Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber & Tyler Woodruff
Hi Amber & Tyler, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My husband and I remodeled a house in exchange for rent when we first got married, and the same lady who we rented from sold us our now house. Somehow, by Gods grace, we got the house because we could barely afford it, and learned that the owner had had the home on Airbnb for the previous 2 years and made more than our mortgage payment would be doing it relatively part time. Us not knowing what airbnb really was at the time, decided “Hey, if she could rent out this old ranch home successfully… surely if we build a cool eclectic tiny house up on the hill, it’ll work and maybe even do even better!”
Our story is filled with taking big risks with no money and this one is no different.
We went back and forth for a few days with different layouts/designs on a napkin at our dining room table. I knew we were on the same page, but I didn’t know if it would actually happen or if it was just a pipe dream… until my husband called me while I was at work one day and said he and the excavator were out on the property digging footers. From there it was a series of mishaps, mistakes, martial strain, hard learning curves, loss of friendships, near death experiences, injuries, maxing out all our credit cards, almost blowing up our yard, getting told by a financial advisor peer that we “should have never have started it in the first place… so you better find a way to get it done and start making money”,…. when the tiny house was officially born 2 years later. Opening in October of 2020!
We talked to our home church pastor because he was a builder and a creator and told him our idea and he thought it was a great idea. Without him it would not have been possible because he’s the one who gave us the real push to do it and gave us the confidence that we were capable to do it. Another reason it would not have happened without is: all of the wood from the tiny house was actually logged and milled from his 500 acre property in Rogersville, TN. If we had to buy all the cedar from Lowe’s… we would have never been able to afford it.
We had a 9 month old son at the time, my husband was a full time PE teacher at a private school, and I was working full time at Clayton Homes and then later at Mortgage Investors Group. We took every Sunday off to spend together but every spare moment was dedicated to working on the tiny house. Tyler built the home with minimal experience, using his grandpa Vaughns perspective of you just have to “figure it out” and said it was just a passed down gift. He doesn’t have a great answer as to how he knew how to build it… he just had a basic building knowledge from building decks/porches… talking to people that he trusted that were either builders or just super handy people, he would also spend tons of time sketching out our design and would then pass it through the inspector to see if any of it would work. I went to school for hospitality management and have always loved all things guest experience and hospitality! So building/owning a unique rental felt like a perfect marriage of both of our giftings.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
1000% no. In many aspects.
Financially… We honestly did not plan it all out, we flew by the seat of our pants and just worked as we went… using every commission check I made to build it. But when there were no commissions coming in, we just put the excess on varying credit cards and also a personal loan. I do not advise this lol! SO it was definitely a financial strain on us and our marriage.
Emotionally… Tyler spent every spare minute working on the house. 90% of the time by himself. So not only did he feel super alone in the process but it definitely put a strain on us as he was working and I was also working full time and felt like a solo parent. We kept coming back to the table and reminding each other of the end goal. The end goal being to get me home with our son full time and now daughter. He didn’t want me to have to be the bread winner anymore and be gone 40+ hours a week… only seeing the kids for 2 hours a day, at bedtime. So lots of reassurance, conversations appreciation over what the other was doing and prayer! We thought about giving up MANY times and just calling the whole project a loss, but a small still voice inside of me could not find peace with that.
Physically… Because Tyler did most of the manual labor himself, and usually in a small rushed time frame… his body has for sure taken a toll. He’s got tendinitus in his knees and elbows from constant overuse, bad posistions, hard building environments, building on a hill, lifting heaving beams solo, etc. Not to mention he fell of a 14 foot ladder in the process…. twice. There’s multiple stories but I won’t bore you with all those! lol
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I would say as a unit, Tyler and I specialize in creating an experience. Tyler is a visionary and can see the completed project when he’s looking a wooded, seemingly unusable property… I do not have this same skill set. He is a creative and loves the drama of something different… he never seemingly takes the straight or expected path. He makes the pathway curve, he adds a weird angle no one would ever think to do, etc. He can also look at a 2D basic drawing of a home with little to no detail and can completely visualize the space as if he were in it; spacially and everything.
I am more of the “bring it to life” part of us. He creates a beautiful shell and I come in and can see exactly what vibe should be carried out. I would say I special in anticipating guests needs. When someone walks in… where do you naturally want to throw your keys or hang your purse… what would I want if I were staying the night here? What would I appreciate? etc. Tyler always tells me after I leave a house from cleaning/staging it… there’s a feeling. And that’s my goal… anyone can make a cool house but when you walk in and you immediately feel at home and relaxed… that’s it.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
We love our city/surrounding areas! We love that we are so close to Townsend where we love to visit Peacefulside Social, Dancing Bean Coffee, and Spruce Flat Falls…. and we love that we are so close to downtown Knoxville where we can have the city vibe. Brewery hopping, so many good restaurants, activities, and the whole downtown vibe. We love it.
Our least favorite thing is the lack of live music and kid friendly spaces. A restaurant with good affordable food, a space for kids to play/playground while we eat/drink…. that’s the life 🙂 Take all my money
Pricing:
- We start at $180/night
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/littlerivertinyhouse
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlerivertinyhouse/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuECcDVbXwk3mYVDJuPA1Nw
- Other: https://www.airbnb/com/h/littlerivertinyhouse
