How Jennifer Built Her Small Modern Cabin in North Carolina

If you've ever dreamed of building a small modern cabin from the ground up, Jennifer's story will inspire you. She used modern cabin plans from DEN Outdoors to design and build a lofted home in Harrellsville, North Carolina — all while living on site and customizing every square foot for full-time living. Her home is a standout example of modern design that's efficient, personal, and deeply livable.

With a few bold tweaks to the original floor plan, Jennifer added a kitchen-forward layout, space-saving pocket doors, and even a scullery — transforming her cabin into a truly small luxury home. As a solo first-time builder and full-time nurse, she navigated the build process herself, working closely with a local contractor to bring the vision to life.

This story isn't about a rental or a weekend getaway. It's about how one woman designed her forever home using modern cabin plans that made sense for her land, lifestyle, and long-term goals.

Why Jennifer Decided to Build a Small, Modern Cabin

Mike: First things first — tell me who you are, where you are, and which DEN design you decided to build.

Jennifer: I'm Jennifer Thomas, and this is Harrellsville, North Carolina. It's the Modern Alpine Plus, and it's just beautiful. I love it.

Mike: Have you ever built a house before, or is this your first one?

Jennifer: I've owned houses, but I've never built one. And it's just me — I'm a single girl here, so I've learned a lot about the building process.

Mike: Why did you decide to build something instead of just buying something?

Jennifer: Well, first I found this lot. I had been recruited to this area for a job and I fell in love with the area, not the job. I'm a nurse. This lot had a body of water in front of it, but you couldn't even tell — the trees were so thick. So all the trees had to come down. I had to get a well, septic, all those steps along the way were a learning experience. And then I found this design that I thought fit in with the landscape. I wanted something that was unique, not like something everybody else had, but I didn't want it so different from the landscape that it just didn't fit in. I think it looks really good with the pine trees and the North Carolina landscape here.

Choosing DEN Cabin Plans: Why the Modern Alpine Plus Was the Perfect Fit

Mike: What do your neighbors' houses look like?

Jennifer: There's one home next to me with a pointy roof, similar to this one, so it fits in. The one next to him is a brick home, and then on the other side of me are just wooded lots. I am out in the country, so I'm a bit remote.

Mike: Why did you pick the Modern Alpine Plus specifically? What were the key features that really excited you?

Jennifer: This is not a rental, this is not a vacation home — this is my home. So I wanted something a bit larger. It fit the lot perfectly. The lot is kind of slim and long, and so is the house. It just fit.

Breaking Ground on Her Modern Tiny Home in North Carolina

Mike: Tell us a little bit about where you are in the construction. How far along are you?

Jennifer: I have about three, four weeks left. They're building the deck — the brickwork for that just finished yesterday. The painter has a couple of days, the electrician has a day, the plumber has two days. I'm really close.

Mike: Have you cheated a little and stayed in the cabin on an air mattress during construction?

Jennifer: Don't tell the housing inspector that, but yeah — we had a cold snap here in North Carolina. Actually, the whole country had a cold snap. I bought a fifth wheel camper when I first moved here, stayed there for a year on the property, was then able to sell the camper. A friend loaned me a little camper, so I've been staying on property. When it was cold for a couple of weeks — yeah, I did stay in it.

Living on Site While Building a Lofted Tiny Home

Mike: When I built my first cabin, I definitely blew up an air mattress and stayed in it too while there was still sawdust on the ground. Now that you've spent real time in this space — what's your favorite room or part of the house?

Jennifer: I think the front part of it — actually, what I call the back of the house, which faces the water. Looking out those windows at the view I have, clearly that's the best.

Mike: So when you're hanging out in the living space, you're just like, "this is why I did this project."

Jennifer: Mm-hmm.

Tweaking the Tiny House Floor Plan for Everyday Living

Mike: You're one of these vanguard people living in an appropriately-sized house for a single person. Tell us a little bit about your thought process in selecting this size home for yourself.

Jennifer: I like the best of everything — the best floors, the best countertops. But I'm not having to furnish or pay for a $3,000 or $4,000 square foot home. I left Kentucky, I had that. I didn't want to do that again. I want to be in a small footprint but still have the luxury, the nice things. So the faucet I have, the fixtures I've chosen, the countertops — they're all spectacular. And I'm doing it on a small footprint.

Mike: The Modern Alpine Plus is just under a thousand square feet — 34 feet long, 16 feet wide, and with the loft it gets us to 918 square feet on the nose.

Jennifer: I did make a couple of changes. And I added 12 feet to the house. So I have a little more space than that.

Mike: Let's do the tour.

Jennifer: Okay. So that's the view, and the house is on a crawl space — it's lifted up. I did have a request to put an extra block around it so it's even a little taller, which my electricians and plumbers love. I have Andersen windows — that was a bit of a splurge, but they're lovely. Hardie Plank on the side in Iron Gray. I did add 12 feet to the house, and you'll see why when we get inside. I also have a chicken coop that is built.

