After being married for about a year, Carrie and Shane Caverly gave themselves the ultimate couple’s test. With her background in sustainable design and his in building green homes, the couple worked together to plan and build their own 200-square-foot tiny home on a flatbed trailer. And although it was challenging at times, the collaborative process was truly a bonding experience.

The couple started building in Prescott, AZ in February of 2012 and were able to move into their small house by the middle of May. In Mid-August, their desire to be closer to the Rocky Mountains brought them to a town 10 miles outside of Santa Fe, NM, where they now rent a portion of a larger property.

But before the big move, Carrie was teaching at a sustainable design school and Shane was building green homes (he still does), and lived in an average house that wasn’t sustainable and green. “So we decided we should start walking the talk,” Caverly says. And ultimately, the financial benefits were what finally pushed them to do it. “We just wanted to change our lifestyle so that we were living within our means,” Caverly says.

At first, she wasn’t a huge fan of the idea, Caverly admits. “We had just gotten married, and I thought it was a crazy idea for two people to live that close,” she says. “I was worried i wouldn’t have enough personal space and we would be way too on top of each other.” But all of her worrying ended up being for naught. Right now, he goes to work every day and she works from home, so they have a healthy amount of time away from each other.

To read more on Carrie and Shane’s story click on this link