Most vardos — the traditional bow-top gypsy wagon — are charming and almost unlivable. This one is different. Built by a master carpenter and boat builder in Eastern Washington, it packs a kitchenette, a four-person dinette, a full bathroom with shower and composting toilet, and a fixed queen bed into 104 square feet, and it does it without feeling like a trailer.
The boat-building background shows in the details that usually get skipped. It’s insulated well enough that a small oil-filled electric marine heater keeps it warm, with a mini wood stove as backup heat you can also cook on. There’s on-demand tankless propane hot water, a C-Head composting toilet, a refrigerator/freezer, and — genuinely rare at this size — a 40-gallon fresh water tank, so it can sit off hookups. There’s sleeping and storage space beneath the bed, and at roughly 5,000 lbs it tows easily; the owner brought it over the mountain pass from eastern to western Washington.
Editor’s note: this vardo was listed at $55,000 in Ferndale, Washington in late 2023 and has sold. We’ve kept the tour up because handcrafted builds like this are worth studying. Current listings are below.
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Inside a Boat Builder’s 104 Sq. Ft. Vardo
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
Welcome home! Here’s a full view of the space.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
The little kitchenette has a dorm fridge.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
You can seat four at the dinette.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
The wood stove provides heating, but there’s also a marine heater.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
The bathroom has a shower.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
And a composting toilet.
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
Handcrafted and truly unique!
Images via Tiny House Marketplace
Design Details
- Original asking price: $55,000 (2023, sold)
- Ferndale, Washington
- 104 square feet
- This gorgeous, one of a kind, handcrafted gypsy wagon was built by a master carpenter/boat builder in Eastern Washington.
- Extremely well insulated- a small oil filled electric heater keeps the space warm.
- On demand tankless propane hot water
- C- head composting toilet
- Shower
- Wood stove
- 40 gallon fresh water tank-It is very rare for a tiny house to have fresh water storage and oh so convenient.
- Refrigerator/freezer
- Comfy queen bed
- Dinette table that seats 4
- Sleeping/storage space under the bed
- Weight: approximately 5,000 lbs.
- Very easy to tow- I towed it over the mountain pass from eastern to western Washington.
- This unique tiny home feels like a real home instead of just a trailer on wheels.
- Beautiful craftsmanship and attention to detail.
What a Boat Builder Brings to a Tiny House
- Onboard water storage is the rarest feature here. A 40-gallon fresh tank means the wagon works anywhere you can park it, not just where there is a spigot.
- Two heat sources is boat thinking. An electric heater for hookups and a wood stove for everywhere else means you are never dependent on a single system.
- Five thousand pounds changes who can tow it. At this weight a half-ton truck or large SUV handles it, versus the heavy-duty rig a conventional THOW demands.
- Curves cost labor, not materials. The bow-top form that makes a vardo beautiful is almost entirely craftsmanship — which is what you are paying for.
Learn more:
Looking for Tiny Houses Currently For Sale?
This vardo sold in 2023. One-of-a-kind handcrafted builds don’t come up often, but here’s what’s on the market now.
Browse all current tiny houses for sale »
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Natalie C. McKee
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Wow what a beautiful specimen of this style wagon! Love the authentic center rooftop windows.
Just an FYI, the term gypsy is considered derogatory by some Romani people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people#Population_and_subgroups
Thanks Lantz! I am aware, which is why I didn’t use that term to describe the wagon. That said, I couldn’t change the way the seller described it.