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Off-Grid Lookout Tower Cabin in Tiller


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Ever considered living in a tower? This is an elevated tiny cabin that’s completely off-grid in Tiller. From the outside, you’ll notice a two-story cabin sitting on a deck suspended by wooden beams. The house has long bays of windows and wooden siding, with a green metal roof. You can stand on the wrap-around porch and look out or take in the sun while reclining in bright red Adirondack chairs. It stands on the edge of an evergreen cluster amidst fields of wildflowers and grass.

When you go inside, you’ll find an open-concept home with everything in the main room including two twin beds with under-bed storage, a desk with a computer, a long table in the middle of the room, and kitchen counter tops and appliances lining the back wall. The walls and floors are pine with wrap-around shelving close to the ceiling for nick knacks. Take the ladder to the second floor where there’s a queen sized loft bed. The kitchen has hot and cold running water, a propane stove, refrigerator, and heater. For a bathroom, head onto the deck and enjoy an outdoor shower. There’s also a wood-fired hot tub and a fire pit for enjoying the very starry Oregon sky.

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Off-Grid Lookout Tower Cabin in Tiller

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Images © Dabney and Alan via Airbnb

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Images © Dabney and Alan via Airbnb

Learn more: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3405072

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Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.

Latest posts by Natalie C. McKee (see all)

{ 26 comments… add one }
  • Mike
    February 25, 2016, 11:44 am

    While it’s interesting and looks like an authentic fire lookout, can you imagine if everyone put up a fire tower on every ridge lot to take advantage of the view? How would you feel if your home’s views suddenly had something like this to look at day and night? I wonder how the neighbors feel about the light intrusion in their starry skies…

    Homes like this should be vetted carefully so not to override other people’s enjoyment of their own property, especially if built as an investment property and not a primary residence. We move to the country to enjoy the country, not to view some structure in our view.

    • February 25, 2016, 10:39 pm

      I live near the summit of a 5,000 foot mountain in North Carolina. The views are awesome. I can see the lights of nearly 100 other dwellers on the mountains for 50 or so miles in either direction. Included is a view of a ski resort and all their lights. A beautiful sight to behold because that resort is about 25 miles from where I see it, as the crow flies. Between my view and the ski resort is a rather large valley with lots and lots of structures, all of which project light into my eyes.

      Yet, the moon is bright and all the stars are visible regardless of where I look. A structure like this would not offend me anymore than the empty dwellings which exist during the winter months. Dwellings which have solar windows so the sun doesn’t put too much heat into the dwellings. When the sun sets, those windows “light” up much like a solar flare. The view is amazing how the sun setting does its job of letting everyone know about the snow birds and absentee land owners who rent/lease their properties during the warm season.

      • Mike
        February 26, 2016, 11:19 am

        Robert – Just wait until you CAN’T see the stars anymore. I live in Florida and the only place you can see the stars anymore is way out in the middle of the state for a stretch of about 20 miles or so. The rest of the time the city glow lights up the atmosphere and nobody bothers to look up.

        Have a look: http://darksky.org/

        Also – I’m building my own cabin in the woods up in the Great Lakes. I’m taking great pains to ensure my place on the lakefront doesn’t diminish any of my neighbors enjoyment by incorporating dark skies compliant lighting fixtures and guidelines as well as avoiding clearcutting the lot all the way to the lake to improve my view at the expense of other’s enjoyment. You move to the woods to enjoy the woods – not to create another suburb. I want to see the stars and the trees.

        • February 28, 2016, 1:56 pm

          Having lived in Grand Rapids MI for nearly 40-years as well as a resident of Indianapolis IN for 10-years, I’m fully aware that you can’t see the twinkling lights of the heavens because of light pollution of the big cities. I was reared in a one room school house for several years as well as living on a farm out in the country side. Now, in retirement, I decided to return to the country and live on top of a mountain in Western North Carolina.

  • Lee
    February 25, 2016, 1:11 pm

    In other words, “What you want on your property is OK as long as I agree to it.” That is the reason I declined to support the idea of a “Home Owners Association” when a petition to create one in our neighborhood was attempted.

