Making Waves with Tony Luna – A Tiny Home Story

August 16, 2019
By: by Dezirae Burnett

Many real estate agents enjoy spending their spare time engaged in activities unrelated to the industry.

But for Tony Luna, a Lake Homes Realty agent on Tennessee’s Center Hill Lake, he can’t get enough of the lake real estate scene, his newest hobby combining his love of the water and passion for real estate: building tiny homes along the lakeshore.

“I’d watched enough TV to know tiny homes were gaining popularity across the country,” Luna said about how he was introduced to the tiny home niche. “No one around here was doing it, so I decided I would give it a try.”

Luna explained one of the reasons the area had so few tiny homes, or properties smaller than 1,000 square feet in size, is because of the restrictions many of the lake’s communities and subdivisions have regarding minimum square footage. Most, he said, have a minimum 1,800-square-foot rule.

Casa Luna, as the project was dubbed, would be 600 square feet when completed, which meant finding a place to build could prove difficult.

However, as fate would have it, a friend had the perfect property for sale, and Luna was able to purchase a piece of land near the lake’s Sligo Marina with no size restrictions. Even better, the property had a beautiful, year-round view of the Center Hill Lake waterfront.

But soon thereafter, the real estate agent ran into another snag in his plans.

Many of the contractors he spoke with weren’t interested in such a small build, citing the multi-thousand square foot jobs were where the money was.

In Tennessee, property owners are permitted to build one home without having a contractor’s license. So, without an outside contractor to build his tiny abode, Luna committed to taking on the challenge himself.

Growing up, Luna’s family owned a marina much like the one in Sligo where his tiny home would be located. Both places were dotted with “shed-roof” style rental cabins that Luna incorporated into Casa Luna’s design.

“I drew-up the floorplan on a napkin,” Luna said, “and then I taped the whole house out in a parking lot so I could get a better sense of the layout’s flow. I knew where I wanted the kitchen, bedroom and living area to be, but I found out on my walk-through that I didn’t like the bathroom placement.”

“I knew I wanted to build a shed-roof tiny home as a sort of homage to Sligo Marina’s original cabins and to my roots,” he explained.

He had no intention of selling, at least not initially, he confessed.

Ground broke in June 2017 and construction continued for roughly seven months before Casa Luna was complete.

All the while, Luna chronicled the building’s progress on his social media accounts and immediately gained attention from lake lovers across the state looking to buy his finished project.

“I lived in the house for about six months and had several people ask me about selling. I finally thought, ‘well I’ll list it and see if anything comes of it,’” Luna said.

Within 30 minutes of listing the property, he had a bite, and within 12 hours, Luna had accepted an offer from a financial advisor who had been following his story online.

Today the property’s new owner uses the Center Hill Lake tiny home as an Airbnb, which she tells Luna has been one of the best investments she’s ever made.

As for the potential for more tiny home builds across Center Hill Lake, Luna said a tiny home boom is unlikely.

He explained, “even though we do have a lot of land listings on the market here, many of them are located within subdivisions where you can’t build tiny homes, or they are in old fishing camps from the 1970s that were originally divided into small lots. Today, you have to buy multiple lots to have a space big enough to build, and in those cases, it becomes a big undertaking to contact multiple owners of individual lots just to build one tiny home.”

However, that’s not stopping Luna from continuing with his hobby. In fact, “Casa Luna II” will be completed by the end of August.

“I think the tiny home trend will continue to grow. Younger generations are starting to buy on our lakes, and these minimalist homes are exactly what they are looking for,” he said.

In addition to their compact design and less severe impact on the environment, Luna also said tiny homes are attractive because they are so much like the lake’s luxury properties, but on a smaller scale.

“My tiny home projects are on permanent foundations, just like the homes on the lake now. And I build these homes with the highest quality materials,” he continued. “I use high-end hardwoods, all custom cabinets, real granite counter-tops… the panoramic door on Casa Luna II costs $8,000 alone.”

