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Woman Building Tiny Hobbit-style Homes in Chelan, WA


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This is the story of how a woman is building tiny hobbit-style homes in Chelan, Washington.

Her name is Kristie Wolfe, and if the name rings a bell, it’s because she also built a DIY tiny home in Hawaii with her mom that you can vacation in if you want to.

Her next project is a set of hobbit-style tiny homes in the Washington mountains. This one is designed as if a carpenter was living in it so it features a lot of those elements. It’s a 288 sq. ft. buried and stick-framed cabin on 5.5 acres. Please enjoy, learn more, and re-share below. Thank you!

Woman Building Tiny Hobbit-style Homes in Chelan, WA

Kristie Wolfe Hobbit Hole Tiny Cabin in the Washington Mountains 001

Images © Kristie Wolfe

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Images © Kristie Wolfe

Size: 288 sq ft
Location: Chelan, Washington
Available to rent: March 2016 through airbnb
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8794484
Off grid
Electrical: solar
Water: is trucked into a water tower that supplies all the houses
Land: 5.5 acres
Construction: stick framed & buried
Heating: propane fireplace

Learn more: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8794484

Resources

Our big thanks to Kristie Wolfe for sharing!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 49 comments… add one }
  • Marcy
    December 22, 2015, 4:05 pm

    Oh, fun! Looking forward to an airbnb stay.

  • Shari D
    December 22, 2015, 5:12 pm

    Totally adorable! I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to take on such a project! Very inviting – with one small exception – no kitchen? Not even a dining area for eating food you might bring in with you? Or do you have to leave for every meal? Kind of takes away from the seclusion and serenity of staying put in one place for a day and a night, if you have to go out for dinner and breakfast too. It’s a completely adorable place – that’s the only word I can find to describe it – but with that missing, I wonder how much charm might be lost by not being able to come in and stay put?

    • Kristie
      January 31, 2016, 2:52 pm

      Hey Shari,

      I’m planning an entire village made up of 3 hobbit holes and an above ground pub looking communal kitchen. It will be the last structure to go in however. Putting a kitchen in each one would be hard and expensive & I love the idea of a stocked communal kitchen where guests come together 🙂

      • tony
        February 1, 2016, 6:46 am

        where are you planning on building ? just wondering if anyone is doing anything in nys

      • Shari Davenport
        February 27, 2018, 7:33 pm

        That’s quite a construction aim! Sounds very inviting, along with an opportunity to prepare food and return to your own little Hobbit hole and enjoy in privacy. That would be quite important to many potential guests.
        That’s a real niche you’ve found to satisfy! I wish you much luck and success!

  • CharlotteMo
    December 22, 2015, 6:19 pm

    Love that door!

  • Mr. Lonnie
    December 22, 2015, 6:35 pm

    ouch, about $258.00 per night!

    • Shelly
      February 21, 2016, 2:46 am

      Sorry, Mr. Lonnie. I accidentally pressed “report comment,” when all I was trying to do was “comment!” So, here’s my comment: I am in complete agreement with you that $258. — for a one night ‘experience’ — is unreasonable, and not something Mr. Bilbo Baggins could’ve ever afforded!! (..And, without a kitchen??) …Not?

    • Ron
      February 27, 2018, 6:26 pm

      $258 dollars would be too much for me but it’s not unreasonable for a unique experience. On my way north to Maine every year I have to pay over $200 a night for a hotel room that is not nearly as nice as these.

  • MareM
    December 22, 2015, 7:13 pm

    Ooooooh, it’s a little house in the Shire! Love it. Did you see that wooden sink??? Wow.

  • Carol Perry
    December 22, 2015, 11:14 pm

    I just love all the architecture, she has done a wonderful job!! The stone fireplace is gorgeous!! The door & the windows are pretty cool!! I just love her lovely garden outside. She should have no problems renting that cute place!!

  • curt
    December 23, 2015, 11:25 am

    nice place- very cute- find it interesting that you started out with what amounts to a shoebox shaped structure. I could see a nice driftwood mantle.

