My Tiny Empty Nest & My Tiny House Village: The Story Behind My Tiny Bird House

Two days ago I welcomed my first official guest to My Tiny Bird House. And, in usual style, the last push to get all the details done was pretty brutal. (as is my hang over from our first tiny house village party last night....but I digress....)

This morning, however, I realized that although I have posted pics here and there about this latest addition to my tiny house collection, I haven't really told the back story behind this little, tiny, blue, Glamping cabin on wheels.

Step 1: Get it from the backyard to the road

When I was approached with the idea of designing and building Amelia for the Street of Dreams, I knew I wanted to say "yes" but the only way to justify the time it would take for me to do so, was to use the money I made from Amelia to expedite the build on the Hideout.

Step 2: Get it off the road and onto the trailer.

As it turned out, however, Mark's work schedule didn't really support the Expedite Hideout plan.

OK, we're ready to go! Well, almost......

I am a bit of a craigslist addict and will often kill an hour just perusing what tiny houses are being sold there. And so, on one of these "excursions" I found this little skid-based backyard cottage that someone had originally purchased to offer on AirBnB but was not getting the bookings she had imagined she would. I already had the money set aside for the Hideout, which wasn't being used, and so in the best interest of making money by spending money, I scheduled an appointment to go see it.

Strapped up and ready to GO GO GO!!

First check was the building itself. Was it responsibly constructed? Yep!

Second check was the Return-On-Investment math. Did it look like a reasonably good investment as a short term rental? Yep!

Once I made the decision to purchase it, the cottage owner and I turned our attention to precisely HOW I could take it off her hands. So, who do you think I called? Greg the Trailer Guy of course! He had a somewhat-used 16 foot long utility trailer that he wanted to sell at a good price. The cottage owner's friend then donated his time and forklift and the next part of the plan was hatched.

I love this pic....it was so quiet that morning on the St. John's Bridge.

Next, I called a friend with a free Sunday and a truck. He brought more strap downs than should be legal to use on a single load (and maybe was!?) and in the quietness of the morning we moved the house the 35 miles to the current spot where the Bird House now sits.

And, in true Oregon fashion, it was raining.

Seriously. What better way to expedite the build-out of My Tiny House Village than by buying an adorable addition and merely remodel it and add a deck?

However, with only 48 square feet it was, and remains, a bit of a gamble.

Will people really love it enough to pay to stay?

The worst is over! Now, onward with the remodel.

The inside is pretty rustic and the paint they used is matte, and looks pretty old, and the trim is raw. To what extent do I "remodel" it? I couldn't just touch it up. Once I started painting, I'd have to do the entire inside. So I decided to embrace and enhance the intrinsic personality of the space by choosing matte accessories and understated decor items, rather than embark on what would be an extensive aesthetic renovation.