Luna plans to list his second tiny home in about two weeks, and will then take a break from building for the next year, but he assures his followers this is not the end of his tiny home journey.

Until his return to the construction scene, Luna will continue serving the Center Hill Lake community as the area’s lake real estate expert, developing new designs and searching for land where he can embark on his next not-so-tiny adventure.

August 16, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Members of the “Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour” will sponsor their annual “Art for Kids Day” Saturday, August 24 at the DeKalb Farmers Market in support of the School System’s Back Pack Program to help feed hungry children.

Claudia Lee, local artisan, said all the artwork for this annual event is donated and all the money raised from sales goes to the Back Pack Program.

(Video below is from last year’s event)

IMG_0622 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“One hundred percent of the money from the sales goes to help fund the Back Pack program which provides supplemental food for kids in DeKalb County who are not getting fed regularly at home. We are one of the organizations that does fund raising for this program,” added Lee.

“The art work is donated by area artists as well as artists from the Appalachian Center for Crafts, and Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour. We do it once a year. It is almost always in August. We collect art work all year long and people look forward to it. They get some great deals. The prices are amazing,” said Lee.

According to Elise Driver of the Coordinated School Health Program, About 6% of the DeKalb County School student population goes hungry on a regular basis with meals provided at schools being their main source of food. “Coordinated School Health began sending bags of food home to children eleven years ago. We began with long weekends and holidays and now we feed them every week during the school year. Funding is not always consistent and we are continuously seeking donations of food and or money to maintain our program, to improve the nutritional value of the food products given to students, and to promote healthy eating habits,” said Driver.

To make a donation, contact Driver at the Board of Education Central Office known as the Ernest Ray Education Center at 615-597-4084.

Meanwhile, the 20th annual “Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour” is scheduled for October 25-27.

Every fall, on the last full weekend in October, when the color is breathtaking and there is a certain crispness in the air, the artists of Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour in DeKalb and Cannon Counties open their studios for a free three day open studio event. Celebrating its 20th year, the tour has grown to include 15 stops with 30 participating artists. Artists will be demonstrating their craft mediums and offering handcrafted shopping opportunities at every stop on the tour. This is a perfect family outing or weekend getaway.

To learn more visit

http://offthebeatenpathtour.com/

August 16, 2019
By:

The Upper Cumberland’s first annual Hemp Fest is coming to Smithville’s Burlap Room and Beer Garden on Labor Day weekend, Saturday August 31.

“We’ll celebrate the end of summer with an evening of live music, and showcase some of our region’s CBD businesses and craft breweries,” says Bert Driver, sponsor and host of The Middle of Somewhere Hemp Fest.

“Hopefully, Hemp Fest will also help raise awareness of industrial hemp’s potential as an important cash crop for our area’s future.”

Gates open at 4 pm, rain or shine, on the seven acres of Bert Driver Nursery on Highway 70 just west of Smithville in DeKalb County. The family-friendly event includes a play area with sandbox for children. Pets allowed but they must be leashed.

At least two food vendors will be on hand and several of the Upper Cumberland’s CBD producers will be exhibiting their products for purchase. Locally-brewed craft beers by Calfkiller Brewery and VonSeitz TheoreticAles and will be available onsite at The Burlap Room Garden & Tap House.

Katy Kilbourne, state plant pathologist and inspector with Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture will be there to advise those interested in growing hemp “what to expect from your inspector.”

Live entertainment kicks off on the Wisteria outdoor stage with music by steel drum percussionist Tony Hartman at 6, followed by the Americana roots band Blue Mother Tupelo around 7:30.

“We want to grow Hemp Fest into a yearly gathering for fans of live music, farmers, families and friends throughout the Upper Cumberland,” says Driver. “Come out and help us kick it off with a great start.”

Tickets for The Middle of Somewhere Hemp Fest are $10 in advance, $15 day of show and children under 10 admitted free. Capacity is limited and tickets are moving fast.

For information on booth space or tickets contact Driver at 615.597.9560 or message through the Bert Driver Nursery Facebook page.