Life in a tiny home
A local couple talks about home and a conference on the trend.
A microhome trend is growing slowly in the Miami Valley, and a Dayton couple are at the forefront.
Belmont residents Trevor Gay and Mary Benasutti are putting the finishing touches on their home — the Heart of It All House, just over 200 square feet — that fits on top of a 28-foot trailer outside of the Wild Again animal rescue shelter in Spring Valley in Greene County. And more people are choosing a minimalist life.
“We’re the first people to build a microhouse of this size that we know of, but it’s so crazy to see there are so many who are ready to build and just need to be tipped over the edge,” Gay said.
They recently were scanning Craigslist for materials to build a side flex-space building to store his multiple bicycles and bike parts or serve as a study zone for Benasutti, an Air Force veteran and veterinary technician student at Sinclair. They found what they needed from an Oakwood man who was also building a tiny house on wheels.
Now the national Tiny House Jamboree will be hosting Dayton Dwell, a summit event for the first time in Dayton that started Friday and continues through Sunday, featuring multiple speakers — including Gay. Microhomes will be on display, including the Heart of It All House. Gay is scheduled to speak today at 5 p.m. about transitioning to the tiny home lifestyle.
Gay, a 30-year-old marketing and team manager for both DK and Airborne Bicycles, has had microhomes on the brain for about five years now, and once he popped the question to Benasutti (to live with him in a microhome, that is), she was immediately on board.
The couple began to develop their home, purchasing the plans to Tiny House Build’s hOMe design. They started building a week before Christmas, and should be done soon.
“It seems scary at first — you look at this and think, this is everything they (microhomes) have — but seeing how much freedom they give you, freedom from things like the necessity to have money to operate life, it was super attractive,” Gay said. And the name? “Everybody in the community has a name for their house, like boats,” he said. “For us … (it_ gives us the opportunity to help my parents, to be around them more, more choices — that’s actually the root of it. The house is the heart of it all.
“And it’s Ohio’s motto.”