    • Mike
      February 26, 2016, 12:02 pm

      I’m not a fan of HOA’s as they’re not particularly well organized. But what makes sense is an LDC (land development code) which would prohibit land use that negatively impacts other owners. This is also the reason nobody’s excavating for a mine or building an aerodrome next to most of us. It’s part of a social contract like ensuring we drive on the right side of the road…

      See my foregoing comment. I live where developers have run rampant and the quality of life has diminished over the last few decades. My comment is to make you aware of what’s happened here so your quality of life isn’t diminished.

  • em
    February 25, 2016, 1:29 pm

    Wow, Mike. Vetted by whom? Youm?
    I love the floorplan of this tiny house, but include a bathroom. I realize to do that you would, ideally, have to be closer to the ground but you’d still never have to worry about ground flooding, especially from Mike’s place in the country.

    • Bruce Pritchett
      February 25, 2016, 4:40 pm

      You could very easily have a camping toilet up there (yes, they flush and have their own fresh water and “black water” tanks). Just dump the tank when you go down. We use one in our camper and it works very well.

    • Mike
      February 26, 2016, 11:21 am

      See my foregoing comment

  • Porcsha S
    February 25, 2016, 2:00 pm

    I think this home is super cool! It’s like a tree house for adults! I love the view! My only question is there a bathroom inside the tree house? I see the shower and what I believe is a bathroom on the ground.

    • Porcsha S
      February 25, 2016, 2:05 pm

      Correction, treeless tree house to me but, it is a lookout tower.

  • Shelly Hostetler
    February 25, 2016, 2:29 pm

    Love the observation deck / tower idea. It works beautifully! What a place to call home!

  • Jim
    February 25, 2016, 5:32 pm

    Without a full bathroom, its just a treeless treehouse. I like the idea but too many steps for my old knees and, without a bathroom, its not working for me.

  • Peter Piper
    February 25, 2016, 6:08 pm

    Very nice… now where’s the storm shelter? Tornadoes, anyone?

    • Diane
      February 25, 2016, 7:49 pm

      Oregon doesn’t have tornadoes.

    • February 25, 2016, 10:54 pm

      Generally do not have tornadoes in mountainous regions. Although, you do have heavy gale force winds.

  • Michael L
    February 25, 2016, 8:25 pm

    This is wonderful. As for have lav facilities inside, you can always use a composting type. For the stair issue… heck you can get a decent cardio workout in while taking care of natures call. And, as for building something that might obstruct a neighbors view… oh well. The property was for sale at some point… if it was a concern for neighbors, they missed the opportunity to buy the land!

  • Gabrielle Charest
    February 25, 2016, 11:02 pm

    My initial response: love it! ut I think I might add some moveable privacy screens especially if there is more than one person occupying the place.
    And now to an issue that needs to be addressed for THOWs, elevated homes, and indeed all homes made with conventional materials. Every time I watch the news I see flash floods, wildfires, hurricanes and tornadoes. Are there better construction materials to lessen Mother Nature’s wrath?

    • Eric
      February 26, 2016, 4:00 am

      I believe reinforced concrete is pretty damned good at withstanding the forces of nature…

      • Gabrielle Charest
        February 26, 2016, 2:34 pm

        Yes, as are earthbags, rammed earth, cob, earthships, straw bale, and probably many other materials/techniques. However, none of these translate very well when you have a THOW or a home on stilts.

  • Denise
    February 26, 2016, 6:30 am

    This is the best tiny home I have seen in a long time. Every aspect of this is perfect beyond words. If I had the property and didn’t live in earthquake territory, I would build it.

  • Fred Enzel
    December 8, 2016, 6:45 am

    I love it. It has everything I need except a toilet in the sky. That would have to be either camp, composting or some other enviro friendly tech. While I could manage the stairs once up and down per day, I could not make as many loo trips as my body needs in a night. We are fortunate to live on the largest underdeveloped continent in the world. If one wants to escape the overdeveloped cities of North America, it is possible. One need only save the means to do so and develop the mental capacity to live in a quieter world where you have to be more self reliant to remain stimulated and occupied.

    • Natalie
      December 8, 2016, 8:46 am

      Very true Fred! And I agree on the bathroom issue haha 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team

  • Dan
    January 20, 2017, 5:36 am

    I wouldn’t mind living in that house without the stilts.

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