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Boiceville Cottages is a village of about 140 brightly trimmed tiny houses, studios and loft cottages in Brooktondale, New York, in the hills about ten minutes from Cornell University and Ithaca College. Everything here is a rental: single-family, free-standing cottages on 12-month leases, built and managed by Bruno Schickel of Schickel Construction Co. It is not a bring-your-own-house community. It is a place to rent a small home with its own door, garden box and neighbors, without taking on the headaches of ownership.
The cottages range from a 540-square-foot studio up to a 1,170-square-foot gatehouse with two bedrooms and an office. They are small by most standards but bigger than the typical tiny house on wheels, which makes Boiceville a useful look at how a planned village of compact homes can work for students, faculty, families and seniors alike.
A Storybook Village Built Over Many Years
Bruno Schickel began designing and building Boiceville Cottages in 1996, inspired by the Barbara Cooney illustrations in Miss Rumphius, a children’s book he read to his daughters. The result is a neighborhood of steep gables, gingerbread trim and strong color: pink with yellow, green with tan, navy with butter yellow. According to the community, houses are grouped in trios with their own color identity, and each trio is staged in a pinwheel so that neighbors get privacy while still feeling part of a village.
That layout matters more than it might seem. Tiny houses usually fail socially when they are lined up like a parking lot. Turning each cottage slightly away from the next, with lawn and garden between them, gives a 600-square-foot home a sense of its own yard. The color helps too: with 140 homes, residents can find their way home by the color of the trim.
The Cottages: From Studio to Gatehouse
The community offers six unit types, all with a full kitchen, bath and a washer and dryer inside the home. According to the official site, the Studio Apartment is 540 square feet with a first-floor kitchen and living area and a bedroom up a pine staircase. The newer Tiny House 1 Bedroom plus loft is 650 square feet, with either a ladder or a staircase to a storage loft. The 1 Bedroom plus loft is 850 square feet with a vaulted living room, the Classic 2 Bedroom plus loft is 950 square feet, and the Spacious 2 Bedroom plus loft is 1,050 square feet with a 13-by-17-foot living room and a larger kitchen. At the top of the range, the Gatehouse is a 1,170-square-foot two-bedroom with a downstairs den or office, box bay windows, French doors to a patio and 1.5 baths.
Reading the unit list, the real lesson is how the footprint scales. The smaller units use compact appliances sized to the space, while the community points renters who want a full-size stove or refrigerator toward the larger floor plans. That is a practical tip for anyone shopping for a tiny home: appliance size is often the hidden dividing line between a house that feels workable and one that feels like a compromise.
Inside: Compact Kitchens and Wood Interiors
Interiors lean on warm pine trim, exposed beams and simple white cabinetry. The Tiny House unit has a small dishwasher, compact range and microwave under a window, with a ladder leading up to the loft. The larger cottages open up to kitchen islands, butcher-block surfaces and more counter space. According to the FAQ, the homes heat with a single small gas heating stove controlled by a living-room thermostat, with electric baseboard heat in the downstairs bedroom and bath, and the design relies on natural ventilation to cool in summer.
The Meeting House and Shared Spaces
Bruno built the Meeting House in 2012 as the community’s common room. It has a full kitchen, a TV, free Wi-Fi and a vaulted timber ceiling, and residents have free 24/7 access and can book it at no charge for gatherings. A small gym with exercise machines sits next door. Outside there are two small ponds with bridges, a nature trail, a playground, brass personal mailboxes, and a TCAT bus stop across from the Meeting House with routes to Cornell, Ithaca College, downtown Ithaca and around Tompkins County.
Shared space is what makes small homes livable at scale. A 650-square-foot cottage does not need a spare room if there is a place down the path to host a birthday party, work at a long table or run on a machine on a snowy day. Boiceville builds that idea into the plan rather than leaving it to chance.
Gardens, Ponds and Dog Parks
Each cottage comes with its own five-by-ten-foot garden box where residents can grow vegetables, herbs and flowers, and compost bins are placed around the property. Pets are welcome, with up to three animals per cottage and no pet deposit or monthly pet fee, per the community. There are two dog parks on site, and the community asks that all dogs be well behaved and get along with other dogs. The Boiceville team mows the lawns and plows the driveways, while residents shovel their own sidewalks.
The pet policy is unusually generous for rental housing and is a big part of the village’s appeal for dog owners, while the garden boxes give renters something they rarely get: a place to dig in without owning land.
Community Details
- Location: 301 Boiceville Road, Brooktondale, New York 14817, near Ithaca in the Finger Lakes region
- Size: about 140 tiny houses (the community says the build-out is complete)
- Type: rental cottages and apartments in a tiny-house style, not lots for your own home
- Unit sizes: Studio 540 sq ft, Tiny House 650, 1 Bedroom + Loft 850, Classic 2 Bedroom + Loft 950, Spacious 2 Bedroom + Loft 1,050, Gatehouse 2 Bedroom + Office 1,170
- Rent (as of November 2026, per the official FAQ and unit pages): starting at $1,695 per month for a studio, $1,895 for the Tiny House, $1,995 for the 1 Bedroom + Loft, $2,095 for the Classic 2 Bedroom, $2,295 for the Spacious 2 Bedroom and $2,395 for the Gatehouse. These are starting prices, and rent can be higher depending on the style, added features and the year the cottage was built
- Lease: 12-month leases only; security deposit equals one month’s rent; no sublets or early terminations; renewal notice requested at least four months before the lease ends
- Utilities: not included for electric, gas, internet and phone; the community says typical utilities run $100 to $125 per month; no trash, recycling, water or sewer fees
- Pets: up to three per cottage, no pet deposit or monthly pet fee, two dog parks
- Included amenities: washer and dryer in each unit, 5×10 ft garden box, Meeting House with kitchen and Wi-Fi, small gym, playground, ponds, trail, compost
What Makes This Community Special
- Real houses, not apartments in a block: every unit is a free-standing or small-building cottage with its own entrance, which suits people who want a house feel without buying one.
- A range of sizes: from a 540-square-foot studio to a 1,170-square-foot two-bedroom, so a single renter, a couple or a family can find a fit.
- Design as a feature: the color, trim and pinwheel layout were planned by the builder, who also manages the community.
- Dog-friendly: three pets, no pet fees and two dog parks is rare.
- Close to Ithaca and the universities: about ten minutes to Cornell and Ithaca College, with a bus stop in the village.
- Know the limits: utilities are separate, leases are 12 months with no subletting, and the lease page mentions a waitlist, so plan ahead.
Learn More
- Official site and unit pages: boicevillecottages.com
- Prices and FAQ: boicevillecottages.com/faq
- Rental inquiries: boicevillecottages.com/rental-inquiry, 607-351-8202, hello@boicevillecottages.com
- Press coverage: Inside New York’s hidden tiny-home community (Good Good Good)
- Sister community: the same developer also runs La Bourgade on Seneca, a tiny house rental community in Burdett overlooking Seneca Lake.
Highlights
- About 140 rental tiny houses and loft cottages near Ithaca, New York
- Six floor plans from 540 to 1,170 square feet
- Built by Schickel Construction Co. beginning in 1996
- Meeting House, gym, ponds, playground and garden boxes
- Up to three pets per home with no pet fees
- 12-month leases only
Explore More
- Tiny House Vacation Village Near Woodstock, New York
- Cottages at Timber Crest: A Wooded Tiny Home Community in Bean Station, Tennessee
- Creek Walk Cottages: A Wooded Tiny Home Community on South Carolina’s Swamp Rabbit Trail
- More tiny house communities
Would you rent a storybook cottage in a village like this? Tell us in the comments.
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Alex
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