38-FT Custom Tiny Has Two of Everything: Bike Sheds, Lofts, and Real Staircases

Like most tiny house builders, family-run U.S.-based Indigo River Tiny Homes offers a handful of standard models with features that you can mix and match until you get precisely the tiny house that suits your needs. Then, if you still have money left, you can go custom with whatever you put inside, down to the final layout of the home.

The unit toured in the video below is a good example of the kind of work this company does, but for us watching it at home, without the budget or the desire to transition to tiny living, it's also a beautiful example of tiny living taken to the higher end of the spectrum. It's window-shopping and escapism, and it can also serve as illustration of how much tiny living has evolved in recent years.

And to be sure, it's changed a lot from its early days. Tiny living still entails ditching a traditional, brick-and-mortar home in favor of a smaller unit, preferably built on top of a trailer that you can tow to whatever destination tickles your fancy. It's still very much focused on mobility, downsizing, and intentional living, though its environmentally friendly aspect has been diluted.

But these days, tiny living can also happen on a very grand scale – quite literally. We're talking about mini-mansion on wheels, palatial tinies that seem to exist in defiance of the whole concept of tiny living, offering sleeping for as many as eight people at once, with chef's kitchens or even dual kitchens, spa-like bathrooms, entertaining spaces, luxury features, and storage options galore.

This unit is halfway between the tiniest tinies and the oversize ones, but it's still a park model that you can only move with special permits. Tipping the scales at 22,000 lbs (9,979 kg), it sits on a triple-axle trailer and is an impressive 38 feet long (11.5 meters) and 10 feet (3 meters) wide.

The trailer itself is only 36 feet (11 meters), but the house gets a 2-foot (0.6-meter) bumpout at the rear to create a popular feature of Indigo River Tiny Homes: a bike garage. By the way, there's another bike shed at the front, in keeping with the promise in the headline that this home offers two of everything.

The unit is based on the Homesteader popular model, with the Deluxe loft extra feature and the extra width that makes it a proper park model. For those of you not familiar with this particular builder, that means two extra-large lofts, one of which offers standing height throughout – which in itself is a rarity in tiny houses.

The layout is fairly standard, but the finishes make it outstanding. You get features that you couldn't do without in a permanent home, like shoe cubbies right at the entrance, carefully masked under a segment of double flooring, a full-size kitchen, a full-size bathroom, and space to put everything you need from winter gear to everyday clothes, foodstuffs, and appliances.

The home boasts two actual staircases, which, again, isn't common in tiny houses. The lofts are located at either end of the home, with the main bedroom over the bathroom and the kids' bedroom over the living room. Yes, there is a living room, as well as a dining area and a generous amount of space that can be arranged according to preferences.

The builders were able to squeeze functionality out of every inch of available space, from an alcove for the TV and entertainment center to the larger one for the laundry station. Standouts include two large wardrobes in each loft and the space left open to add even more storage options. Also here we should mention the storage options built into each staircase, which amount to a great lot.

Finishes help create a certain cottage-inspired aesthetic: exposed wood in natural colors for the walls, with gray furniture.

The only contrasting element is the bathroom, which feels like a technicolor trip down retro lane with a very bold combination of bright lime yellow and black. Strictly from a functional perspective, it's impressive for a tiny house, offering a walk-in "Dr. Who"-style shower, a flushing toilet, a sink with a custom vanity, and plenty of storage. Aesthetically, it… well, you know what they say about taste.

The home offers a total of 500 square feet (46.4 square meters), including the space in the two lofts. Other features include a pet door and a catwalk that connects the two lofts, board and batten exterior with custom paint, and RV-style hookups for water, electricity, and sewage. As a rule, Indigo River Tiny Homes doesn't offer homes rigged for extended autonomy, so that will have to come out directly of the new owner's pocket – and on their time.

Speaking of pockets, this house is for a deep one. Because it's a custom unit, it doesn't have an exact figure attached, but a similar unit with a standard interior in terms of features and finishes starts at well over $172,000.

But looking at one is always free.