Tiny House Hotel in Portland

Right in the heart of the Alberta Arts District in Portland, Oregon sits the first tiny house hotel in the U.S. The custom made houses of the Caravan — The Tiny House Hotel all sit on an urban lot with its own central gathering place that contains a fire pit … Read more

Mendocino Coast Rental

cozy cottage

by Jon Vallee We recently took a vacation on the Mendocino coast in California and rented what I would call a tiny house on VRBO. It’s listing number is #370975. The house is a 12 x 12 footprint with two stories, the bathroom is in a separate structure about 10 … Read more

Mushroom Dome Cabin

My husband and I have been utilizing the services of Airbnb for several of this year’s trips (New Orleans and Chile) and we’ve been very pleased with the ease and rental opportunities offered by the company. Airbnb is an online booking service that allows property owners to rent out their home or a room to travelers and it allows travelers to stay in unique places around the world. I was curious about the most popular rental location on Airbnb and was surprised to see that it was a beautiful tiny house shaped like a mushroom.

The Mushroom Dome Cabin in Aptos, California is rated as the number one listing on airbnb.com and consists of a semi-rustic cabin under a geodesic dome surrounded by oak, redwood and madrone trees. The cabin has a double bed located in the loft, an LCD screen with DVD player, a small deck, a couch, a small hot plate, refrigerator, toaster oven, blender and other kitchen supplies. The cabin has a tiny bathroom and shower. The owners provide clean linens and soap. Depending on the time of year, length of stay and amount of people, prices for the Mushroom Dome are about $90 per night and about $600 per week.

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Big Sur Cabin Rentals

If you want to get a taste of a tiny house on a big coastline, visit the tiny cabins owned by Richard Wagnoe who has 54 acres on a stretch of Hwy. 1. The carpenter, stone mason and horticulturalist rents out several tiny cabins and a few Airstreams to visitors traveling along this beautiful area of California.

Sharon’s Small House Story

My husband and I have been living in a small home rental in Portland, Oreogn for the past year and a half. Our cottage is about 450 square feet. It feels quite spacious to us. Both of us grew up in very large homes full of family, friends, and fun and we loved it, but prefer a smaller space for ourselves.

We got married in Maine (we used to live in Boston/Somerville) and packed our small Honda Civic with all of our possessions and leisurely road tripped to Oregon.

We found this house on Craigslist soon after moving to the area. Because we only brought our clothes and some personal items, we wanted to find a small place that would be easy and cheap to furnish. It took a few weeks, but we were able to get everything in our home (except TV and bed side tables) from Goodwill, Craigslist, and garage sales. It was quite an adventure!

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Podpads

What might look like a small toy village is actually a set of tiny houses used for camping and protection during music festivals in the United Kingdom. Podpads are designed to be a fun, comfortable and secure solution to the less attractive aspects of camping. They are rented out at various festivals for around 350 GBP or $550 a week and can be purchased as a guest house or child’s playhouse.

Designed and developed for Glastonbury Festival 2005, the podpad will stand up to the most severe of weather conditions. They are comfortable, weatherproof, cool, soundproof, secure, and safe with optional extras available to increase comfort. They are also a possible solution to a group base camp, on-site storage, as well as live-in accommodation.

The podpad is designed to accommodate two adults comfortably on either a double or twin beds. In exceptional circumstances, they can accommodate a family of three. The podpad is 8 feet by 6 feet with a wooden floor and a fitted carpet. They have raised beds with mattresses, shelving, windows with curtains, a mirror, light and a 12V socket. Podpads are also solar powered by a panel outfitted as a sunflower on the roof. This can be used for low usage items such as charging cell phones, laptops and iPods.

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