A SmartPads Home Turns into Something Bigger
One of the most underrated parts of building homes is getting to know the people who will live in them and learning their stories.
Each SmartPads homeowner comes to us with a different piece of land, a different vision, and a compelling story about what brought them there. Sometimes it’s a longtime dream. Sometimes it’s a new adventure. And sometimes, as was the case for Jessica and AJ, it involves an RV, a cross-country move, a shipping container, a serious shoe collection, and a leap of faith.
Their home sits on a beautiful wooded acre in Black Hawk, Colorado, surrounded by pines, aspens and mountain views. We’ve loved watching Jessica continue to bring the property to life and following along on Instagram as she shares the story.
We’ll let her tell the rest.
Hygge & Hearth
In April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I sold my first home and purchased a 36-foot RV to live in full-time and travel across the country. I spent the next six months visiting more than 30 states and spent about a month of that time in Colorado, where I completely fell in love.
In 2021, I met my husband, AJ, and ironically, he had started his tattoo career in Boulder 20 years earlier and had always wanted to move back.
A year later, we took our first trip out west together. During that trip, we knew we’d be heading home to sell my husband’s house and start preparing for a move from Ohio to Colorado. While his home quickly went under contract, we simultaneously went under contract on an incredible piece of land in Black Hawk that already had an empty 40-foot shipping container sitting on it. I had been dreaming of living in a tiny home for years, but I knew my husband’s shoe collection might make that a challenge.
I started researching unique Colorado builders because I wanted to stay as far away as possible from a cookie-cutter home. When I came across SmartPads and saw the Leadville model, I knew it was the perfect fit. That’s when we decided to take on the challenge of incorporating the shipping container into our build as a rental property to help offset our mortgage and create a little more freedom in our lives.
That’s when “Hygge & Hearth” was established in 2026 and quickly took off with success. We are both passionate about traveling, so we love the opportunity to share our land and home with travelers escaping to the mountains.
One of the things that stood out most throughout the building process with SmartPads was how seamless everything felt. Building a home can be overwhelming, especially from out of state, but the SmartPads team made each step easy to navigate. Communication was great, questions were answered quickly, and we always felt informed about what was happening next. Seeing our home come together was exciting, and the finished product exceeded our expectations. The quality of the craftsmanship and attention to detail is evident throughout the home, and we still find ourselves appreciating the thoughtful design and solid construction.
We couldn’t be happier with our decision to build with SmartPads. It truly is our dream home, and we’re grateful every day that we took the leap and made Colorado home
The Stories Behind the Homes
No two SmartPads homes (or homeowners) are the same, and that’s a big part of what makes this work so much fun. We get to know the people behind the projects, learn what brought them to a particular piece of land, and then be a part of the big decisions like closet space (shoes) and window placement (views).
Jessica and AJ’s is one we’ve had so much fun following. You can keep up with what they’re creating at @_hygge_and_hearth
And if their story has you wanting a little taste of their corner of Colorado, you actually can. Their SmartPads home is their private residence, but the shipping container that was already on the property when they bought it has become Hygge & Hearth, a beautifully designed one-bedroom mountain retreat available on Airbnb. Stay there and you’ll get to experience the same peaceful wooded acre, mountain views and little slice of Colorado that Jessica and AJ fell in love with.
We highly recommend checking it out, and maybe staying awhile.
