Malissa and Christopher Tack
Every so often we each will come across an indelible image somewhere. Whether it be in a museum or on a postcard or even online, it serves to be inspiration, cause for meditation, or just food for thought. For me that image came on January 13. While perusing the Interwebs I came across a tiny house I had never seen. Pictured was the most terrific view of almost the entire home as shot from the loft. With its slightly mahogany filter and rich wood grain accents the tiny house made me rethink so many things about interior beauty, natural products, and the flow of wood against wood. That photo was taken by Christopher Tack and led me to discover one of the most friendly and motivated couples in the tiny house community; Christopher and Malissa Tack. That photo can be found here.
Chris is an extremely talented photographer who grew up in Saginaw, MI following adventure into the wild and exploring nature. Even today you can usually find him outside on a hike or on top of a mountain ( camera always in hand). As his college years approached he found a home at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids majoring in photography and graphic design.
Malissa grew up in the country in a small town called Christmas but then found her way to the city (only to re-find her way back to the country) also attending Kendall College of Art and Design. Growing up she loved to draw and create so it was no surprise when her passion turned to 3D and animation and ultimately became her major.
As fate would have it the went to the same school but didn’t officially meet until both were on a train ride to Chicago. After college the two settled in NYC where Chris worked as a photographer and Malissa at a small 3D studio. They soon headed for Washington state and haven’t turned back.
I spoke with Malissa just recently and she really laid out for me why she and Chris were compelled to build there home.
The reasons for building a tiny house can be many. For Chris and I, it was the challenge of the build. We knew from the beginning that we could have just bought a tiny house, ready to be lived in, but it wouldn’t be our home. We had never built anything before. So, what would be more perfect than to build a home together?
Once we built our lovely home, it opened our eyes to our financial independence, and what freedom comes with that independence. I wish I would have done this sooner, but now that we are living in our home, I wouldn’t change anything. It’s home!
To see more of Chris’s beautiful photos and more of Malissa’s awesome 3D rendering (especially of tiny house prototypes) you can find them here:
Online: ChrisAndMalissa.com
Facebook: Tiny Tack House
We consider ourselves fortunate to have met this couple. Their energy is impressive and inspiring. And somehow they have taken a shine to us becoming huge supporters of the Tiny r(E)volution and all we are trying to do on the East Coast. To say thank you for all of your support of their project and to show their appreciation of the Tiny House Community they are giving away a FREE 11″x15″ autographed photo by Christopher himself. It will be a great gift or another piece of fine art to add to your own collection! Only one winner will be chosen but you can enter as many as 4 times by doing each of the following:
- Comment on this post by putting a note of thanks to Tiny Tack House
- SHARE this blog post on your Facebook profile page
- Tweet this post link and include the hashtag #THAW2012
- Comment on the Facebook status update regarding this blog post
The winner will be chosen at 9pm EST tonight (via random.org) so hurry up and start socializing our digital thank you’s.
UPDATE: Congratulations to Emily DaBombdiggity. Emily is winner today and will be receiving a beautiful 11″x15″ autographed photo by Christopher Tack. I can’t think of a more amazing prize or one that represents our community with such beauty.
Lovely home! Thank you for sharing your story. 🙂
You make the tiny houses look as big as they are in my heart! Plenty of house for not a lot of space.
Chris’s picture is one of the most repinned images I’ve seen of Tiny Houses on Pinterest since I joined. It truly is a work of art, both the picture and the house. Great work.
Love your site and now I am loving all the other sites you are sharing. I appreciate all the houses you have shown so far.I have to say the Tiny Tack house is my favorite, I just love the use of the natural wood thru out.
I am completely in love with the Tiny Tack house! Chris and Malissa did an amazing job. A couple of the things I love the most are the copper plumbing and accents (used for shower curtain and bathroom door/curtain), the half wine barel jug, the amazing built in kitty area (would have never thought of that) and how they have their tv/computer/entertainment/dinning area set up. I can’t ever get enough of Chris’ photography either.
Thank you for sharing about your tiny home! We are in the research and development stage of a tiny house and every one we can see is helpful!
Tiny Tack House is a cool story!