There’s been a lot of talk about simplifying lifestyles and downsizing in recent years. At the same time, Americans value “design” more than ever, from hotels to kitchen appliances to electronics. In some cases these two trends have converged, and the result has been a notable increase in options for high concept, efficient but stylish predesigned architectural “tiny homes.” While some devoted minimalists live tiny full time, for traditional homeowners, some of these more luxurious models are perfect for low maintenance second (or third or fourth) homes in the form of vacation cabins and cottages. It’s easier than ever before to buy a plot of land in the desert, mountains, lakeside, rugged coast or thick forest and plop down a delivered, fully featured turnkey cabin of your dreams.
One of the leaders in this field has been Wheelhaus, a Wyoming-based manufacturer of luxury mini-homes whose motto is “Living Large With Less.” Its models start at just $82,000 yet have high-end features like stainless steel kitchen appliances, porches, gas fireplaces and walk-in showers with multiple jets, while being extremely energy efficient and using enough reclaimed and sustainable materials to meet the highest possible LEED Gold building standards. Featured in an article in The Country’s Best Cabins magazine, Wheelhaus owner Jamie Mackay described them as “the BMW of the tiny house movement,” adding that, “It’s architecture, full timber-framed roof system and top-of-the-line fixtures and materials.” Here at Forbes.com, Wheelhaus was written up in an Erin Carlyle article entitled “Ultra-Posh Tiny Homes.”
I’m not currently in the vacation home market, but I write about travel and lodging and great experiences, and one of my favorite places on earth is Jackson, WY, a world class destination summer or winter. It is home to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, a charming Old West town, great golf, top tier fly fishing, all sorts of outdoor adventures, and one of the undisputed great ski areas in the world, the famed Jackson Hole Mountain resort (read my feature on this epic ski resort here).
What’s novel about Jackson is that it is also home to the unique Fireside Resort, an upscale enclave at the Jackson Hole Campground, which went and bought twenty three assorted Wheelhaus homes (they make eight models, some of which are modular and combinable/expandable). The resort rents them out nightly as vacation cabins under vast skies and mountain vistas in the gorgeous Teton wilderness, yet sits just minutes from downtown Jackson and Grand Teton National Park. The concept is the best of both worlds: a cool and unique way to vacation in a beautiful setting or the chance to test drive your potential vacation home in advance and make sure you really love it - or both. The Fireside units are pet friendly and all have gas fireplaces, feature European goose down duvets, flat screens and WiFi. If you do stay at the resort and decide to buy, Wheelhaus will cover your trip.
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