It has a bit of the romance and big adventure we imagine when we think of early Americans leaving their homes behind for the Wild West. There is also a bit of the old fashioned “barn-raising” that Taylor and Jenna Graham and their family are bringing to Habersham. The Grahams are filming the building of their new home for the television show, “Tiny House Nation.” In simple terms, the Grahams are trading a 3100 square foot home in the Glade Creek Community of Clarkesville for a 340 square foot home on wheels. But the story is much bigger than the tiny house and is reflective of a growing trend of people, particularly younger adults, changing the converstation about life, possessions and choices.
Typical family with a ‘Pinteresting’ dream
Taylor and Jenna are a typical family. Both are in their early 30’s, both had full time jobs, Taylor as a contractor and Jenna as Director of Technical Services for Home Town Health. They have three children, Emily 10, Avery 7 and blue-eyed charmer, Elliot 3. Life was full and busy. Several years ago, Taylor fulfilled a life goal and competed in an Iron Man Triathalon. However, something was knawing at them. For Jenna it began with Pinterest and a growing interest in tiny homes. She started reading blogs about the tiny house lifestyle. “We were bogged down with work, finances and we had no family time.” She started talking to Taylor.
For Taylor, it was about giving Jenna “a big adventure of her own.” Taylor had read a book by John E
ldredge, “Wild at Heart.” “She has been beside me for all my big adventures and small adventures,” Taylor explains. In addition, a dream both shared was to move to Montana, specifically Big Sky, where Jenna’s sister had moved a number of years ago. Taylor is also drawn to the idea of creating a community or neighborhood of small houses with a communal garden. He hopes to build small houses and do fine carpentry, but “to be able to choose the jobs, not just take every job because I have to pay the bills.”
A family affair
For both Grahams, the financial consideration is critical. “We are able to build this house and live on 5 acres and be debt -free, it gives us options, we can take family vacations together, instead of Taylor having to work,” explains Jenna. “We don’t want to be pressured, we want to enjoy life, to enjoy work, to enjoy our time with our kids,” says Taylor. Jenna has also started to develop her photography business and is keen to expand it in Montana.
For the three kids, the adventure has them all excited. Emily is excited about moving to Montana and a new beginning for her family, and seeing her Aunt more. (oh, and being on TV) Avery is excited about being with her family more. Elliot is a typical little boy, he is excited by the adventure of it all, he tells me as he is busy trying to catch a tadpole Emily spots in a creek. Both girls mention that the only thing they are worried about is “being so close to my sister all the time.” The only negative for the kids is leaving all their friends behind. Avery says, “I will miss them alot, some I have known since Pre-K.” She says one friend she has known “since babies.” Facetime will be a bridge for all three back to their Georgia friends.
Casting call
Last fall, Jenna replied to a casting call for “Tiny House Nation” that a friend had forwarded to her. It turned out to be an old call but producers of the show called anyway. Typically the show gives a family 9 to 12 months to get ready, the Grahams had 2. They worked with the design team everyday and the past week has been a blur of 
activity. The house is being built in a garage on Taylor’s father’s property. “I have worked on a little bit of everything” he says, but he has not seen the house yet. Jenna has not seen it either. All of the family will see it together as a finished home today as the show does a “reveal” on the Clarkesville Greenway.
When the Grahams decided to go ahead and put the house on the market, they never dreamed it would sell in two days. In a moment of grace, the buyers asked, “would you want to rent it back for three months?” The timing was perfect. Three months was what they had scheduled as their timeline. The waning weeks of June will bring a bittersweet time for the Grahams as they divest themselves of 95% of their possessions. Jenna says she has been surprised by the “emotional attachment” to things, at the same time she felt “suffocated by stuff.” Her eyes soften as she talks about letting go of the piano recently, “I just remembered all the times around the piano.” However, she also says she wants her children to “appreciate the important things in life, not what brand of clothes you wear or how many ‘things’ you have.”
Letting go
While the letting go has been tough, the week has been full of memories. Taylor says meeting all of the people who have pitched in to help build the house has been a wonderful part of the adventure. From meeting people he had never met before “who just randomly showed up to help” to conversations with old friends, he has loved all of the exchanges. “By doing this, by going tiny, we are saying it is okay, the barriers are broken down and people get real,” says Taylor of the gathering of people this week and the interactions.
July 1, the Grahams and their new home, christened Pionee
r 1, will pull out of Habersham. They will move to the West and begin the new adventure. In a review of John Eldredge’s book a reviewer wrote, “every man was once a boy, every woman was once a girl” they longed to play “an irreplaceable role in a great adventure” to “learn who you are, what you love and what your place in the world might be.”
The Grahams will always have Habersham as a place in the world and friends who can’t wait to hear about the new place in the Grahams world. Oh, and Taylor is 6’4″ and Jenna is 5″2″ the beams on the tiny house are 6’6″. The show will air sometime late summer or early fall.
