Texas couple spends $16,000 renovating old shed into tiny dream home for their family of four

A DIY-savvy Texas couple has revealed how they transformed a rundown, ramshackle shed into a stunning home for their family of four – while spending just $16,000 on the impressive renovations.  

Katy and Michael Krebs who live in Fayetteville spent nine months renovating an old shed that used to belong to Michael’s grandparents. 

The Krebs had been renting different spaces for the last seven years, however, when the COVID pandemic hit, they decided it was time for something more permanent. 

When they inherited 70 acres of land from Michael’s grandparents – which included agricultural land an a tiny rundown shed, they knew it was the ‘perfect thing to fix up and turn into a tiny home,’ the Krebs planned to live in the tiny home ‘while saving up some money,’ to purchase their ‘forever house.’ 

Before the Texas couple renovated their inherited 280 square foot shed, they had to scrape off peeling paint, install plumbing and add a proper electrical system to make sure it fulfilled their tiny home dreams

Katy and Michael Krebs wanted the tiny home to be the prefect home for their family of four, including daughters Carolina, seven, and Harper, four

The Krebs family who inherited the property from Michael’s grandparents, spent nine-months and $16,000 of their $20,000 budget restoring the shed 

Michael also inherited the main home which is further up the property, the couple hopes to live in the tiny home until they can afford to move into the main home 

Katy and Michael Krebs began renovating in the midst of the pandemic, however didn’t face any issues since they ‘did most of the work themselves,’ and reused lumber that had been lying around the property 

The parents of two daughters, Carolina, seven, and Harper, four, hope to stay in the shed until they are ready to move into Michael’s grandparent’s old home, which is the main home. 

The 280-square foot shed made sure the Krebs had their work cut out for them. 

The shed was built in the 80s and was originally used for storage, but when Katy and Michael took over the space they were welcomed with peeling paint and no proper plumbing or electrical system.

Although they had lots of hard work ahead of them, Katy Krebs was excited to renovate the shed, saying she has ‘been in love with tiny homes forever, and that she ‘used to watch tiny home shows on TV all the time.’ 

The family of four kept the rustic feel of the home, they even made sure to keep some of the original aspects of the shed like the door

Since the couple had a tight budget, they took on most of the work themselves, and had a few family members and friends help them when possible 

The couple also hired an electrical company to install a proper electrical system since the shed didn’t have one 

Katy and Michael Krebs definitely had their work cut out for them when they began renovating, but Katy said when they inherited the old shed ‘it was like a dream come true’

The couple also made sure to add on an 8-foot porch to give their daughters Carolina and Harper more space to play

As soon as Krebs saw the old shed Michael’s grandparents had, it ‘was like a dream come true.’ 

The couple had a tight-budget and took on most of the renovation themselves including installing partition walls, adding windows, and restoring the roof. 

The Krebs then put in two more windows to add onto the original three windows in the shed and let more sunlight in.

Continuing the outside, the Krebs repainted the roof and walls of the shed, the couple could ‘tell the shed was definitely old and the paint was dry-rotting,’ so they had to ‘scrape all of that off.’

After they were done with the outside, they began dismantling the internal walls of the shed. 

Since the Krebs were trying to save money, they found an old barn nearby and took ‘all the wood off,’ and used it as their ceiling

The open space now has a combined kitchen and living area and one bedroom where their daughters often sleep

Keeping mind the rustic features of the shed, the Krebs filled the home with furniture that was just as rustic 

Katy Krebs said the kitchen is her ‘favorite part’ and is extremely happy she was able to achieve her dream kitchen within her budget

They started by taking ‘the plywood walls and the plywood ceiling off,’ which ‘still had insulation that was in great shape,’ the couple added that they ‘were able to retain the original flooring too as they were in excellent condition.’

Since the Krebs were trying to save as much money as they could, they reused old material that was already on the property including lumber. 

The Krebs put in a beam that they ‘found in an old barn out in the pasture on the property,’ and also took ‘all the wood off of that and used it as our ceiling.’

The couple also repurposed the original barn door, adding, that ‘the door was in such great shape when we found it,’ so the couple ‘just sanded it down and put a window in it,’ they ‘didn’t even paint it,’ the Krebs added that they ‘thought that would be perfect for the tiny house.’ 

One of the biggest challenges the couple faced while renovating was changing the orientation of the building and creating new walls to form bedrooms. 

To save space, the couple added in a couch that folds into a bed since they only had enough space for one bedroom 

Katy had always wanted a kitchen with a ‘farmhouse sink and shiplap walls,’ and wasn’t sure if would be able to achieve it in her tiny home, but with the help of husband she got her dream kitchen

The kitchen which is combined with the living area, proved to be one of the most difficult places to organize since the couple had to fit many items in such a small space 

As soon as guest walk through the door, they are greeted with a rustic welcome of wood all around 

The couple often redecorates their 70 square foot main bedroom to make it feel like a completely different space 

The entrance to the shed was originally on the back side, so they ‘covered that old entrance up and cut a hole out on the front side of the building to put the new door.’ 

From here, the Krebs couple began by agreeing on a floor plan. 

The shed had initially been one open space, so the couple sectioned off two rooms by combing the kitchen and living area to create a bedroom and bathroom.  

