Meet the Speaker.
Meet “The Kernohans”... The Tiny House & Minimalist Dynamic Duo! John and Fin Kernohan are the Founders of the United Tiny House Association (UTHA), which is arguably the largest tiny lifestyle support organizations in the World with over 56K+ members. They have also organized the 28 highly-successful For-Charity Tiny House Festivals, including what are on record as the World’s six largest tiny house festivals. (They even received a message of acknowledgement from the Guinness Book of World Records for their Florida Tiny House Festival.)
John and Fin are true examples of the minimalist and tiny house lifestyle by living the past 11+ years in their DIY, off-grid 304sqft tiny home, known as Beloved Cabin, on their 16-acre homestead.
John and Fin host the Facebook and Instagram accounts @beovedcabin & @unitedtinyhouse, and have traveled the country in their 148sqft THOW, known as the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, which has been featured on A&E’s 2022 series “Living Smaller”, HGTV’s “Tiny House, Big Living”, GAC, JEOPARDY!, The Rachael Ray Show, TODAY, and AOL’s “Dream Big, Living Small”… and their 16-acre homestead and many of their tiny homes were also featured on A&E’s new 2022 television series “Living Smaller”.
Their 28 for-charity Tiny House Festivals have gained international recognition as being some of the World’s largest tiny house events and have raised over $754K for 100+ charities and great causes.
During the course of the past 7 years, UTHA’s 28 for-charity tiny house events have financed a tiny house for a homeless veteran, paid for a fifth wheel travel trailer for a homeless veteran, raised money & purchased equipment for fire departments around the Country, purchased life-saving medical equipment for children’s hospitals, and has financially supported many charities and causes such as, but not limited to: Alzheimer’s research & support groups, cancer research, breast cancer research & support groups, youth groups, Martin Luther King Holiday events, preservation & restoration projects, numerous churches, inner city projects, and over 100 organizations, non-profits and great causes.
They founded the UTHA Scholarship Fund, which is awarded annually to a college-bound high school graduate who has displayed high achievements both scholastically and in community service.
In early 2017, John and Fin completed their 148sqft tiny house on wheels, known as the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, which is their traveling home and is a tribute tiny house honoring firefighters and promoting fire prevention awareness. Filming of The Kernohans and their Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9 build was completed by HGTV for “Tiny House, Big Living” (S6:E1) and featured in 2022 on A&E’s “Living Smaller”.
Additionally, their 16-acre Beloved Cabin Tiny House Homestead & Stay (aka - United Tiny House Rentals & Vacations) was featured in USA Today as one of the top ten tiny house vacation getaways in the Nation. (Their short-term rentals can be found at: https://airbnb.com/p/belovedcabin/ )
John’s and Fin’s forthcoming book, “Tiny Talks: Communicating BIG with Love and Laughter” is an account of their inspirational and humorous journey in living a tiny and minimalist lifestyle, being a mixed-race couple, and how their age-gap and cultural differences have made them a unique and fun-loving couple. According to John and Fin, “It’s a humorous account of our TINY love affair and the World around us!”
“If you want to know about tiny homes, John Kernohan is the guy to call.”
- Realtor.com -
Their journeys and adventures living in the big cities of Bangkok & London (Fin), and Miami & Kaohsiung (John), along with their travels around the globe, to their tiny off-grid minimalist lifestyle in the Georgia woods with their 31 free-roaming cats (they run a rescue program), 3 dogs, 6 goats, and 18 chickens, have been featured on A&E, HGTV, DIY Network, TODAY.COM, Apartment Therapy, The Rachael Ray Show, JEOPARDY!, Hobby Farms, multiple news stations, numerous magazines, newspapers, and web sites & blogs around the world.
In addition to their DIY-built, off-grid 304sqft ‘Beloved Cabin’ and their 148sqft towable ‘Tiny Firehouse - Station No. 9’, John and Fin also have 2 additional tiny houses on wheels, two yurts, two 20’ geodesic dome homes, 3 bell tents, a skoolie, and are currently building a tree house with a salvaged grain silo and another small cabin, all as part of their 16-acre Beloved Cabin Tiny House Homestead & Stay. (John’s and Fin’s unique short-term getaways can be seen online at https://airbnb.com/p/belovedcabin.)
They are also Airbnb Ambassadors and part of Airbnb’s campaign focusing on successful Superhosts. You can view their Airbnb Superhost story online at https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/a-couple-shares-their-haven-in-the-woods-448
John’s and Fin’s Life Experiences and Tiny House Lifestyle Expertise Include…
~ Being Minimalists: Living off-grid with modern conveniences.
~ Helping others live their legal tiny house dreams: Whatever those dreams might be!
~ Living 11+ years in their very own DIY, off-grid tiny home: Experts on living in small spaces.
~ Fin’s Thai and John’s Amish upbringings are influences of their popular interior and exterior designs.
~ Owning, insuring, and living LEGALLY in multiple modalities of tiny homes.
~ Real-time, hands-on experience of building multiple modalities of tiny structures.
~ Having the experience and knowledge gained from being able to interact with 100’s of thousands of individuals and their families through their 28 For-Charity Tiny House Festivals.
~ Acting as pro bono consultants on the subjects of affordable housing, tiny homes, and the legalities of micro housing, for local and state governments… as well as for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington DC.
~ Expertise: Solar energy, composting & humanure, biogas methane cooking fuel creation, off-grid living, rainwater collection, construction (John’s family is Amish), hunting & gathering, minimalism, gardening, poultry raising, building of sustainable & eco-friendly structures, repurposed materials, and more!
~ Avid outdoors people... kayaking, biking, camping, hiking, and more are part of their lives.
~ Experienced speakers, emcees, and keynotes at MANY events, colleges, and festivals.
~ Having knowledge and experience on how to lease and purchase land to live tiny LEGALLY.
John & Fin are a couple who love their tiny living lifestyle and the tiny house movement, which abundantly shows in their love for each other - and in their support of others!
“Do something BIG in your World... by simply doing something TINY!" - John & Fin