  • Kate
    December 23, 2015, 6:21 pm

    I love the details added to this. A stick build though? I do want a sub terrain house because of tornado threat would be greatly reduced. Yesterday I found a site that has me thinking my dream could be realized. http://www.greenmagichomes.com/main.php

    • varenikje
      January 20, 2016, 8:30 pm

      Maybe I’m just a scaredy cat, but somehow those underground dwellings don’t look very tornado proof to me.

    • Kristie
      January 31, 2016, 2:58 pm

      I’ve reached out to this company a bunch of times, its a concept house & doesn’t look like they will ever actually be manufactured. All the images are computer generated. They are waiting for a big investor so that they might be able to actually build the tooling equipment necessary.

  • Art
    December 25, 2015, 12:25 am

    You done a very good job on your hobbit house

  • Theo
    December 25, 2015, 1:02 am

    No place to cook, or eat? Expensive bed and breakfast, except without the breakfast. I would toss that livestock water tank bathtub and substitute a shower. Too cutsie for me.

    • Nanimadrina
      December 29, 2015, 11:01 pm

      @Theo The tub has a shower head in the ceiling. No curtain needed. 🙂

  • Denise
    December 29, 2015, 8:06 am

    This is extremely clever and creative. I would like to know what that floor is made of – tree rounds? How was it done?

    • varenikje
      January 20, 2016, 8:59 pm

      Hmm… I put a link to a site that showed how to make a floor like that, but it didn’t show up here. I’m not sure why. But if you google something like “how to make a floor with tree rounds” then you will see something like that. Even Pinterest has some, apparently.

    • Kristie
      January 31, 2016, 2:56 pm

      Hi Denise,

      It’s a cordwood floor and there isn’t a lot of info on it and it may be the most tedious floor you can do! We made a jig and cut a bunch of different logs with a chopsaw (about 1200) then adhered them to the floor using heavy construction liquid nails. And regular tile grout in between.

  • Rue
    December 29, 2015, 4:35 pm

    This is a great proof-of-concept, even without a kitchen. If a bedroom and sitting room can be done, then surely it wouldn’t be a stretch to build a proper smial (if I’m recalling correctly) designed for permanent residence.

    The carpentry work in this is lovely. The bathroom alone is practically a work of a art.

  • varenikje
    January 20, 2016, 8:20 pm

    The Airbnb site says this: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort”

    Does look like a nice place to pack in your food for the day and relax.

  • Gabrielle Charest
    January 31, 2016, 11:58 pm

    Charming little place, great for a getaway!

  • Linda
    February 3, 2016, 10:36 am

    My all time favorite!!

  • Clayton
    July 6, 2016, 1:01 pm

    Absolutely outstanding! I would love to have Kristie build me one. I’m gonna be in the market to buy or build in the next few months and a home like this would be right up my ally.

  • Large Marge
    July 11, 2016, 7:24 pm

    Kristie,
    Did you build a patio between the hill and structure?
    These photographs indicate the home holds back the gravity-driven hill. Could this be accurate?

    We like the community kitchen concept. Let us know your completion date!

  • Kevin
    July 11, 2016, 9:46 pm

    How did you make the round walls and such out of a box?

    • August 17, 2016, 6:08 pm

      It’s hard to explain & it the framing was quite difficult because the roof is slanted towards the front door to mimic the hillside so I wasn’t working with equal measurements from back wall to front wall. Essentially I framed out what would look like a skateboard ramp, flipped it upside down & attached to the rafters. That was the most difficult. Then I sheet rocked it by a wetting quarter inch drywall & it just bent into shape 🙂

  • Carole
    July 11, 2016, 11:27 pm

    MMM,MMM,MMM – what a lovely little work of art! Wish you were building on the east coast, but I probably couldn’t afford one anyway.

  • Susanne
    November 13, 2016, 9:21 am

    I am always happy to see female builders!

