I persuaded my roommates to spend 2 nights with me in a tiny home. By the end, we couldn't wait to have our own rooms back.
I spent two nights at WeeCasa Tiny House Resort, one of the world's largest tiny-home resorts.
I packed my bags to stay with two friends in a 212-square-foot house at the Colorado resort for $179/night.
The stay was great, but by the end I was happy to head back to a house with a bit more privacy.
Tiny-home villages are popping up all over the country. Just an hour away from my home in Denver is the WeeCasa Tiny House Resort - the world's largest, according to its website.
Source: WeeCasa Tiny House Resort
In September, I persuaded my roommate and a friend who was staying with us to spend two nights in one of the resort's small homes.
The property in Lyons, Colorado, is made up of 22 rentable tiny houses. Each house has a different builder and designer, so the homes vary in layout, size, and decor.
The smallest home at the resort is 165 square feet. Its largest sleeps six in 418 square feet.
I opted to stay in a tiny home called Juniper, a 212-square-foot house that sleeps four people.
As we were packing the car for the trip, I started to question whether all our luggage would fit into our tiny home.
But we hoped for the best and piled into my car. In just over an hour, we reached our destination.
After checking in, we drove through the WeeCasa resort. Some homes were colorful with windows while others had a modern flair, and I was surprised by how distinct each tiny home could be.
After seeing other tiny houses, I debated whether I should have picked a larger one. Would 212 square feet be enough for three people? Would I miss my more spacious home back in Denver?
As we reached the house, I also worried there would be little privacy from our neighbors.
Each home was sandwiched into a plot of land not much bigger than the tiny house itself. If our neighbors were loud, I thought, we'd probably hear them. (Thankfully our neighbors weren't noisy, but we later heard people walking around outside.)
We stepped into the tiny house and found there wasn't much room for privacy inside, either.
Besides the bathroom door, the tiny house was one open room sectioned into a living area, kitchen area, and lofted bedroom space.
When you first stepped in, you entered the living-room area, which also functioned as a bedroom for two people.
The couch was a twin-sized daybed. Underneath was a trundle bed for another person.
Behind the living room and along one wall of the tiny house was a countertop with a stove, toaster, sink, and seating for one person.
Along the opposite wall was a staircase with cubbies for storage.
In the cubbies there was a minifridge and a microwave.
At the back of the house, there was a bathroom that fit a standard toilet, sink, and shower.
Above the bathroom and kitchen areas was a lofted bedroom, which had a queen-sized mattress and a small bedside table.
Since the ceiling was slanted, there were parts of the loft where I couldn't fully sit up, which was fine since I planned to only sleep in the loft.
You could nearly touch both walls of the tiny house, but it surprisingly didn't feel cramped. The tall ceilings and ingenious storage hacks helped make Juniper feel much larger than 212 square feet.
For example, if the trundle bed had been just a centimeter longer, it wouldn't have fit with the dresser.
Even the dresser was sized for a tiny house.
And thankfully, all our luggage easily fit into the staircase's storage space.
With our luggage stored away, we explored the rest of the resort.
After a walk on WeeCasa's property, we made it back to our tiny house just after sunset. Before going to bed, we planned how the three of us were going to work in one space.
Back in Denver, we're fortunate to have ample workspace in our 1,200-square-foot house. The three of us can rotate our work stations among desks, a bar, a dining-room table, and a couch. In the tiny house, options were limited.
Luckily the outdoors could also be our office at WeeCasa.
We agreed to all split up our workdays at the bar, daybed, and an outside picnic table.
After a successful night and workday in the tiny house, we weren't sick of one another just yet. So we headed into town for dinner.
Lyons' main street was a five-minute walk away. We loved having access to both nature and a quaint town just a short distance from the tiny-house resort.
After more time together, we decided it was time for bed. Typically I could scroll on TikTok or turn on a light to read before bed. But at the tiny home, I didn't want to disturb Ceci or Katie, and a part of me craved some solitude.
Two nights felt like the ideal amount of time for sharing a tiny house with two friends. By the end of the trip, I was happy to be heading home to my own bed - and a door that I could close.
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