This tiny house is one of a kind. It’s a rustic mushroom-shaped cabin in the Aptos in Santa Cruz, California.
It’s beautiful and surrounded by nature. Looks really peaceful. It’s shaded by Oak and Madrone trees and right next to a Redwood grove. The best part of all… You can rent a few nights in it if you wanted to.
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Famous Tiny Mushroom Dome Cabin in Aptos, CA
Photos courtesy of Kitty and Michael
There is a large deck outside to enjoy the natural view plus there are multiple acres to hike around in.
On the main floor, there’s a futon, kitchenette with hotplates, a small refrigerator, toaster, blender, and coffee machine.
There are two tables for meals and games–one inside and one on the deck outside.
There is a gorgeous little bathroom with shower, nice tile, sink, and a regular flush toilet.
The cabin’s loft is under a geodesic dome with a double-sized bed.
Less than 10 minutes away is Aptos Village where there are stores, a theater, restaurants, and grocery stores.
The beach is about ten minutes away. San Francisco is an hour and a half away.
Photos courtesy of Kitty and Michael
=> Tiny Mushroom Dome Cabin Tour Part 2.
Learn more about the Tiny Mushroom Dome Cabin in the Aptos:
Book on Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8357
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Alex
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What a great little gem to find in my own backyard!!! That reminds me i have a treehouse in the making with the same idea in mind. I've never bothered to count how many redwoods we have by the creek on our property but it sure makes a perfect place here in the redwoods and minutes to the beach in Aptos.
Hey Arlos,
We all would love to check out the making of your tree house if you are able to share. Sounds like a wonderful place to live. Are you building it close to the creek?
I would absolutely love to share the process of designing and building this. We have over 1/4 acre That is back by a creek and about 1 mile to the ocean. This was the former site of the CLaus Spreckles Polo Field. A horse barn used to set on our property and a few of the boards can still be found among the redwoods. The grove in particular that I'm considering building in is a ring of about 35 ft in diameter which means the tree that spawned these was about 35' is diameter and harvested right after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake like much of the old growth forests in northern california.
I'll start photographing this to document the process which is going to go hand in hand with being key speaker at a green expo in Santa Cruz, Ca this sept on the future of sanitation. a subject that always has it's challenges in a tree house.
I would absolutely love to share the process of designing and building this. We have over 1/4 acre That is back by a creek and about 1 mile to the ocean. This was the former site of the CLaus Spreckles Polo Field. A horse barn used to set on our property and a few of the boards can still be found among the redwoods. The grove in particular that I'm considering building in is a ring of about 35 ft in diameter which means the tree that spawned these was about 35' is diameter and harvested right after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake like much of the old growth forests in northern california.
I'll start photographing this to document the process which is going to go hand in hand with being key speaker at a green expo in Santa Cruz, Ca this sept on the future of sanitation. a subject that always has it's challenges in a tree house.
I just found out about this great site from someone staying in our Mushroom Dome Cabin who told me they found us on this website! Thanks for the links!
If anyone is interested in building their own Mushroom Dome Cabin, you can buy a kit from Econ-O-Dome. You can find them on the net at [email protected] or call them at 888-dome-luv (888-366-3588).
The Mushroom Dome (the ground floor) is only 100sq feet so you don’t need a building permit.
The toilet that we installed in our bathroom is a ceramic boat toilet that uses only 1.25 cups per flush. It is a direct drop into a 5 gal. bucket which strains the waste (we don’t add toilet paper): the waste water goes into a composting bog and the solids get buried once a month in our woods. It works great.
BTY, my husbands name is Michael, not Mich.
Thanks
Hi Kitty, so glad that a viewer ended up there because of this post. How awesome! Thanks for telling us more about the kit, I had no idea there was one available. And I fixed Michael’s name. 🙂
My husband and I stayed here in July for our honeymoon! It was soo perfect and relaxing and peaceful to be out in the woods. We love the idea of tiny houses and plan to move into one of our own soon!
Love it, I receive the tiny house newsletter and this was a link on the bottom of the page. Was just looking at the kit a few days ago. The kit price’s are very resonable. Love the little place, nice work!
Hi!
I was curious as to how you roofed the dome. Did you apply tar paper on the wood, or over foam? Are the large sheets asphalt? It is very interesting and have not seen anything like it. Thanks, John
Love to see something like this in Australia.
Needs more windows.
Alex,
What are they doing exactly for their power source and water?
I enjoy looking at all the different type of tiny house that people have designed, built and now live in.
I am currently thinking about this type of living for retirement as I do not want the overhead.
The question I have is how they were able to obtain a permit to use them in the different cities, county’s and states they live in.
SO great! We built a 40′ diameter dome home in Kansas City, Missouri years ago and can attest that they make great homes. (The house previous to that one was in-ground, which wasn’t as nice.)
What an incredibly beautiful little dwelling. The only thing to rival its beauty is of course, the surrounding area. I admire the way this little mushroom house is ‘Frank Lloyed Wright-ed’ into the landscape so that it complements it and vice-verse. I’d stay here in a heart beat. And Santa Cruz? A very cool place. 🙂
I love this! The round ones are my favorite as the shape is so peaceful to be in. I just don’t get why so many of these airbnb’s are being featured. Seems like free advertising.
I’d rent this if I were going to Aptos. Totally beautiful inside. Exterior looks like it sprouted from the ground it sits on. Overall effect is quite awesome. Is the rent about the same as renting a hotel room? I didn’t see any rental price listed for it. I like that there’s a variety of rentals and for sale tiny homes included in here. Even if I am not in the area. Gives me good ideas for fixing up my own mini house same as if it were lived in by the builder. Thanks for keeping them coming, Alex!
There is a link to Airbnb in the above description. The price they listed was $115.00 per night, plus they have a lot more pictures.
There used to be suppliers of fittings for these geo-homes. Used to be a big thing…buckminster fuller and all that… However, just by cutting many similar pieces of wood, and those special fittings, one can easily make his own dome. Just need a place to store everything while you are cutting all those pieces and assembling. Might be helpful to rent a crane for day. They are actually very strong and a snow load makes them even stronger.
Very cool…! And another great design for tiny house living I would love to see more of, like the dome house made from concrete and a giant balloon which they wrap wire framing around and shoot concrete on it to create it’s structure….! Some are really big too….!
There is a company in Florida (Melbourne) that has been making dome kits for a long time. They have a unique product compared to most of the other dome kits I’ve seen. Also, being right beside Rockledge, Fl. they are quite aware of the tiny movement & are making products for that specific market as well now also. I do not know anyone at this business nor have I done any business with them. I’m planning a trip there in the near future to see what they have to offer (tours available).
For longevity, durability, storm resistance, ease/quickness of construction, etc. I think people wanting to build small on their own property may want to give these domes a hard look.
Also, Florida building codes allow one to build a really small structure (300 sq ft +/-). This # is not spelled out anywhere. You have to take the time to read the codes. The problems arise due to county/city laws requiring much larger structures to keep the tax roles high. If society could get behind one thing, it should be changing this assault on our personal liberties.
Once built a round sports facility that had a fabric roof held down by steel cables. A blower kept the air pressure necesary to keep it inflated. Had a gas-operated backup electric generator in case the power went out. During winter the interior temp had to be over eighty degrees to melt any snow that accumulated. Unfortunately…it was built a little too North…
However, I wonder if anyone ever tried this for a residence.