Tiny Houses are trending, popping up all over the world and are an increasingly popular choice for Bed and Breakfast accommodation. The designs are often innovative and modern, smart and resourceful. We have long loved browsing them online and watching others create them on YouTube, but we wanted to know what it was like to stay in a tiny house.
Welcome to our well-anticipated stay at Tiny Love Getaways.
What’s it like to stay in a tiny house?
If you’re looking for tiny house accommodation, within an hour of Sydney’s CBD, Tiny Love Getaways is the treasure you’re looking for. Located on the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) there are no city lights, just the amber glow of the tiny home and a million stars.
Your hosts, Luke and Lisa, live in a beautiful homestead overlooking a stunning property, blissfully nestled away from the hustle and bustle of city life at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Embracing a mix of rocky hillside and open paddocks, family life is rich with three little ones and a small brood of friendly, curious farm animals.
Tranquilic, and a short stone’s throw from the city lights, their paradise has long been ripe for a getaway. Brimming with hospitality, Luke and Lisa have spent a year building the sweetest of escapes: ‘Tiny Love Getaways‘.
Something most guests won’t know is Luke and Lisa’s first home was a tiny detached, one-bedroom granny flat, hidden amongst the sheds of a poultry farm. With its petite open-plan layout and one small bedroom with ensuite, you could say it was a tiny home!
Used to living in small spaces and from the back of their 4WD camping through the outback, the couple know how to put luxury into the tiniest of places.
Hotel-quality linen, warm lighting, timber touches and broad, unobstructed windows that lead you to the view; their first partially off-grid tiny eco house is an oasis.
Tiny Home Getaways is located along the Colo River, just 20 minutes on the other side of Winsdor NSW, towards Putty in the Hawkesbury. A straightforward 40-minute trip for us coming from near the Hills District, NSW.
Driving out mid-morning, avoiding the traffic, we enjoyed the increasingly pretty and rural landscape that begins to cascade around you the closer you get to Colo.
Desperate for a quiet Sydney escape, we drove with the windows down to let the air, the trees and the overcast day drift into our car and kick-start our tiny house holiday.
Luke provided excellent instructions about our arrival, and it made finding the property a breeze. We parked under a canopy of gum trees and carried our cargo up the stairs to the tiny home.
There is a driveway for direct access that you can easily request, so don’t let the stairs and luggage intimidate you. We were happy to carry our things up into the trees and away from our busy life.
This partially-off grid tiny house is styled immaculately. The tones and textures are welcoming and modern. A personal note and fresh farm eggs greeted us inside, along with the quaintest jar filled with Anzac biscuits – the perfect Aussie welcome!
It was spotlessly clean with thoughtful touches like outdoor games and comfortable chairs for sitting by the fire.
And then there were the views…
Oh! That setting.
Shining uniquely through every window.
Outside is a mix of rainforest and gum tree bushland. It smells fresh and is instantly relaxing. A variety of birds each sing their own song which seems to be in harmony with each other and the breeze.
If you stay at Tiny Love Getaways, you will have a fantastic retreat.
Tiny homes are small. That’s their unique selling point. They have everything you need, like in a regular home, just on a smaller scale. Did we notice the size difference? Yes. It’s a tiny space! Was it an issue? No. It was an experience that we would do again in a heartbeat.
The feel of this tiny house is modern and peaceful. It has all the benefits of camping – open air, campfire, stillness and solitude, without the effort or exposure to the elements.
Luke and Lisa’s home is a short walk from the Tiny House but you can’t see or hear it. So you always have access to the hosts if you need them but otherwise, you’re completely independent.
The driveway is shared by several other locals, and occasionally a ute might tumble past, but other than that, it’s just you and the view.
Free from the noises of city life.
Tiny house accomodation
Facilities
Staying in a tiny house is like any other holiday stay in either a hotel suite or small cabin. Everything you need is provided. Here there is a kitchen, kitted out for cooking and eating. A bathroom with shower, vanity, toilet and complimentary soaps and balms, a queen bed, bar tables and stools.
That’s the glorious inside.
Let’s talk ‘outside’ for a moment.
There is a deck with a built-in bar overlooking the paddock and we ate here, watching the view, most of the time.
We also spent a lot of time by the fire pit and I cooked sourdough damper and bread for the first time over an open fire!
