Tucker’s “Tow-tally Peachy” Tiny House

from OUR TOWN DEKALB (March 2022)

Wellness In-Sight: What’s New?

L.A. DISON

In mid-2020, when much of the world was shielding from coronavirus in lockdown, many people took the opportunity to use digital connectivity and resources to learn new skills, everything from web design to raising backyard poultry. One Tucker couple decided to turn a longtime hobby into a new business venture.

Lauren and Michael Meeks have lived in Tucker for about four years; he grew up in Lilburn, and she was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Americus. The couple has been fascinated with the Tiny House Movement for years. During the course of their marriage, they have stayed in multiple tiny homes, visited even more, and even attended a Tiny House Convention in Atlanta in 2020. Their dream to buy and rent out their own tiny house stalled once they started shopping in earnest to purchase one, and realized that most of them were out of their price range.

“During the COVID lockdown, we began to spend a lot of time online exploring pretty much every iteration of tiny houses,” explained Lauren. “Container homes, buying a tiny house shell and finishing it ourselves, ‘schoolies’ (renovated school buses) – we considered them all.” And then in the middle of their research phase, Lauren saw a camper for sale in their price range on Facebook. It had been a longterm residence for the owners while they were renovating their primary residence, and they had already done some of the interior renovations themselves. Pre-renovation Harvey. “It was nice not to have to start from scratch with regards to renovations,” said Lauren. “Finding the camper at such a great price just sealed the deal for us!” While Michael works as an engineering manager at SalesForce, Lauren owns her own business, Bnb Made Simple, providing high-touch property management

services for owners of shortterm rentals in the Atlanta area. Lauren’s business experience and resources made purchasing the camper a natural next step in their tiny house plans, especially with Michael’s willingness to help out as consultant in this new business venture. The couple bought the camper in July 2020, and the previous owners agreed to keep it on their property in Hoschton while Michael and Lauren worked on preparing the site. The sellers then drove it down to Tucker as part of the purchase agreement.

“They were super gracious people,” said Lauren. “It was great, because my husband and I don't even own a vehicle that can Post-renovation, the interior is roomy and welcoming. move that camper!”

There remained a lot of work to get the camper – now nicknamed “Harvey the RV,” or just “Harvey” for short – ready for paying guests. While the Meekses hired contractors to do some of the site preparation, including tree removal and installation of the parking pad, most of it was done by Michael and Lauren themselves, including building retaining walls and installing a sewage pump. Lauren’s father also helped with the technical aspects of the renovation, using his decades of residential construction experience.

Lauren designed the camper’s exterior mural, highlighting some of Atlanta’s famous landmarks, and hired awardwinning artist Kyla Resnick to paint it. The Atlanta theme continued into the interior of the camper with Lauren’s decorating skills emphasizing a peach and Michael digging for the sewage pump; Lauren trenching grey color scheme. for utility lines.

The renovations took longer than anticipated, running into the winter months and a lot of weather-related delays. Finally, after over a year of work, in May 2021, Harvey hosted its first guests – a birthday party for a local family whose eight-year-old son was crazy about all things Atlanta. Since then, the camper has booked steadily for guests looking for everything from a quiet get-away to a place for special celebrations. The space offers details that make the stay uniquely special, with custom stickers inside, a Polaroid camera for recording memories, and even a mini scavenger hunt inside the trailer itself. The Meekses recently partnered with Tucker’s Sneaky Bee Backyard Honey to host luxe honey-tasting events in the winter off-season, when bee-keeping tours aren’t an option. Lauren reports that the camper is booked about 90% of the available time. “Honestly, it pretty much books out as often as I want. Sometimes I block off days because I need a break!” While Lauren has enjoyed creating this unique space, Harvey combined with her other business gives her no opportunity right now to contemplate expansion. “My goal is to grow my business to a point where I can be a little more hands-off. Then, I'll start making more unique spaces!”

Lauren and Michael Meeks’s "Tow-tally Peachy" Atlanta-Themed Tiny House is located at 6759 Angels Lane in Tucker, and is available for rent on Airbnb.