houses that housed then-Trinity College faculty beginning in the late-1800s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe natural wood-paneled house, which measures 170 square feet, will eventually house the family\u2019s adult son. Beneath A-frame ceilings, the home includes a sleeping loft above a kitchen, and an adjacent living space.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s literally just one room, with everything,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cThere are still going to be big questions, like \u2018where do you store things? They\u2019ll have to get creative with how that works.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIronically, Thomas says, living minimally can be a blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou might grieve the loss of certain things,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then, dwindling down to what\u2019s important makes more space for love, for community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nNot-So-Tiny Footprint<\/b><\/p>\n
Not everyone loves tiny homes, and reactions can vary depending on how they are used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBonita Green, president of the Merrick-Moore Community Development Corporation, has mixed feelings on tiny homes and other ADUs, especially when they are used as Airbnbs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nCurrently, in the Merrick-Moore community, there is a single ADU \u2013\u2013 one that belongs to Green\u2019s own family.<\/span><\/p>\nHer sister owns the ADU on Green\u2019s lot, and her family stays in it when they come to visit. \u201cIt\u2019s not a rental property, it\u2019s a family property,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\nBeing from a \u201clower-wealth community [and] a traditionally red-lined community,\u201d Green says she is concerned that more ADUs \u2013\u2013 tiny or not \u2013\u2013would increase traffic on neighborhood streets and raise property values, and thus property taxes. She says her neighborhood\u2019s residents, including many senior citizens on fixed income, would suffer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHer neighbors are divided, too, with some valuing their privacy too much to let someone else move into their backyard, and others wanting to build one but not being able to afford the costs.<\/span><\/p>\nOne of Green\u2019s neighbors was interested in building an ADU to live next to her mother, until she learned of its high price tag.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n“She would pay more for the ADU than she paid for the current house that she\u2019s in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nTom Miller, former Durham Planning Commission member and active Watts Hospital-Hillandale resident, doesn\u2019t mind tiny homes popping up in his neighborhood. But, he is skeptical of their viability as an affordable housing solution, because the construction cost-per-square-foot is so high.<\/span><\/p>\nHe also fears that the influx of tinier homes on existing lots will create what he calls the \u201ccubicle effect.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOnce houses are in very close proximity to each other, the people who live in those houses feel the need for privacy, so they build fences,\u201d he says. \u201cYou wind up with a house inside of a cubicle.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOthers embrace the changes that these tiny dwellings bring to neighborhoods.<\/span><\/p>\nRobyn Heeks views many short-term rental tiny homes as art and encourages their designers to \u201cgo at it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cDo something creative, that makes someone feel like they\u2019re in another world. Have fun with it,\u201d she says.\u201cIt\u2019s essentially like a sculpture that you\u2019re building in your backyard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nStepping Inside the Home<\/b><\/p>\n
For the Jernigans, the creative process of designing and building their house has brought them closer as brothers.<\/span><\/p>\nBack in their tiny house, the brothers, both in paint-stained carpenter pants and work boots, proudly describe details of their \u201csculpture.\u201d The tiny home sits in the yard behind the Jernigans\u2019s own house and charges nearly $200 a night in times of high demand. The living room is interrupted by an 11-foot wooden ladder leading to the sleeping loft, which groans softly with the weight of each step.<\/span><\/p>\nThe loft fits a queen bed and two nightstands under the home\u2019s sloping ceilings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s pretty tight, but you can actually stand up,\u201d Ben says.<\/span><\/p>\nA large kitchen counter with a two-burner electric cooktop doubles as a dining table with two barstools. Noticeably absent from the kitchen are an oven, dishwasher, or freezer. The brothers instead installed an all-in-one washer and dryer under the counter. Ben wishes they went with a freezer instead.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a nightmare. I hate that thing,\u201d Ben says as he gently swings the front door, hoping to fan out a fly that buzzed in.<\/span><\/p>\nStill, Ben and Isaiah say they would happily live in a tiny home.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s just cleaner, more minimalist,\u201d Ben says.<\/span><\/p>\nAbove: Ben and Isaiah Jernigan, pictured in the tiny home they built in their Durham backyard. Photo by Lauren Pehlivanian \u2014 The 9th Street Journal\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nEditor’s note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect figure for the square footage allowed in Durham ADUs. The story has been updated to correct the error.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To most people passing by Ben and Isaiah Jernigan\u2019s house on Ellis Road, there is nothing remarkable about the sage green outbuilding in their backyard.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":12240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[269],"class_list":["post-12235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","category-life-in-durham","tag-the-9th-street-journal","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
'Tiny homes' are sprouting in Durham backyards - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n