This Expanding Tiny Home Is An IRL Version Of Howl’s Moving Castle

Admit it: You’ve been daydreaming about what it would be like to live inside Howl’s Moving Castle… Well Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder are just the pair to give you a glimpse of that lifestyle. In 2014, they started building a house inspired by steamer trunks and vintage train cars because they needed an easy way to relocate for work opportunities. Together they own B&C Productions, a company specializing in set design, costume styling, and creative direction for film and photography.

Their profession gave Chloe and Brandon the fundamental knowledge for figuring out how they could build a mobile home with modular expanding sections that retract while they drive from one location to the next. The house is 8 ½ feet wide, 12 ½ feet tall, and 18 feet deep. When fully expanded, it ends up 15 feet wide, 15 ½ feet tall, and still 18 feet deep. It has all the comforts you can imagine, including a home for their free-roaming pet rabbit Cosmos (aka Mr. Nose). According to Brandon and Chloe, the initial build cost them around $20,000, but they’ve also continued to iterate on the home since then.

The biggest challenge for them has been finding a spot to park the home, but so far they’ve successfully found willing property owners to rent parking spaces from. Brandon and Chloe showed Bustle around their abode and shared the most enchanting as well as the not-so-magical parts of living in their home. Follow Chloe and Brandon on Instagram (@chloebarcelou) and their website.

Relocated is a brand new series from Bustle, where we follow daring individuals who choose to live off the beaten path.

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Credits

Executive Producer: Whitney Buxton

Executive Creative Director: Lauren Sofair

Supervising Producer: Irina Dvalidze

Post Supervisor: Amy Eakin

Editor: Fia Ramo

Design Director: Andenew Ayele

Motion Designer: Jeff Donlan