A tiny house festivus for the rest of us! Well, not exactly, but I had the fun opportunity to attend my very first THOW (tiny house on wheels) Festival at Avondale Estates, GA last month. After joining several social media groups for THOWs and tiny lifestyles, I stumbled across the MicroLife Institute’s event and signed up immediately. Since Atlanta is only about a 2-hr ride from Birmingham, I couldn’t miss the opportunity! I would also now have to find a tiny house to stay in (keeping with the theme).

AirBnB never disappoints so I have been using them primarily to book our tiny house adventures. There are sites out there that focus on just “unique” stays, but I find AirBnB to be user friendly and legit while some of the other sites seem hit and miss to me – but to each his own. I found Dan’s Atlanta Escape in Decatur, GA. It was a good price (I only needed to spend 2 nights) and the house itself looked adorable!

As usual, the directions and google maps led me right to the home – at first it wasn’t clear that renters were allowed to park in the driveway (that wasn’t indicated on the site), so I parked on the street and the person renting the house on the same lot showed me where the “THOW” guests park. He was so nice, and I kind of liked knowing there was a person nearby in case I needed back-up (I watch a lot of weird movies that start out with this exact scenario so it’s just my thing). Parked on a privately owned lot smack dab in residential central, it was almost too residential (little bit of a drive to really get anywhere). They did a great job with the landscaping which I appreciated. There was a nice lighted path and walkway leading right up to the door. This trip would start my “luck” with opening tiny house doors.

After about 5 tries, I re-read the check-in directions and opted to unlock the physical key box and not use the electronic keypad. It was great they had a back-up (not all places do), so I only had to text the contact to tell them I had issues with the lock and would be using the key. They were so nice and it worked out just fine. Upon entering the tiny house – I just fell in love with the entire concept all over again. This particular home originally looked like it was more RV style. Kind of a “one-room” deal without a stove or full kitchen. There was a TV, a great shower and the bed was super comfy. I definitely appreciated the option of the additional pullout bed but so far the custom made couches for tiny houses are wicked uncomfortable. I couldn’t even really sit on this couch to watch TV (luckily the bed is an inch away). I loved the all natural wood/pine walls, ceilings and floors – it just embodied the entire concept of minimalist design (almost a bit too much for my personal taste) – didn’t feel quite as homey as I know our THOW would feel. Then again – this was and still is way better than staying in hotels and I’ll book a tiny house anytime I can over a hotel any day.

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The pocket lights and “internal” blinds (the ones that are installed between the window panes) are my new favorite MUST haves in our tiny house. I was obsessed with opening and closing them. I’m sure the neighbors thought I was practicing morse code or something. I didn’t love cubby holes behind my head where a headboard should be and the bathroom sink was so tiny I’m not even sure why it was there – but it was so much fun staying there – and there was also the festival!

After a restful night in the THOW, I headed to the tiny house festival around 10AM the next morning. It was wicked cold – and windy – and rained. Parking wasn’t too bad, I got pretty lucky. There were vendors with food, but I think the weather prevented some companies from attending, because there were supposed to be about 20 houses to tour – and there were only about five. That didn’t dampen my spirits! I was dressed warm and waited in the very long lines talking with other THOW lovers. Most were just interested in looking out of curiosity, a few lifers were there to offer expertise, and then there were a handful of “mes” – people just learning and loving the idea of going tiny. I listened to the solar power speech which interested me, but the guy had an agenda different from providing power for THOWS so it wasn’t super specific. There was a converted bus called The Eldon which was for sale at about $57k, it reminded me of the Partridge family bus only much smaller. Super cute, but definitely want a home if paying a price that steep, not a decked out bus – but it was really cool. There was a generic van retro-fitted out with a pullout bed!

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The two homes on display that were closest to what we would want and need for our THOW were both built by Hummingbird Tiny Housing. The first is the model named The Jasper, which is used only for AirBnb rentals (as are most of their models). The main issue I had with this model was the same as most – the loft bedroom being too low to really accommodate a real lifestyle for me and my man who have limited ability to climb into our bed every night – and I’d also really like to not break my neck sitting up in the middle of the night (and has NO ONE thought about how to have sex in a loft bed…hmmmmm? That’s not happening….).

Their next house was generously shared with the public but was privately owned by a female veteran! The best way to describe the Rosebud was it was like a split level THOW. The main living area is awesome, but up in the gooseneck/loft area there is a step up bathroom AND master bedroom that you can stand in and actually walk around. I am not sure of the requirements and codes for driving a house like this down the street but it felt like it would be too big for a normal truck to pull (which is a downside for me). I don’t want to move our tiny house every month or anything – but I do like the idea of “easily” moving it when we need to – otherwise what’s the point? This home was gorgeous though, and felt like a home, which reiterated my faith that tiny living is going to be awesome for us. Before coming into this house, I noticed a young guy who was actually looking at the house set-ups like me in great detail, so I waved him up in front of me in line so we could chat and we talked about some of our thoughts on the THOWS and what we hope to do. There is definitely a community out there!

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I signed my name to a list for a contest to stay in a THOW made by Hummingbird Tiny Housing – a few days later when I got home they would call me and tell me I had won a stay in the Royal Iris! (That ended up being my birthday getaway – story coming next!). I saw everything there was to see at the festival, spoke to everyone and decided not to go back the second day, but instead explored Atlanta. I “cleaned” up the tiny house and checked-out (such an easy process), it was a wonderful little Atlanta Escape. I truly hope to attend more THOW festivals in the future (hopefully even display our tiny house at one someday!). For now, the next step is going to be finding a first parking “home” for the THOW – and moving towards more detailed and serious talks with builders.

This process is going to take time, but once all the pieces fall into place hopefully it will manifest fairly quickly. I am really looking forward to the adventures this lifestyle is bringing. Next story to come: The Royal Iris in Mentone, AL.