Jennifer: The front portion is where I'm going to park my car. This portion is the veranda — outdoor eating and entertaining. All right, so I extended it 12 feet to put the kitchen forward.

Mike: Oh, nice. That's cool.

Jennifer: Because in the original plan, the kitchen was a galley kitchen along this wall. And I love to cook, so I wanted the kitchen forward. If I'm gonna do dishes, I wanna do them right here looking out. This is going to be a coffee and bar area. These are Fabuwood cabinets. And there's the bathroom — I had a niche put in, and a medicine cabinet that's got lighting, an anti-fog button for when you're in the shower.

Jennifer: And I changed the doors. The doors are pocket doors — that saves on space. The original plan had a door right here, but because I was putting the kitchen there, I moved the door to the hallway and it's a pocket door. All of this space here is being used for closet — I can pop up my tall boots, clothes up top.

Mike: You don't have the spiral staircase in yet?

Jennifer: I don't have the spiral staircase in yet, but it's on order and it will be here. The loft is the same dimensions as the original plan.

How Jennifer Made a Small Luxury Home with Big Personality

Mike: When you purchased the plans from DEN, how did you use them to find a builder?

Jennifer: In this area of North Carolina, there are not a lot of builders, but the best builder is David Drew. So I waited a year to be able to get him. He builds monster homes, and when he saw these plans, he shared them with his helper. Two guys built this house — two guys. His helper said, "David, are you sure we can do this? This is it? This is all she wants. Right?" So yeah, it was easy for him. He knows everybody — the best plumber, the best electrician, the best person to do concrete. I just relied on him.

Mike: Did he give you a fixed price or a cost-plus agreement?

Jennifer: He told me what he could build it for, and we went with that. Along the way I made some changes — like the Andersen windows were not really in the plan or the budget, because they're not cheap.

Custom Outdoor Spaces: Veranda, Carport, and a Surprise Scullery

Mike: Did the builders have a lot of questions about the plans, or were they easily understood?

Jennifer: Very easily understood.

Mike: What has been your favorite part of the build process?

Jennifer: Seeing it come to fruition. We've had some delays — it rained the entire month of one stretch, which put us behind a little bit. But it's been fun watching how everything comes together, every step of the way. Once those windows went in — oh my goodness. Just standing there before the drywall, before anything happened, just seeing your dream come true.

Mike: What has been the biggest challenge?

Jennifer: Patience. It's a small rural area. The drywall company had no workers for a couple weeks — that put the delivery two weeks behind, which then caused the people putting the drywall in to be delayed probably four weeks. The roofer took a while to get there. You order cabinets, think they're gonna be in, and then it's just a week here, two weeks there. This is all very custom and very rural. It's not like a subdivision where they can throw houses up in a matter of weeks. I didn't think I was going to be in a camper as long as I have been. It's like the fun camping trip that never ends — and I'm ready for it to end. No more campers for me.

Mike: What advice would you give someone thinking about building their own DEN?

Jennifer: I would say: just live in it before you build it. In my mind, I pictured myself walking in the front door, walking down the hallway — where am I gonna put my coat? You visualize these things in your mind, and that way you build it. I've heard so many people say "I wish I'd done this" or "I wish I'd done that." I haven't had that experience because I had enough time to think about things. Even the delays were probably a blessing, because I was able to think about things — like that little wall when you walk in from the carport, so you don't see the washer and dryer.

Jennifer: If you just visualize it — what's it gonna feel like to walk in this door? Where do I put my shoes, my purse? Where are my cups, my dishes, my laundry? Just visualize it, and then you can make these little tweaks to make it personalized to you.

Mike: Do you think the plans helped you visualize those things?

Jennifer: Oh yeah, absolutely. I probably visited the DEN website a thousand times — looking at the house, showing people "this is the house I'm building." Even though I chose the Alpine Plus, I looked at the others just to see how they decorated them, what windows or steps they put in, just to get ideas to make mine uniquely mine.

Mike: When you showed off the house to friends and family, what was their feedback?

Jennifer: Everybody that's seen it says "Oh my gosh, that's what I want. That's what I've dreamed of." People dream of something like this. You may not be looking across at a river — maybe it's a mountain landscape — but this is a dream for a lot of people. And I know it was my dream.

Jennifer: I looked at houses, and looked at houses, and looked at houses. A friend said, "I found one — it was cute, kind of cottage looking." It looked like it belonged in town. And I'm like, "Oh my god, it does look like that. That's not the style I want. That's not me. I'm not basic. I need something with a little pizazz and wow." And this certainly provided.

"I like the best of everything — the best floors, the best countertops. I want to be in a small footprint, but still have the luxury, the nice things." — Jennifer Thomas