big enough for me,” Donaldson says.