After they figured out the floor plan, the couple began the bulk of the work saying they ‘looked on YouTube a lot to figure out how to do this and how to do that. We did all the framing ourselves — it was just us, me and Michael, with our two girls by our side,’ Katy Krebs added, ‘it’s a good thing my husband knew what he was doing.’

In addition to the renovating the original shed, the Krebs also installed an 8-foot porch to the front, making sure to fulfill the last step of her tiny home dream.  

The added porch has become the couples favorite hangout spot for when they are entertaining friends

The 50 square foot bathroom includes a vanity, a hidden closet and a four by four shower

By placing a hidden closet in the bathroom the couple has more space in the main bedroom and living area

The couple and their children had ‘downsize’ when they moved into their tiny home and embrace their new minimalist lifestyle by giving up m any items they owned including clothes and toys

Katy and Michael began restoring the shed in September of 2020 and finished in May of 2021

The Krebs added that the porch gave the house about an extra 100 square feet, and it was perfect because ‘the girls can go play outside even if it’s raining,’ she added that ‘it’s a nice hangout spot especially in the evenings, watching the sun go down.’

The entire renovation took around nine months and cost the couple $16,000, which was well within of their original budget of $20,000. 

Krebs notes that they started the process of building their tiny dream home in ‘September of 2020,’ and they ‘finished in May of 2021.’

While the couple did most of the work themselves, they did say their ‘family members and friends helped us with different aspects of the renovation, so it was a fun project with everybody involved.’

The Krebs also hired an electrical company to link the house up to the main electricity source, but did the rest of the wiring themselves. 

Although the couple renovated the shed during the pandemic, they said it ‘really wasn’t that bad because we reused a lot of the old lumber and other materials that we already had lying around,’ she added that they have a ‘local home-improvement store too, and thankfully they weren’t really backed up on the supplies either.’  

The best part of the shed turned tiny home is that it’s filled with rustic furniture.  

The welcoming living area is where the family spends most of their time and is filled with tiny home signs such as one that says ‘love grows best in little houses just like this’ 

The tiny home looks like a completely different space after its nine-month renovation 

Katy Krebs is thankful to her husband Michael for taking on the bulk of the work while tearing down and building new walls 

Katy documented her tiny home renovation on TikTok and while many users were impressed, some criticized where her children slept, but Katy says ‘she knows they’re safe’

Michael’s cousin tiled the four by four shower in just a week while Michael installed shelves into the wall for the closet 

When you walk through the main door, ‘the open kitchen is on the left and the living room is on the right,’ Krebs added there is then a ‘a doorway that walks into the bedroom, which is 70 square feet, and then to the left is the bathroom.

The 50 square foot bathroom has a toilet, a vanity, a four by four shower and a closet hidden behind a curtain.

Michael Krebs built the closet area by ‘installing shelves into the wall,’ while his cousin ’tiled the shower,’ and an external company installed and connected the revamped shed’s new septic system to the one on the main property.

While the tiny home is Katy Krebs’s dream, the amount of space doesn’t quite live up to their expectations. 

The tiny shed has ‘one full-sized bed and a couch that folds out into a bed,’ so they ‘don’t really have a set place somewhere where everybody sleeps.’

Their sleeping arrangements often vary, some nights Krebs and her daughters sleep in the main bedroom, other nights they sleep in the couch.  

Katy Krebs has been documenting their shed renovation on her TikTok, which has over 10,000 followers.

While the couples has made the tiny home work, many social media users have criticized where their kids sleep, in response Krebs said, ‘I know they’re safe. They have a safe house — they have a bed,’ she added that the tiny home is ‘not forever,’ noting that their daughters will have ‘their own room in the big house in the future – this is just temporary.’

On her TikTok, Katy shared the ‘five things in her tiny home that just make sense,’ beginning with a ‘built in dinner table that folds down when not in use’

The couple also featured their organized cabinet space in her TikTok video, saying they didn’t want any ‘dead space’ so they installed shelves

The Krebs family has been living in their tiny dream home for almost a year and shares that it’s perfect for them and advises anyone wanting to build a tiny home to ‘draw up floor plans before you begin’

The kitchen is Katy’s favorite part of the home noting that she ‘always wanted a kitchen like that,’ adding that they didn’t ‘have to spend a whole bunch of money just to achieve it.’

Krebs dream kitchen includes a ‘farmhouse sink and shiplap walls.’ 

The certified tiny home designer gave some advice to other’s looking to achieve their tiny home dreams by emphasizing the importance of drawing out ‘all floor plans before starting.’ 

She said to make sure to include details of electrical outlets and light fixtures in any original plans, she noted that the couple originally ‘wanted the AC in the bedroom, but it ended up being in the living room,’ adding that they now have ‘this big galvanized piping in the front where the porch is,’ and while at first Katy ‘didn’t really like it,’ now she doesn’t ‘notice is as much,’ but uses it as a reminder to have ‘everything drawn out before you begin.’ 

The Krebs family has now been living in the revamped shed for about a year, and noted that the experience has been extremely fulfilling, especially for daughters, Carolina and Harper. 

The Krebs children ‘downsized on a lot of toys ,’ and ‘don’t stay cooped up indoors every single day,’ since the Krebs family has their own chickens, cows, pigs, and dogs, it’s been nice for Carolina and Harper ‘to be outside to explore.’ 

Krebs hopes to inspire others with her minimalist lifestyle, noting that ‘you can live a nice lifestyle and still live tiny.’