From Construction Waste Dump to Cozy Home
by Hanna Lj. Kuštera @greendreamerystudio
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Introduction
From Construction Waste Dump to Cozy Home
I grew up in a large but 'sterile' house where everything followed someone else's rules. This left me with a lifelong longing for a space of my own—a place that is natural, simple, and free from the 'don't touch' restrictions. For me, the garden always came first; I dreamed of a home with a minimal footprint but a maximal garden. I have always been drawn to an off-grid lifestyle, believing that we often unnecessarily burden the environment.
When the opportunity arose to buy land in a green zone in Sv. Filip i Jakov (Dalmatia, Croatia), I took it without hesitation, even though the site had been a construction waste dump for years. I purchased an old mobile home with an interior ready for the landfill and placed it there.
At that moment, I didn't realize it would mean two and a half years of intense daily physical labor. It was 99.9% DIY, filled with unconventional solutions, countless trials and errors, and frequent frustrations. But looking at it now, I am incredibly proud. Though it might seem modest to some, I created a home tailored to my soul with my own two hands. From the entire interior to the exterior and the garden—everything was built using old planks and construction leftovers from my friends.
Supplies
The Tools
Along with the land, the previous owner left me a "legacy" of old planks, slats, and pallets. My first step was buying a cordless power tool kit online, including a drill, a jigsaw, and a sander. These became my basic equipment and remain my best friends in every project to this day.
Resourceful Materials
Beyond the wood waste, I used everything I found on the site: from old broken tiles to stones unearthed during the manual excavation of construction debris. During the interior build, friends generously donated their leftover tiles, chairs, old discarded shelves, and even a kitchen sink.
Giving New Life
I repurposed everything into my future furniture. I am particularly proud of the bathroom, where I created an interesting mosaic by laying all the mismatched tiles myself. For the finish, I mostly just sanded the rough planks, while the exterior wood was treated with a dark wood stain. Inside, I used matte anthracite self-adhesive foil on certain surfaces to "break" the monotony of the raw wood.
First things came first: coffee place and PLANTS ☕🪴
My greatest addictions are plants and coffee—preferably at the same time! You know that feeling when a space finally feels like yours? I achieved that by decking a tiny platform right in front of the mobile home's entrance. It was just big enough for me, my plants, and my coffee. A cushion on the floor next to a hot cup of coffee was my main reason for happiness! On that very same cushion, I forged the plans for my future home. Sketches filled my small spiral notebook in between every run across the land and through the house with a measuring tape.
Never enough screws
During the day, I worked on the land; at night, I worked inside the house. I would bring piles of planks and all my tools into the house, having to jump over everything while 'tailoring' and assembling furniture for my future home. I bought kilograms upon kilograms of screws—yet I was constantly short of 'just a few more.' At night, I worked by flashlight, and batteries were the second thing, after screws, that I consumed 'as if I were eating them.' It wasn't always easy maneuvering large planks within a tiny 24m² space. Often, I would realize I’d forgotten some material outside just as the jackals began their nightly prowl through the neighborhood. But in the end, I managed to turn my sketches into reality.
Terrace and Garden
After finishing the interior, it was finally time for the terrace. The wind used to slam the entrance door against the wall, and every rainfall meant a flood in the doorway. It was time to cover the terrace to protect the entrance and my plants during winter. I decked the terrace using old planks and reused every old, half-rusted nail I could find. My friends donated piles of old nails they found at home—whenever someone found forgotten nails, they knew: 'Those are for Hanna.' A friend helped me set up the canopy; I needed an extra pair of hands to keep the pillars from falling. Those pillars were the only wooden material I actually bought. The roof was made from old planks, and the fence from slats reclaimed from disassembled pallets. The garden beds were made the same way: old planks, old nails, and days of manual digging.
A Home Grown Beyond Myself
Nothing I did ever felt quite finished; there was always 'one more thing.' The garden beds changed their position and appearance at least three times before I was satisfied. In the meantime, I built a shed and a garden terrace featuring an old table with a literal burn hole and a custom bench with storage. I 'paved' the pathways using discarded concrete grids and stones found on the land. Flowers grew everywhere possible, and I even started a small orchard. Eventually, I reached a milestone: purchasing, setting up, and styling my greenhouse. Now, the peak of my happiness is Sunday coffee with friends inside that greenhouse. My modest home has grown beyond me; it is now a project where everyone who loves me participates. It has become a home in the truest sense of the word.
Enjoy the process
My journey was filled with many obstacles and frustrations, but the lesson I learned while building my home is: everything doesn't need to be perfect on the first try. Making mistakes is okay—simply enjoy the process. My enthusiasm for creating a space tailored to my soul couldn't be stopped by floods, or even torn ligaments, because the value of what I gained far outweighed the cost of the effort. The most valuable lesson of my life has been: always find the time to enjoy what you have already created!
6 comments
Thank you very much, Hanna, for sharing how you built your home and telling us about the entire process, as well as the difficulties you faced.
