This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Margo Fairchild, 34, who built a 240-square-foot tiny home in Virginia on her own in 2020. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up watching my dad work with his hands, mostly on cars, and I picked up a bit of resourcefulness and that get-it-done attitude from him.
So, when I decided I wanted to live in a tiny home, it never really crossed my mind to have someone else build it for me. Maybe that was partly because of the expense, but after spending a few years researching and studying building science, I felt like I could take it on myself.
I started construction in…
