Anders leben: Unser selbstgebautes Tiny House mitten im Pfälzerwald | ARD Room Tour

Daniel and Jaqueline live in a self-built tiny house in the middle of the forest. Here, they have realized their dream of living mindfully and sustainably in harmony with nature. In Hermersbergerhof, the highest town in the Palatinate region, they have created a simple yet luxurious realm for themselves with their DIY tiny house, with the forest as their living room. Their self-built tiny house in the Palatinate Forest is just 24 square meters and yet offers everything they need. Daniel designed and built the miniature wooden house himself. For years, he had wanted to downsize and then bought the plot of land near the forest for the tiny house. Through acquaintances, he finally met Jaqueline, who was looking for a new direction after studying business administration, working in Berlin, and traveling extensively. Jaqueline and Daniel share the same lifelong dream of a natural, resource-efficient, and low-consumption life. This vision is now reflected in every corner of their self-built tiny house. Jacqueline and Daniel are happy to be able to live mindfully and sustainably surrounded by forests and nature. Their DIY tiny house is built using timber frame construction. Daniel has taken care to ensure that the construction is largely CO2-neutral and sustainable. The wooden house is therefore insulated with jute from recycled jute sacks that were previously used to transport cocoa beans. The wood for the frame was cut by a local sawmill, and the wood comes from local forests, so a piece of the Palatinate Forest lives in their tiny house. The material for the substructure and even the kitchen is reused. Daniel and Jacqueline have also "upcycled" everything else that was built into the tiny house. The bed frame was salvaged from the trash, old wooden pallets serve as the base for the sofa, and the toilet is a composting toilet, the contents of which later end up as high-quality fertilizer in the garden. They don't shower every day. Daniel prefers his own swimming pond in front of the tiny house for swimming, even in winter. He created the pond himself, which is almost two meters deep. The tiny house is heated with a wood-burning stove and wood from the surrounding forest. Because the tiny house has numerous windows, it is well-ventilated even in summer. Construction and obtaining a building permit for their tiny house in the forest – surprisingly, everything went quite smoothly with the authorities. In principle, tiny houses that are permanently inhabited are only allowed to be built in development areas that have been designated and developed as such. And: Even though Daniel did everything himself, the electricity and water lines ultimately had to be "approved" by specialist companies. This is required in Germany. The Palatinate Forest is Jaqueline and Daniel's extended living room. The property surrounding their tiny house covers 3,500 square meters and includes a wooded area, a fruit and vegetable garden – cultivated according to permaculture principles. Only native plants are grown. After three years, the barren soil is now bearing fruit and is a hotspot for botanical diversity and biodiversity. The two cook with wild herbs and flowers from the garden, as well as what grows in the forest. There are seating and relaxation areas throughout the property. Homemade art made from scrap metal lines the path to the forest. Jaqueline and Daniel describe the entire ensemble around their tiny house as an open-air studio. All of this, says Jaqueline, shouldn't obscure the fact that it's also a lot of work: maintaining the property, chopping wood in the forest in winter, composting, tending the garden. But of course, it's also a romantic life where work and life are one. Their DIY tiny house in the forest is part of a total work of art, an art of living in the heart of the Palatinate Forest. A film by Fatma Aykut (editor), camera: Johannes Bock (camera and editing), Onur Bilmen (sound and camera). 00:00 Living in a Tiny House in the Forest 00:52 Sleeping and Working Area 03:19 Sofa Corner with Storage 04:29 Yoga and Dining Area 06:04 Kitchen 07:56 Bathroom 10:25 Outdoor Area On the ARD Room Tour YouTube channel, people open the door to their unusual homes. During a very personal tour, they share details about the design, furnishings, and architecture, and discuss their philosophy of life. ARD Room Tour is a production by NDR, MDR, WDR, SR, and SWR for ARD. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss an episode! https://www.youtube.com/@ARDRoomTour?... Room Tour is also available in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ARD.de/RoomTour?yt=caption Imprint: https://www.swr.de/impressum Comments are welcome – but please observe our netiquette: https://www.swr.de/netiquette Privacy Policy: https://www.swr.de/datenschutz #Tinyhouse #Forest #RoomTour