11 Year Old, Luke, Builds a Tiny Functional House All By Himself With a Twist

What did you do as an 11-year-old? Most 11-year-olds are focused on getting through school or buying the newest trendy video game. Luke, then an 11-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, on the contrary, had way bigger plans for his summer vacation. He ended up orchestrating what ended up being a three-year project, completed when he turned 13. As an 11-year-old boy with larger-than-life plans for his summer, things took an unexpected turn when he set out to find a stimulating and unconventional project to occupy his summer.

The first step in carrying out Luke’s plan was trying to get his parents on board with letting him take on such a big project especially since it was going to be in the backyard of his parent’s property. He originally stumbled across the idea from a YouTube video. His parents agreed but only under one condition.

After Luke and his parents agreed to the terms of the project, he set out to try and find various odd jobs in the summer to be able to finance the estimated $1,500 he deemed necessary to build his new house. From mowing the lawn to dog walking no job was too small. Luke was quoted saying, “I knew that it was possible and I put my heart and soul into budgeting money, planning, and executing my ideas.” He admits that he thought funding the project would be the biggest obstacle.

Luke being as savvy as he is also successfully bartered for some additional resources to help with the building of his house such as offering to clean out a neighbor’s garage in exchange for his electrician expertise and services. Despite getting help with his project and his community coming together to see him succeed in building his small house, the process was not an easy one.

Luke plans to make tiny living part of his lifestyle and finds the benefits of living minimally and responsibly. He says of his tiny house taking shape that, “Seeing everything come together was very satisfying.” Although there were some challenging stages in his project, quitting never even crossed his mind. Luke’s passion continued to shine through as he got closer and closer to the house’s completion.

As Luke continued to do more research in order to build his tiny house he fell more in love with the type of homes he strived to emulate. The main goal for choosing such a tiny home lifestyle was to exercise the benefits of only using what you need and refraining from excess. Many of us are guilty of overconsuming both in resources and goods and Luke wanted to minimize this in his own life.

Luke’s love of entertaining and hanging out with his friends made his tiny house a center for friends to come visit and cook together, eat food, play games, spend time together, and watch endless movies. This tiny oasis gave Luke and his friends a private and safe space to be themselves and enjoy the pleasures of growing up.

Before getting to the good part of enjoying his house with friends he needed a secure front door and enough wooden panels to cover the parameters of his home. He struggled to find these elements especially ones that fit his needs and price point. After all, staying on budget was one of his parent’s conditions for building his house.

He turned to his family and community for any leads he could find in order to be able to progress in his project and finally get what he needed to complete his masterpiece. They did not let him down and his creativity allowed him to repurpose some of the items that may not have originally been an exact fit.

Literally “inside the box” but thinking outside it, Luke and his dad got to work putting up the walls of his home and paneling the home. You’re going to the how this turned out, especially with the landscaping and the new door.

Luke set out to assemble his Grandma’s panels in his own house and although they were a cost saver he still needed to stain them and make sure they were waterproof which took a great amount of time, but it was worth it in the end.

Luke began to gain many followers as his project progressed and he began to post more and more videos. He started the “Tiny House Movement” and many people began talking about the project and constantly staying connected via Luke’s channel. Then as summer ended and school began he got called into the principal’s office. Luke feared the worst.

The Principal went on to inform Luke that Luke’s Tiny House YouTube Channel had grown so popular that the media wanted a piece of the action. He mentioned that one of the journalists interested in covering the story was a dear friend. He asked if Luke would be willing to give an interview to the news about his tiny house.

Luke wanted everything to be just right for the televised interview so he paid extra attention to the details both inside and outside his tiny home, so he could really give viewers the full experience. He hoped his message of living responsibly and being dedicated to a project could come across well. It would be amazing if everyone got out there and used only what they needed and made changes to their lifestyle to not only improve their living but also the environment.

It was important to Luke to build not only a functioning home but also a beautiful one. He dedicated himself to the details on the inside too, from the oak folding table to the countertops. Although copying such countertops from a tutorial he found didn’t go as planned he didn’t let it discourage him.

