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Gallery: One woman's radically simplified life

  • Dee Williams moved into her 84-square-foot house with her first dog, RooDee. The home is in the backyard of a friend in Olympia, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    1/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    Dee Williams moved into her 84-square-foot house with her first dog, RooDee. The home is in the backyard of a friend in Olympia, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    Dee Williams
  • <p>Williams built herself the house a decade ago after a health crisis because she wanted "a simpler life, time, more money." At night, she gives her latest canine companion, a 30-pound Australian shepherd named Oly, a boost up the 7-foot ladder so he can sleep with her in the loft. (Photo credit: Betty Udesen)</p>
    2/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    Williams built herself the house a decade ago after a health crisis because she wanted "a simpler life, time, more money." At night, she gives her latest canine companion, a 30-pound Australian shepherd named Oly, a boost up the 7-foot ladder so he can sleep with her in the loft. (Photo credit: Betty Udesen)

    Via Dee Williams
  • This is the house looking from the entrance toward the back. It has a built-in couch and a heater. She calls it the "great room." Her sleeping loft is overhead. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    3/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    This is the house looking from the entrance toward the back. It has a built-in couch and a heater. She calls it the "great room." Her sleeping loft is overhead. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
  • In the snow, Williams' tiny house seems to glow with coziness. The expense of the propane heater, averaging about $8 a month, is her only house bill. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    4/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    In the snow, Williams' tiny house seems to glow with coziness. The expense of the propane heater, averaging about $8 a month, is her only house bill. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
  • This is a view looking toward the front door from the back of the house. She has a single burner in the kitchen; her refrigerator is a cooler. The home is powered by solar panels. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    5/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    This is a view looking toward the front door from the back of the house. She has a single burner in the kitchen; her refrigerator is a cooler. The home is powered by solar panels. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
  • In a tiny house, "nature is in your face a little bit differently," says Williams. She sleeps with windows just inches away, and the roof is only a couple of feet above her, which gives her a deeper appreciation of the elements -- rain, the stars. "I didn't realize what I was missing before I moved into the smaller space." (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
    6/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    In a tiny house, "nature is in your face a little bit differently," says Williams. She sleeps with windows just inches away, and the roof is only a couple of feet above her, which gives her a deeper appreciation of the elements -- rain, the stars. "I didn't realize what I was missing before I moved into the smaller space." (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
  • <p>This is a sketch of the tiny house that Dee Williams built herself. In the first few weeks, "I nearly twisted my arm off with a power drill," <a href="http://bit.ly/1jFoK8G" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:she writes;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">she writes</a>, and "I glued my hair to the house." She says that "if I had it to do over ... I'd have seen what a miracle it was that I -- a small woman, a cardiac care patient, and a ding-dong when it came to carpentry -- was building my own house." She jokes that it's "actually constructed really well, despite the carpenter." (Image courtesy of Dee Williams)</p>
    7/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    This is a sketch of the tiny house that Dee Williams built herself. In the first few weeks, "I nearly twisted my arm off with a power drill," she writes, and "I glued my hair to the house." She says that "if I had it to do over ... I'd have seen what a miracle it was that I -- a small woman, a cardiac care patient, and a ding-dong when it came to carpentry -- was building my own house." She jokes that it's "actually constructed really well, despite the carpenter." (Image courtesy of Dee Williams)

  • <p>Nowadays, Williams conducts workshops for prospective tiny-house builders. They used to draw just a couple of people, but now they routinely sell out. Interest seems to have "redoubled every year," she says. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)</p>
    8/8

    Dee Williams: Tiny House, Big Change

    Nowadays, Williams conducts workshops for prospective tiny-house builders. They used to draw just a couple of people, but now they routinely sell out. Interest seems to have "redoubled every year," she says. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)

Dee Williams moved into her 84-square-foot house with her first dog, RooDee. The home is in the backyard of a friend in Olympia, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
<p>Williams built herself the house a decade ago after a health crisis because she wanted "a simpler life, time, more money." At night, she gives her latest canine companion, a 30-pound Australian shepherd named Oly, a boost up the 7-foot ladder so he can sleep with her in the loft. (Photo credit: Betty Udesen)</p>
This is the house looking from the entrance toward the back. It has a built-in couch and a heater. She calls it the "great room." Her sleeping loft is overhead. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
In the snow, Williams' tiny house seems to glow with coziness. The expense of the propane heater, averaging about $8 a month, is her only house bill. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
This is a view looking toward the front door from the back of the house. She has a single burner in the kitchen; her refrigerator is a cooler. The home is powered by solar panels. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
In a tiny house, "nature is in your face a little bit differently," says Williams. She sleeps with windows just inches away, and the roof is only a couple of feet above her, which gives her a deeper appreciation of the elements -- rain, the stars. "I didn't realize what I was missing before I moved into the smaller space." (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)
<p>This is a sketch of the tiny house that Dee Williams built herself. In the first few weeks, "I nearly twisted my arm off with a power drill," <a href="http://bit.ly/1jFoK8G" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:she writes;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">she writes</a>, and "I glued my hair to the house." She says that "if I had it to do over ... I'd have seen what a miracle it was that I -- a small woman, a cardiac care patient, and a ding-dong when it came to carpentry -- was building my own house." She jokes that it's "actually constructed really well, despite the carpenter." (Image courtesy of Dee Williams)</p>
<p>Nowadays, Williams conducts workshops for prospective tiny-house builders. They used to draw just a couple of people, but now they routinely sell out. Interest seems to have "redoubled every year," she says. (Photo courtesy of Dee Williams)</p>
Yahoo Homes

Dee Williams lives in an 84-square-foot house with no running water and no Wi-Fi. But it's the streamlined life she chose after suffering congestive heart failure a decade ago -- and as she writes in her just-released memoir, she doesn't regret it. Click here to read more about her and her house on Yahoo Homes' Spaces blog.

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