We walk into Bill Thomas’s Waikanae Beach house through his shed. The trestle tables in the shed are filled with things Bill plans to show us but they have dust-sheets over them for now.
Inside his home, a tiny house awaits. The tiny-house project is a huge achievement that has taken Bill 40 years. He is justifiably proud of it and wants to show it to us first.
Bill had always wanted to build a miniature house and when he spotted this one while on holiday, he bought it.
“We bought the kitset in America in 1983 and I’ve only just finished it,” he explains. “Only the outside came with the kitset; I have had to make all the interior – the ceiling scotias, the staircases, and the large skirting boards, plus the redwood roof shingles. All the weatherboards are moulded, and they tongue and groove together, all out of ponderosa pine.”
Filled with Bill’s creations
Bill presses a button, and the tiny house begins to rotate on a pedestal similar to a Lazy Susan. The interior is filled with Bill’s creations, including a replica of his own writing desk. There are tiny paintings, washstands, furniture, even chandeliers.
When Bill’s granddaughter visited, she was asked
