WHIGHAM, Ga. — For South Georgia couple April and Daniel Phelan, life is about to get much tinier. 

The couple is in the process of finishing up constructing their own tiny home. 

April Phelan, a Whigham native, said features within a tiny home have “to be multifaceted and multipurpose.” 

“You have to put so much thought in every piece that you have,” she said. 

The tiny home will be equipped with “life-size appliances,” such as a one-unit washer and dryer and a stove, among others. 

“There’s a lot of cool little features about it,” Phelan said.  

One stipulation, Phelan said, for the tiny home was the inclusion of a bathtub, which was hand-crafted specifically for the Phelan’s new home. The home encompasses 280 square feet. With the rooftop and porch included, it’s 400 square feet.

The bathtub is not the only hand-crafted amenity in the Phelan’s down-sized home. 

Each piece, outside from the appliances, was done by Gabbi’s Rustic Designs, a locally-based wood-crafting business owned by April Phelan’s aunt, which also houses a shop for wood, metal, and other forms of crafting. 

Phelan felt the need to bring the beginning of her and her husband’s new lifestyle back to her roots.

Along with familial roots, the roots of the Phelan’s tiny home are crafted from refurbished wood from around the area. The countertop is crafted from 700-year-old wood pulled out of the Mississippi River, along with a variety of other aged wood used to make other household amenities. 

The move and full-time commitment to a tiny house began with a simple new home search. 

“I think the tiny lifestyle just fell into our lap,” Phelan said. 

The Phelans join a growing number of American couples seeking simplicity as 21^st century homeowners. In recent years, tiny home production and ownership has blossomed – even inspiring a number of popular television shows related to tiny house culture.

In search of a new home, Phelan came across a listing for a tiny home, and jokingly mentioned the listing to her husband. 

Noticing her husband’s look of excitement, Phelan recalled, “Shoot, I have opened a can of worms.” 

The listing turned out not to be the right fit, so the pair decided to build their own tiny home. 

Since beginning construction on a tiny home, many have stopped by to look at it, Phelan said. 

“It’s been really cool to see everyone stopping by and getting a glimpse,” Phelan said, adding the tiny home grabs the interest of around 10 people a day.   

The construction of the tiny home also brought on a new business venture for the Phelans called “Every Little Thang,” centered around building tiny homes and selling refurbished furniture. 

The pair also is partnering with a television network, along with area banks. 

Once construction is finished, the pair plans to move the tiny home to a patch of land in North Georgia, which was gifted to the couple for their wedding. 

“So many people in our life have come together to make it happen,” Phelan said. 

Barela writes for the Thomasville, Georgia Times-Enterprise.