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This is Roberta’s small cottage in San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica.

She bought the house sight unseen, later remodeled it, and has been living there since 2015. Not long after settling in, she built a tiny house (casita or ‘cabina’) on the property as well! She now rents that out on Airbnb for additional income. You can learn about her casita and how it was built, on this post.

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Here’s What Her Small Cottage Looks Like Today

And this is what it looked like when she purchased it sight unseen, before customizing and remodeling it.

Today, her cottage is completely customized. Enjoy the tour. 🙂

It’s a 600-sq.-ft. Tico-style house.

What are your thoughts on Roberta’s life in Costa Rica? Seems nice, doesn’t it?

Highlights

Roberta purchased a small cottage in Costa Rica sight unseen and moved there in 2015.
She remodeled the cottage and added a tiny house (‘casita’ or ‘cabina’) on the property.
The tiny house is rented out on Airbnb for additional income.
The main cottage is a 600-sq.-ft. Tico-style home.
Roberta utilizes Trusted House Sitters for her travel needs.

Learn more

Alex

Alex Pino is the founder of Tiny House Talk, a leading resource on tiny homes and simple living since 2009. He helps readers discover unique homes, connect with builders, and explore alternative living.

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6 comments

What a beautiful place is Costa Rica! And the house fits beautifully among all the flowers and greenery. It’s lovely!

Eric says:

September 21, 2021 at 7:13 pm

It’s a beautiful place but poverty is rife, hence to wrought iron over all the windows.

Done up beautifully though. Think I’d rather stay there than the air-bnb.

Reply
1. James D. says:
  
  September 21, 2021 at 10:53 pm
  
  Well, not sure that applies to this part of Costa Rica, as the area this is in is stated to offer the best of Costa Rica, in terms of scenery, flora and fauna, climate, tropical beaches, and personal safety.
  
  Generally, poverty isn’t the only reason for wrought iron or cast iron facades, depending on country there’s also age old traditions and can also be a popular architectural detail, especially if ornate and not just simple bars.
  
  Cast iron, especially, was used in both commercial buildings and private residences for many reasons.
  
  First, it was an inexpensive means to reproduce ornate facades, such as Gothic, Classical, and Italianate, which became the most popular designs imitated. Countries like Spain you’ll find it’s pretty wide spread…
  
  Second, mass producible, with elaborate designs that could be assembled rapidly on a construction site or entire buildings could be constructed in one place and shipped all over the world.
  
  Third, it was a natural extension of the industrial revolution. Adding steel to traditional construction in various ways. The cast-iron facades were also thought to be fireproof, which in the states provided a new type of building construction to address the new fire regulations after devastating fires like the Great Chicago fire of 1871.
  
  However, it can be argued it has been overused and not everyone is a fan but other benefits like improved home security, which can also apply to dealing with wildlife and not just local crime, are among the list of reasons, like they can be another way to make a home more resistant to storm damage, to consider them…
  
  So there could be other reasons why that detail is there…
  
  Reply