    • Natalie
      November 14, 2016, 10:55 am

      Me too 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team

  • Jacquelyn
    November 13, 2016, 10:29 am

    I live the decor, well done. Maybe a microwave, hotplate and coffee maker? The thing that bothers me is the main door opening to the bedroom? I would not have made that particular choice. Otherwise a cute tiny house.

    • Jacquelyn
      November 13, 2016, 10:30 am

      I mean love not live, sorry lol

      • Natalie
        November 14, 2016, 10:55 am

        Yes the decor is splendid =) — Tiny House Talk Team

  • JC Wolfe
    November 13, 2016, 11:39 am

    Kristie: You are so talented!! These houses are amazing, just like the one you built in Hawaii. They are the most creative and tastefully done of any of the tiny houses I’ve seen. Hope to be seeing lots more of your creations!!

    • Natalie
      November 14, 2016, 10:56 am

      She does an amazing job 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team

  • Canyon Man
    November 13, 2016, 4:31 pm

    I like this a lot. Once the communal kitchen is completed it will be a very nice place to spend a few days and nights. Good luck with the endeavor.

    • Natalie
      November 14, 2016, 10:56 am

      Absolutely 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team

  • Lisa E
    November 13, 2016, 4:54 pm

    Wow. This lady is very talented at capturing the real feel of the Hobbit houses. She could go into business and help people who want to build one for themselves. She could also build a whole village of these (way kewl!); another type of Tiny House Village or use it for a Tiny House Motel for road weary travelers. In any event, she has created something special and wonderful.

    • Natalie
      November 14, 2016, 10:57 am

      Yes Lisa! I’d move there in a heart beat! — Tiny House Talk Team

  • jm
    November 14, 2016, 12:39 pm

    These aren’t too difficult to build. Contractors inflate huge bags and shotcrete concrete over the top. Remove bags when concrete hardens and backfill with dirt over top. (Yeah there’s more to it) But you can research and find the guys that can do it.

  • ZACHARY E. MOHRMANN
    November 14, 2016, 6:54 pm

    To each their own, everyone should indulge their obsession one time or another in their life…!

    • Shari D.
      February 27, 2018, 8:06 pm

      I agree! I have always been fascinated by jewelry. Having a jeweler for a grandfather likely fed that fascination. I learned a great deal from him, and more on my own. I’ve got quite a collection!

  • November 15, 2016, 10:15 am

    many winding.

  • Doreen smith
    March 14, 2017, 8:31 am

    I love this!!!! I love that one can build whatever they choose it seems in the northwest.
    I’m so envious of these alternate builds.
    Does the town know the structure is there and did she get approval? I know in the northeast it is so congested that we can’t fly under the radar …. and zoning doesn’t allow for anything alternative. I have an extra house lot however I can’t do what I please with it. It’s frustrating. A see a move in my future!!!

    • Natalie C. McKee
      March 14, 2017, 9:44 am

      Unfortunately flying under the radar can be dangerous! But there are places with no zoning laws, believe it or not, where you could get away with something like this.

      • Doreen smith
        March 18, 2017, 7:31 am

        Thanks. Flying under the radar could result in being asked formally through a letter or having one attached to your home and given 30 days to remove it. That’s annoying and frustrating and potentially heart breaking. But not dangerous. It s simply an apologize later situation. Ignorance of the law is a defense and it annoy breaking a law per say but violating a zoning ordinance. In some instances. If you are asked to leave and do not leave- then yes it could become a legal situation.

        The problem for me is this. My state robbed me of my pension. I need to continue to work for ten more years mortgage free so that I can save for retirement since my money (100k) was mismanaged etc. unfortunately there are no legal places that are commutable for me. When I retire, sure I would love to do it legally. But unless the laws change, here I am.

  • Eric
    January 28, 2023, 12:28 am

    As a Kiwi, where the Lord of the Rings was filmed… I can tell you this… these hobbit houses beat the pants off the shire in Matamata, that’s the town where the location was used. What you see is what you get. They are all external props, no internals at all.

    Although they are box type construction, they give you the look and feel of the actual props. Kudos to them.

    💖

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