I don’t think I’ve shared this with very many people outside my immediate family, but I am a big fan of tiny houses. I have been watching shows about tiny houses for a few years now, starting with Tiny House Nation, Tiny House World, and more recently, Tiny Luxury. The main reason I love tiny homes is because of the clever use of space. I’m always amazed at the innovative storage ideas, or how people pare down their belongings to just the essentials. A lot of those ideas came in handy when we moved to Arizona, and we have storage ottomans everywhere!
I have never been in a tiny home before, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard about the “Tiny Home Street of Dreams” at this year’s Maricopa County Home Show at Westworld in Scottsdale! While The Home Show has many great exhibits, vendors and activities, I have to say that my main focus was to experience everything I could about their tiny homes exhibitors. I’m so happy my husband agreed to indulge the tiny home fangirl in me and accompany me to the Maricopa County Home Show!
We currently live in Mesa, so while the drive to Scottsdale isn’t that long, I wanted to get an early start. We grabbed breakfast on the way to Westworld, and arrived 30 minutes before the gates opened. My goal was to get to the “Tiny Homes Street of Dreams” early because I wasn’t sure of how popular the exhibit would be, and I’m so glad we did! Once we made it through all the tiny homes, we looked back at the line and it tripled in size! While we didn’t get to spend too much time in each tiny home, it really didn’t take much to get through them, and I took as many pictures as I could!
Uncharted Tiny Homes
The very first tiny home we went in was with Uncharted Tiny Homes, from their Adventure Series called The Outpost. It was definitely more appropriate for outdoor adventures, perfect to take camping. But they had two other tiny homes nearby called The Limited and The Mansion Elite. I really liked the flow of the The Mansion Elite because the kitchen was separated from the bathroom/laundry room. I often see bathrooms and kitchens in the same area in tiny homes, but The Mansion Elite had them on opposite sides. After looking at their site, I would have loved to see a model from The Flat because it looks like there is an option for the bedroom to be private and on the floor level instead of a loft.
AZ Container Dwellings
The next tiny house on the tour was from AZ Container Dwellings. I have to say, one tiny home that I always had a hard time wrapping my head around was ones made from shipping containers. I think it’s the size that really confounds me because it seems like not much can fit inside. But the one from AZ Container Dwellings seemed to be quite happily situated like a studio flat. I could imagine this more like a mobile office space, where you could see a client and then stay the night if needed.
Cavco Park Models and Cabins
The largest of the tiny homes was actually a brand new model that was unveiled at the Maricopa County Home Show from Cavco Park Models and Cabins called The Veranda. It had a wrap around porch, full sized appliances in the kitchen, a distinguishable dining and living area, a good sized bath, and the loft had actual stairs.
My only hesitation with a loft is the headroom. After having gone up to experience the loft in The Veranda, I could sit up on the bed just fine, but I then realized I would have to crawl to get around. But I guess the functionality of a bedroom in these types of homes is mainly for sleeping. The rest of The Veranda feels like a good sized apartment.
United Tiny Homes
The final tiny houses we went in were by United Tiny Homes, and they had a furnished model and an unfurnished model. I believe the furnished model we saw was called The Companion, and the unfurnished one was The Companion + (only because I think the picture I took was of the private bedroom).
The Companion had a wide walkway, and I finally got to see a combination washer/dryer, which was in the kitchen. I noticed that a lot of smaller European homes have the same set up. The larger Companion + has enough room for a private bedroom and closet.
TinyCamp Sedona
The last exhibitor was not quite a tiny home, but more like a tiny kitchen/bar. It was from TinyCamp Sedona, which is a tiny home retreat in Sedona. They have five custom tiny home experiences for short term rentals. The location in Sedona is already ideal, and each of the experiences look like fantastic getaways!
Inside the Maricopa County Home Show
I didn’t get very many pictures of the indoor portion of The Home Show, but if you’ve been to the San Diego County Fair, it reminds me the vendor booth set up at the Bing Crosby Hall. What I will have to take part in the next time we go, is the Handmade Headquarters. There was a schedule of crafts, and I just missed the “Summertime Lemonade Glass Etching” class. When my husband went on the search for a waterfall showerhead (which he found then purchased), and I walked around on my own. After wandering around a bit, I did find an impromptu bath bomb painting session by Carefree Bath & Body. I didn’t stay to do a painting session there, so I bought one to finish at home! I’ll edit this post to add my finished project later!
Overall, it was a fun experience! I will say again that arriving early was the smartest thing we could do, because it allowed us to get to what I considered the main attraction (tiny homes), and enjoy the experience rather than wait in a long line. We got there at 9:30 am (the doors opened at 10:00 am) and we finished around 12:30pm. Also, it’s worth it to sign up for discount tickets because we paid a total of $6 for two people! Until the next home show, cheers!
