I'm 72 and don't want to move to a retirement home. So I built a tiny home in my yard for a future live-in caretaker.

Kathie Schwartz, 72, began thinking about aging and housing after her husband asked her to promise she would not put him in a care home. Seeing her parents and friends face similar choices also shaped her thinking.

The couple downsized and moved after considering retirement communities in several states. Schwartz found those communities unsettling, and homes with extra rooms in their new area could cost nearly $2 million, she said.

The couple’s new house had a small backyard, and Schwartz began considering how to use it. After discussing the idea with a friend, she persuaded her husband to build a small home there.

They hired Colorado-based Studio Home and worked with a landscape architect on a 480-square-foot unit, the largest allowed on their property. Schwartz sees it as a place for a future live-in caretaker, giving the couple another option as their needs change.