With a big project like this, it is not without some twists and turns, but Luke was far from fazed. Sometimes things aren’t exactly what you pictured but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t any good. That was a valuable lesson for Luke. One of the instances where this was most relevant was when it came to a bathroom. Although it is considered a fully functioning house, there is no bathroom, but it didn’t mean that Luke didn’t want one. He has to settle for using his parent’s bathroom for this next reason.

As the final reveal was around the corner everyone could see that his tiny house was taking shape and everyone was excited for the ultimate house tour that they were all waiting for. Before sharing the final results of his home he wanted to test it out himself first though. He didn’t install an AC at first so he wanted to double-check if it was even possible to sleep comfortably through the night. He hoped it wouldn’t be too chilly in Iowa’s weather.

The big reveal was finally here and he invited his loved ones and the media to see his finished house. He was truly living out his dream, his tiny house was finally completed, but it didn’t stop there. Little did everyone know another project was about to be underway. In the meantime, he was surely about to spend more time in his tiny home than anywhere else.

Many people wanted to know what motivated Luke to build a tiny house and his answer may have come as a surprise to many. Some would even say that the motivation was not only mature but also extremely practical. Firstly he wanted to consume and use resources responsibly but also he said he didn’t want a huge mortgage. Many adults may have chuckled at the latter considering it came out of the mouth of such a young teen.

Putting Luke’s tiny house through the coldest of winters was the real test. If it could withstand the harsh weather then it was truly fully functioning. Luke also had the luxury of minimal upkeep. Even the landscaping he decided to do alongside his home with a few plants was low maintenance. Since Luke hates cleaning up having such a low-maintenance lifestyle was without a doubt the perfect fit.

Although Luke may enjoy tiny living, he loves doing things big. He has decided to take tiny living to a whole new level and is selling his current tiny house to be able to make a newer and more improved tiny model. After building his first tiny house he now has the experience to make his second tiny out project even better.

Luke plans to use the money from the sale of his first tiny house as a financial source for his new and improved second tiny house. Luke doesn’t plan on stopping there he is revealing a new project as well. He is teaming up with his brother to take tiny living to a whole new level.

Luke and his twin brother, Cole, set out to make their tiny camper dreams come true. They wasted no time at all and got straight to work. At the time of the tiny house project, Cole was working on a project, for a teardrop camper. He enlisted Luke to help.

Cole had already laid out the groundwork for this project and Luke jumped in midway. Together, the brothers, by the age of 14, spent an estimated $2,500 to complete the 36-square-foot teardrop camper. By 14 both brothers had more building experience than most adults.

Since finishing up the camper, Luke and Cole have taken their new vehicle on more than 50 camping trips both in the state and across the surrounding areas outside their home state. Both brothers said that carrying out these projects helped them value discipline and hard work.

Now that Luke has both the tiny house and camper projects under his belt he is looking forward to tackling the next project. His larger and more refined tiny house project is around the corner but Luke doesn’t plan on stopping there. He thinks that he may even live in a tiny house while going away to college, but he still has some time before he gets to that stage.

Luke was chosen as one of the year’s #10 most fascinating people at the “Movers, Shakers & Newsmakers” and he was so honored to be recognized in his hometown. Despite the new recognition, Luke still remains as humble as ever. He hopes to continue to challenge himself and think outside the box.

What’s next for Luke, Cole, and their tiny camper? They hope to go on more brotherly trips together and enjoy the fruits of their labor both in Iowa and beyond. They love sharing their hard work with friends and family too. Although the camper doesn’t have a ton of room, they are always happy to take who they can along for the ride.

In true tiny house fashion, taking a page from Luke’s playbook with his bright orange door, Cole and Luke decided to take a similar route with the camper’s bright red door. It adds a whimsical element and it gives their camper some extra personality. After all this hard work who wouldn’t want their creation to stand out?

What’s next for Luke you might ask well the sky is the limit according to his attitude and we couldn’t be more proud seeing this young inventor take the lead. But before taking over the world, there is prom. As of now, Luke is almost 17 and like his curiosities, he continues to grow.