You could say that Liz Graham and Matt Uniac are the ultimate hosts: They’ve been living in their tiny guest cabin (a “bunkie,” if you’re an East Coaster) for four years now to really test it out and make sure it feels like home for anyone who comes to stay on their Severn, Ontario, property in the future.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s also an awfully convenient spot to set up camp while they work on completing their dream house. And to really put their bunkie through all the paces, Liz and Matt are now raising a toddler, Bear, in the cozy 301-square-foot space, which they built themselves from scratch after commissioning a design from Adrian Worton, principal of Daymark Design.

Liz, a landscape architect, and Matt, a mechanical technologist, originally stumbled across the property in a poorly marketed listing on a realty website. “It was a digital photo of a printed digital photo,” recalls Liz. Despite the lack of polish, it was clear that the lakeside spot, in the thick of a leafy, deciduous forest, was something special. Liz fell hard, and they closed on the lot in early January 2018.

Matt, meanwhile, had fallen in love with something else he saw online—Worton’s design studies. “The shape was exactly what I wanted,” says Matt. “I wanted what a child would draw as a house.” Their dream was to build several structures with this classic design (you know: triangle on top, square on the bottom) on the property, including a main home, a garage, a boathouse, and a bunkie.

Liz and Matt planned the bunkie as the first stage of the project, to give them a chance to cut their teeth and figure out how to build within the challenging Canadian Shield landscape. “It was also a way to figure out if we could work together without murdering each other,” says Liz with a laugh. (Several years and one child later, it looks like the answer is: yes.)

Traditionally, a bunkie is just a sleeping cabin, but Matt and Liz have essentially built a tiny home, complete with a bedroom, living space, bathroom, and a kitchenette; it even has a washing machine. “It’s really a mini version of the main home,” says Worton. “They’ve learned how to build all the assemblies, top to bottom.”

Liz and Matt opted to make the property run off-grid, too, with a septic system, well water, and an unconventional electrical and mechanical system powered by solar panels and the battery of a wrecked Tesla. A woodburning stove keeps things toasty inside.

In addition to keeping a light ecological footprint, it was important to Worton, Liz, and Matt to reduce the home’s visual impact on such a special site. They selected exterior panelling from Scouten White Cedar for its rot- and insect-resistant properties, as well as its natural, silvery finish. “It sits right back into the natural setting—it’s almost the same color as the granite,” says Worton. “It becomes invisible.”

$5,788 Framing	$4,890 Insulation	$2,020 Waterproofing
$1,837 Siding	$870 Drywall	$225 Feature Wall
$105 Recycled Paint	$1,929 Flooring (Tile & Oak)	$3,955 Roofing
$225 Cabinetry Hardware	$3,311 Electrical	$11,302 Plumbing
$225 Smoke Detector	$1,800 HVAC	$3,578 Fireplace
$2,214 Kitchen & Bath Fixtures	$847 Lighting	$1,241 Cabinetry
$169 Countertops	$1,722 Appliances	$8,450 Windows
$5,271 Doors	$234 Tiling	$282 Metalwork
$350 Additional Labor	$2,101 Furnishings & Decor	$2,4521 Driveway
$14,690 Well	$34,352 Septic System	$14,867 Solar System
$1,296 Excavation	$1,710 Concrete for Foundation
Grand Total: $156,377 CAD (Approximately $112,240 USD) *

* Some expenses, such as the well and driveway, will be shared with the main house; other expenses such as permitting are not included in the grand total.

More Budget Breakdown stories:

A DIY Extraordinaire Builds the Tiny Home of Her Dreams With $12K

This $193K Off-Grid Tiny House Is Burly Enough for Canadian Winters

This $334K Tiny House Popped Up in an L.A. Backyard in Just Two Days

Project Credits:

Designer: Daymark Design Incorporated / @daymark_design

Structural Engineers: Tatham and Associates / @tathamengineering

Septic Design and Install: Robinson Haulage

Roofing Contractor: Deluxe Sheet Metal

Siding Supply: Scouten White Cedar

Appears In

The 10 Teeniest Tiny Homes of 2024

Budget Breakdown: A Canadian Couple Test Their DIY Mettle With a $112K Off-Grid Cabin