When Meredith Stannard, 66, decided to retire this year, she knew she had to downsize her lifestyle, but she wanted to avoid selling her home and moving into a retirement community. Instead, she and her partner came up with an amazing idea that you'll have to see to believe!

After Meredith retired, she moved into a 613-square-foot tiny home with her partner in the backyard of her daughter, Drew, and son-in-law's house in Seattle, Washington!

"Everybody was curious," Meredith said of her former co-workers. "I started doing these happy hours where I'd have one or two people over at a time. There's a lot of buzz with people wondering if they could do this too."

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Drew said her friends had mixed reactions when she informed them that her mother would be moving into her backyard.

"When I told friends, their reaction was either, 'That's so wonderful, wish I could do that with my family,' or 'Oh my god, you're crazy, I could never do that with my parents,'" said Drew. "You know whether or not it would work for you and your family."

The family first started throwing this idea around three years ago when Drew and her husband, Jacob, were buying a house. The couple made sure to find a property large enough for a tiny cottage to be put up out back.

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"Drew's an only child and we're very close, very direct with one other, but we wanted to make sure Jacob was absolutely on board," explained Meredith. "We made sure that they were sure before we even contacted the architect."

Since moving into the same property, this family has been closer than ever before!

In order to get her "granny pod" built, Meredith enlisted the help of Bruce Parker, owner of Microhouse, a company that designs small houses and custom built cottages. He helped to design and build a two-story cottage that was modeled to complement Drew and her husband Jacob's house.

The "granny pod" includes one bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room and a fully equipped kitchen. Here are some more photos of the inside:

This move wasn't all fun and games for Meredith and her partner, however, as downsizing from a 1,300 square-foot home to the "granny pod" had it's challenges.

"We brought 40 boxes ahead of the moving company and when we put them in living room it was like what were we thinking?" Meredith said.

However, Meredith and her partner have no regrets, especially since they are about to become grandparents! Drew is currently pregnant with her first baby, and she's glad to have her mom nearby for support.

"That intergenerational connection is important," said Drew.

"I see lots of Baby Boomers pushing strollers in this neighborhood," Meredith added. "They probably have to commute to push the stroller and we won't have to!"

What do you think about the "granny pod?" Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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