Downsizing is a big deal, regardless of how seamless and easy it might come across on social media. Moving out of a brick-and-mortar home into a much smaller, even if mobile home is not the kind of decision you want to take lightly, so one family-run business is here to help with it.
Tiny Digs is a family-run business in Portland, Oregon, set up some years ago with the explicit purpose of offering potential tiny house owners a taste of what tiny living is like before taking that big step. If none should come by, then at the very least Tiny Digs would offer a unique, quirky hotel stay, unlike a regular hotel.
At the time, tiny house living was not as popular as it is today, when local regulations have also advanced to make the transition smoother. Pam Westra had been looking into tiny living for years and wanted to start a business out of it, but she found that setting up an actual tiny house community, meaning, with movable tinies, was too much of a headache from a legal standpoint. So she settled for a hotel that resembles a tiny house community, which offers a different experience from a regular hotel and, at the same time, helps people decide whether downsizing really is for them.
Tiny Digs includes several custom units, each done after a theme, showing the versatility of such a small space and how much fun you can have with styling it. Perhaps the cutest – and also the largest – on the lot is Arthur, named this way after Pam’s late grandfather, a man who raised her when her father passed away, and who had an incredible passion for old trains and caboose cars. Arthur is styled like a caboose car both inside and out, but painted in bright yellow and with all the modern creature comforts. It could probably move if Pam ever decided to sell it, but that’s unlikely to happen.
Photo: Tiny Digs Hotel
Arthur offers sleeping for up to four people and is designed like a tribute to the now-extinct caboose car at the end of the freight train, which slept the crew on the train, but also included kitchen facilities and a small desk. It’s packed with cute trinkets and memorabilia, like old caboose models made of steel, or vintage posters and patent filings framed and hung up on the walls. As you can see in the older Living Big in a Tiny House video at the bottom of the page, it also includes repurposed railway parts and custom elements, alongside period-correct replicas.
In terms of layout, Arthur is a typical tiny with a loft for the main sleeping area. Downstairs is a small kitchenette equipped only for light meal prepping, a side desk that can be used either for remote work or dining, a couch that becomes a double bed, and another small table that can seat two people at dinner, or just one during working hours. The interior is almost entirely done in lemon-yellow, with black and gray for contrast, so it’s very bright and cheery.
The upstairs loft is a tad higher than with most tiny houses, and that’s because of the caboose inspiration, which translates here in a curved roof clad in cedar. You still don’t get standing height, but at least you won’t bang your head if you sit with a straight back. Moreover, for a tiny, Arthur feels spacious, both because it’s furnished to receive guests and because amenities are minimal, unlike in a tiny that’s lived in permanently.
The bathroom is the largest on the lot and includes a period-correct caboose sink replica, a flushing toilet, and a large shower room. At the front and the rear are two iron decks, with the latter repurposed as a private terrace. Arthur, like all the other units, has heating and A/C, and an estimated construction cost of about $70,000.
Photo: Tiny Digs Hotel
Pam says that not a single one of her guests has ever left Arthur feeling discouraged at the thought of transitioning to tiny living, so if that had been her sole goal at the onset of her business venture, she would have reached it. As it so happens, Arthur and the Tiny Digs “community” are also a very popular local attraction, so Pam lucked out on this account as well.
If you’re ever in Portland and want to experience tiny living without actually downsizing, make a mental note to stop by. For the rest of us, for the time being, Arthur and this unique hotel stand as example that tiny living can be more than the modern version of caraving: to Pam, it’s a successful business strategy, while to her visitors, it’s a chance to try out tiny living, commitment-free and at a reduced cost, before making the switch.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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