The campfire was particularly cathartic for me (MJ). When I was a child, we camped each school holidays as a family and they are really happy memories. A campfire was always the heartbeat of our campsite. We’d cook, read, talk, play and entertain; spending hours, day and night by its embers.
Sitting by a fire again brought so much peace. The smoky crackle and calming flicker was home for me.
Another unique feature of this Tiny house stay, and piece of total luxury, is the bath.
A fully functioning, full-sized spa bath with massage jets. And… need I repeat myself? Yes. I need to. With an incredible view.
Cleverly built into the deck, so you can use it or hide it away, this little gem is genius.
Did we use it? You can answer that! 😉
Partially Off-Grid
Tiny Love getaways is connected to Mains power but you’ll be using fresh rainwater from the tank (filtered) and there is no sewage. I knew the Tiny Home had a composting eco-toilet, before our stay, and was both curious and anxious about how it worked.
Can I just say? Anxiety was rather unnecessary.
The composting eco-toilet was easy. It functions, just like a regular toilet, only all your business is done sitting down. (Sorry guys!)
There is a reason for this however. The clever, built-in lid self-closes when no weight has been applied to the toilet seat. This means the toilet stays sealed when not in use. Sitting down, automatically opens the waste basin without needing to touch anything. You do your business but you don’t flush. That’s the only difference. You add a scoop or two of shavings to the toilet bowl and voila. You’re done!
I thought it was going to be tricky business but it found it pleasantly uncomplicated. I liked the absolute quiet of a zero-flush toilet – you never hear a rush of water re-filling the cistern. It was still and quiet. And for me, it added to the gentleness of this city escape.
Let me be clear, just incase you too have any hesitation – it’s an actual toilet, not a pit, and it’s inside the bathroom, inside the tiny home. Just like you use at home. You just don’t flush it, you use a scoop of wood chips instead of water which are provided.
The kitchen
The only thing we found ‘tiny’ about this tiny house is the kitchen. But let’s face it when you’re escaping for the weekend for some R&R and somewhere quaint and relaxing like this, surrounded by nature and rest, do you really want to cook a storm (and deal with the cleanup?)
There is an excellent gas stove, frying pan and saucepan. Utensils, spray oil – all things you need to prepare some simple nourishment.
There isn’t a lot of bench space so you might find yourself putting things on the bar table behind you for extra room. There are two small fridges which provide ample space for several days; a kettle and toaster plus coffee and tea provisions too. We did take our own coffee machine. Well, that’s because that’s what we do. 😉
What to bring
The Tiny House is ready the moment you arrive.
Linen, towels and toiletries are provided.
There is also firewood for your stay (as well as matches/a lighter). If it’s summer you may need to check for any restrictions on lighting the fire.
BRING:
– Food or be prepared to drive 15-20 minutes. There is a cafe 5 minutes away for breakfast Not open over New Years)
– Toiletries that you can’t live without
– Walking shoes that are sturdy and not precious. Better still, they slip on so you can put them on and off again easily (leaving them at the door of your quiet escape). It’s not a house rule, but if it’s wet, there can be mud. When it’s dry, there can be dust.
– A warm jacket
– Your bathing costume if you want to use the spa
– Marshmellows for the fire!
Things to do
The guest book inside the tiny home has a list of places to visit, as well as local restaurants and experiences to enjoy.
You could catch up on reading, study in the quiet or write that book you haven’t gotten around to writing.
It’s a wonderful place for nature photographers, bird watchers, artists and anyone needing some fresh air.
We’re foodies, so we cooked sourdough bread on the campfire for the first time and had a go at inventing sourdough damper. I brought the bread dough already mixed and rising but for the damper – I measured and mixed the dry ingredients at home. I brought that with us in a snap lock bag so all I had to do was add the milk. You can make anything easy!
We also did a lot of walking and exploring, climbing the mountain behind the tiny home and walking several kilometres along the dirt roads. It was magical. The bush changed so often. Parts of it felt like a rainforest that had transported us to Lord of The Rings, and metres away we were in the quintessential Australian bush – a sunny, bushy landscape thriving on rocky soil.
Staying in this tiny house was a beautiful and refreshing experience. The small space forced us to spend time outside and welcomed us to cuddle and read inside at other times. This tiny home eco-stay is for a couple (or two friends who are happy to share a queen bed!) who want to spend time being present. Present to the gummy rainforest, present to the crackling fire, present to the sunset and present to conversation and time together all with the luxury of home, tiny-house style.
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