In a clever pivot, the guy who co-created Airbnb is now on his next entrepreneurial jaunt: building tiny homes in people’s backyards, as reported by the The Wall Street Journal. It’s Joe Gebbia, whose new company samara starts in California, where the housing stock is already weak. The skyrocketing use of ADUs (secondary suites) means that a decently sized backyard can now take on the footprint of a small home (studio or one bedroom), even as small as 150 square feet.
As the Log reports, the tiny homes can accommodate Americans who can’t afford the larger space or they can be used as offices for those who work from home and need separate quarters away from children or the lure of the television. Samara homes are factory-built, and the low-end “Backyard” model is priced at $289,000 for a 430-square-foot studio, while adding an additional 120 square feet to make a one-bedroom unit increases the price by $40,000.
Samara will assist the owner with obtaining the building permit and installing the units. Even better, the solar panels on the roof should meet all the electrical needs of the tiny house.
Gebbia says he wanted to build an ADU on his own property but found the options lukewarm, hence his idea to create Samara. He announced his departure from Airbnb, co-founded with Brian Chesky, in July after 14 years with the company that changed the entire hotel game. Samara started as an R&D unit of Airbnb in 2016, but is now an independent startup. Airbnb retains a minority stake, which only makes sense insofar as one of Airbnb’s rental categories is “tiny homes”…it may help build future inventory of ‘Airbnb!
Certainly, the pandemic has caused a flurry of shed and ADU construction installations as people hunker down at home and look for long-term projects to improve their property. Another company ADU, which creates 3D printed houses from 60% recycled resins, is Powerful buildings, which was already in business before the pandemic, but experienced a rush of business when it suddenly seemed like everyone wanted an in-laws, an art studio, or a pool house. The company, based in Oakland, Calif., uses 3D-printed panels, including life-size walls, to build the houses almost like Lego projects. The manufacturing process involves zero waste and is less expensive than traditional construction.
And if you want to build your own, we recommend the plans on icreatables.com. Grab a hammer and get started!
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