@miguelon Thank you, I truly appreciate you taking the time to read about my journey.
Oh I loved this. Thank you for sharing your labour of love. Wonderful and uplifting.
@jemmy_bloocher thank you so much!
Thank you so much for sharing your dream and the way you kept working at it through wild and cold weather ( and I suppose hot weather) and illnesses and accidents ( did I see a bandage or plaster on your leg in one photo?). You are amazing and very inspiring especially as you made everything from second hand repurposed material so it is very sustainable and I imagine economic? ( money is such a problem!) I am so impressed with all you have done and how you did it! Well done, enjoy you OWN( in every sense of the word) little home and lovely garden! Did you know how to use any of the tools and how to build things before you did this? You have inspired me but I don’t know how to do any of these things. Thank you so much for posting your journey!
@leskitt02 Thank you so much for your kind words!
For me, the greatest value of all is the moment my work inspires others to create something with their own hands. All it really takes is desire, will, and persistence!
Yes, you did see a bandage (actually a cast) — I tore the ligaments in my foot when I tripped over some construction debris, but I’m not the type of person who gives up because of an injury. There are actually two photos, and there’s a funny story about the second one... During every check-up, the doctor would scold me: "You’ve been walking again! The rest will snap too and you’ll never walk again if you don’t restrain yourself for at least these few months." He knew I’d been walking because, of course, the bottom of my cast was as dirty as the sole of a shoe. To skip his lectures, I came up with a solution: I wrapped a plastic bag around the cast and kept working in the garden like nothing happened, so my cast stayed clean! 🙈 In the first photo, my leg is up on a bench so the cast is clear, but in the second one, I’m planting flowers in the greenhouse with the bag over it — you have to look closely to notice it! 😁
Yes, money can be a problem — but you save so much by repurposing what’s already available. I won't say I spent nothing; if we added it all up, I actually spent quite a bit on screws, paint, and batteries for light — but those were small costs compared to the total, because I could afford that much on a monthly basis. Also, I chose this lifestyle as a complete extreme to the environment I grew up in. My utility bills were $0.00 since I only used rainwater, had zero waste (I recycled everything), and didn't pay for electricity because I used batteries at first, and later solar. If I had been connected to the public grid, those costs would have "eaten" more than half the budget I spent on materials for the house.
My family owns a company where wood was handcrafted for generations before modern machines were introduced — and I was always that little pup under everyone's feet, getting into everything; usually wherever work was being done. They didn't let me touch anything, but my eyes, brain, and heart absorbed every move they made. Later, I’d just think: "How did my uncle mix the wood putty with his hands?" or "How did my father join the laminate?" (he definitely didn't waste as many pieces on wrong cuts as I did! 🙈), or "How did my grandfather make that shelf joint?" For me, it was a recall of memories with zero practical experience... like when a child sits in a car and starts it because they "watched dad do it."
Tools are a slightly different story because since childhood I always tried to make something; a little bench or a table for myself, a shelf for my books. Those were just childhood attempts; it worked in my kid-world, but everything was rough and EVERYTHING wobbled! 🤣 Back then, I used whatever I could secretly "borrow" from my father’s workshop: a hand saw, a hammer, sandpaper, and nails. By the time I started buying my own tools, it was a "look at me go" situation compared to before. The drill wasn't an issue, and I mastered the jigsaw quickly (the safety trigger that turns it off the moment you release pressure really helped — if you get one, definitely get the kind with that safety switch). It did take some time to figure out how to keep my lines straight and, most importantly, how not to break the blade! 🙃
The angle grinder is another story — I was terrified of it and postponed many projects just out of fear I'd cut my legs off! Unfortunately, it only has a lock-on switch that you have to manually flip back to "off." I started with small things, holding it hilariously far away from myself until I got a feel for how it behaves. Later, it became my main "toy" for all the details, even complicated carved edges. The only thing that still puts "fear in my bones" is metal — I am deathly afraid of sparks! I can handle a few sparks for a couple of seconds if I hit a nail, but sawing metal bars is still in "neighbor, help!" mode. 🙈
Don’t hold yourself back by thinking "I don't know how." My guiding light was "I want to," and believe me, if you allow yourself to trust yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes while learning, you will learn everything you need very quickly. Using tools is a skill that is learned. A friend showed me how to use many things, but most of it I looked up on YouTube, studying how different people do things and teaching myself.
The only thing that really matters is having the will and an idea. Then, put that idea on paper, break it down into parts you'll build and assemble, and write down the process for yourself — that’s also part of the learning, and over time your brain will get "used" to seeing the process as soon as you have the idea. My furniture, the terrace, or anything else are probably miles away from a "professional" way of building, but they work for what they’re meant for. Don’t try to force yourself to work "professionally"; give yourself the chance to find the way that works most simply for you, and you’ll see that every time it gets better and easier.
I wish you luck with your projects and feel free to reach out if you need advice — I would definitely love to know what you’ve made! 🥰
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