For anyone dreaming of their own vardo wagon to sleep in or rent out, this sweet, little red wagon was built by J.M. Labrosse and featured by Instructables. J.M.’s step-by-step guide breaks this project down into manageable parts and a PDF of the project can be downloaded from the Instructables website.

The insulated vardo features a classic shape with a Dutch door, stained glass windows, decorative trim and an unusually shaped deck. It contains a full bed with storage underneath, bench seating, a heater and a fan as well as 110 power and plugs. The 4×8 foot vardo was built on a 48×96 inch Harbor Freight trailer with a 1,720 lb load capacity. The trailer weighs under 1,200 lbs and was framed with both 2×4 inch and 2×2 inch boards.

The wagon is currently available as an Airbnb rental in Seattle, Washington along with an additional vardo J.M. built.

Photos by J.M. Labrosse

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The December issue of the Tiny House Magazine has a story about handmade, wooden truck campers in it and one of most talked about versions on the Web is the whimsical truck camper designed and built by Handmade Matt. Matt is a craftsman and tiny house enthusiast from Surrey, England and is currently available as a consultant for anyone looking to build their own tiny house—on or off a 4×4 truck.

Matt’s step-by-step process of the camper build is available on his website, and while the camper has been sold to a new owner in Sweden, Matt has recently finished up a new design. The vision for the first camper was to create a traditional looking removable camper with modern comforts. The camper is fully insulated, has solar power with 12v outlets and inverter. It contains a full kitchen with running water from a 13 gallon tank and a refrigerator, a two burner stove and a heater. There is an emergency composting toilet for when a public bathroom is not available.

“I wanted a four wheel drive camper and I have woodworking skills. It was the cheapest and most stimulating option,” Matt said. “The design was inspired over the years by all the things I have seen, a lot from Lloyd Kahn’s books. I am actually featured in his latest book, “Tiny Homes on the Move” with another cabin that I have built. I make no real plans when building, it all comes from my imagination. I make it up as I go along, no drawings, limited forethought. The projects just evolve.”

Matt said his favorite part of this particular build was the finishing touches.

“It’s when the magic happens and the whole vision comes together,” he said. “It’s finally when other people can see what was in my imagination all along. It’s a way of getting something that is inside me to come out into the world.”

Matt and his girlfriend took the camper all over the UK, through the southern English counties and into Wales. It did just fine in the mountains and also served as a home for his girlfriend who worked at various festival events.

For future builds by Handmade Matt, keep an eye on his website or the Tiny House Blog.

Photos by Handmade Matt

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

A friend recently gave me an example of the crazy prices that RVs are currently going for. A private party sale of a traditional “white box” travel trailer started at around $14,000 and a bidding war bumped up the final price to $40,000.

The Gypsy BLISS Wagons* are far removed from the traditional “white box” RV.

Photos by SimBLISSITY Tiny Homes

The high demand for RVs in 2020 have been keeping the prices of these getaway vehicles consistently high in 2021. If the idea of spending that much money on a manufactured house on wheels makes you queasy maybe it’s time to look into a handmade alternative.

Each wagon is handmade in Colorado by SimBLISSity Tiny Homes.

Dot and Byron of SimBLISSity Tiny Homes on Wheels have been building exquisite homes in Colorado for years. They have scaled down their quality handmade style into lightweight and towable caravans on wheels named Gypsy BLISS Wagons. 

Each wagon has a full bed and vintage style design.

Each of the caravans are made from wood and follow the classic design of the traditional vardo wagon. Three sizes are available. The Vita is 1,300 lb., the Sapphira is 1,700 lb., and the Shimza is 2,400 lb. They range in price from $15,900 to $21,900. Each of the trailers have sofas that convert into beds or a full size bed. The designs also include dropdown tables and cabinetry. Each trailer is wired for both 120v and 12v and also include solar panels.

If you want to try out one of the Gypsy BLISS Wagons first, they are also available for rent. The Vita is $85 per night, the Sapphira is $100 per night, and the Shimza is $115 per night. The rentals include everything you need for a camping trip including a cooler or electric refrigerator.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

* The Tiny House Blog acknowledges that the term “gypsy” can be pejorative and unacceptable to the Romani ethnic group. The SimBLISSity company uses the term for the name of their wagons and any updates on their end will be reflected on this and future posts.

China Rose and AJ decided on a Vardo-style tiny house to enable them to live nomadically. It’s 24 feet long by 12.5 feet high by 8.5 feet at the highest point, and due to the distinctive bowed roofline of this historic design. Then it narrows down to 7.5 feet at the wheelbase. It comes to about 175 square feet. Fittingly, the decor embraces vintage charm.  They worked to create an open, inviting feel with old-world flair.

To achieve an airy feel, China Rose and AJ opted for an elevator bed to maximize the vertical space. This keeps their main living space open. Upcycled antique furniture brought their family history into their home. This also added to its vintage look & feel. For instance, the buffet from China Rose’s great-grandmother that’s attached to the wall. It hadn’t been used for quite some time, but now, they use it as clothing storage. Additionally, they used her great-grandmother’s dining table and chairs for their dining area and our workspace.

About China Rose & AJ modified them to work for their vardo-style tiny house:

“So in choosing furniture, we knew that we didn’t want to go the cookie cutter kind of IKEA approach. We wanted it to feel like home right away. So my mom was actually gracious enough to let us use my great-grandmother’s dining room set that was in storage. And it had been used for years and loved for years, but it wasn’t being used anymore.

So we are using basically half of the table, both of the chairs. The table, actually, the legs fold up underneath it, and it folds flat against the wall when we’re moving so that it protects it. And then, we also took the rest of the pieces of the table and made the cabinet above, which houses all my work equipment, my printer, all our paper and books, and all of that. And we use the buffet actually for clothing storage and shoe storage. It feels like my Nana’s with me.”

Further, they designed the house’s functionality around their lifestyle with clever space-efficient features. They attached side tables to their bed frame, for example. These raise and lower with the bed, so they don’t have to worry about forgetting stuff downstairs when we’re ready to go to bed!

Watch the Tour to See More of their Vardo-Style Tiny House!