The Lucky Bear Lodge Is a Beautiful, Very Cozy DIY Tiny Home for the Ultimate Gamer

The tiny house movement has long moved from the fridge into the spotlight, propelled by the influencer culture and pressing socio-economical and environmental factors. Tiny houses, once considered exclusively reserved for tree-hugging hipsters, are now convenient solutions for digital nomads, environmentalists, and downsizers, regardless of what's making them downsize.

In a nutshell, tiny houses are mobile housing solutions, either for temporary or permanent residence, built on top of trailers of various sizes. Because they're smaller and lighter than traditional homes, tinies come with a reduced carbon footprint, reduced expenses, and a variable degree of mobility that brick-and-mortar structures lack.

They also favor a more intentional, less uncluttered lifestyle that prioritizes experiences over material stuff, so in a way, they're still better suited for the hipster-inclined individual.

Ever since their emergence, tiny houses have had a sustainable component to them, if only due to the fact that they require less material and generate less waste during their production and total lifetime. It's still present today, albeit not as much in series builds and more obvious in custom units.

The Lucky Bear Lodge is a good example of how sustainability is integrated into one such mobile home, and yes, it's a fully custom unit. The full details of the build are still pending and will be revealed in an upcoming documentary series put together by Canada-based builder Ethical Tiny Homes, but we do get a teaser thanks to the video tour available at the bottom of the page.

The owner and part-builder of this tiny is Theodore – IsawABear on social media, a gamer and content creator. You say "gamer," and probably the last image that pops to mind is someone with a keen interest in the environment – or any at all. But Theodore is also an ecologist, and as such, he wanted his dream home to integrate as many reclaimed materials as possible.

The Lucky Bear Lodge lives up to the "lodge” in the name in that it comes across as a very cozy, very rustic log cabin. Though Theodore sleeps in it alone, it could easily accommodate at least four more overnight guests, two in the secondary loft and two in the living, and as many as 12 people in total for a gaming party, each with their own seat.

It sits on a triple-axle trailer and features a now-standard dual-loft layout, with one loft at either end over the kitchen and the bathroom, respectively. The ground floor holds the C-shaped kitchen with real-life appliances, the dining room, the living room that doubles as a gaming room or guest room, and the bathroom.

The layout isn't unusual or particularly surprising, but what makes the Lucky Bear Lodge noteworthy is the beautiful styling, mixing rustic elements with vintage ones, and plenty of DIY stuff. Theodore explains that he wanted to be involved in the build because he wanted a tiny that would feel his own. He ended up regretting his decision a few times, but in the end, it paid off.

The parquet, for example, is a beautiful, handmade piece of woodwork with pellets from a factory in the Philippines where his grandfather once worked. The window frames and some floating shelves are made with driftwood he recovered on his many treks. The walls are made with wood from a demolished Coca-Cola factory, while the roof uses wood from a Toys' R' Us factory.

The bathroom features a gorgeous barn door and a matching section of sliding wall that covers the window when he needs privacy. It also offers very modern comforts like a bathtub, a washer and dryer, hot water, and a small sink with vanity by the composting toilet.

Personal touches abound. The very modern induction top and microwave in the kitchen are nicely balanced out by a gorgeous, retro Galanz fridge in bright red, while the gaming station in the living room (complete with a deep Ikea couch) is matched with DIY floating shelves and washed out in plenty of natural light coming through a HALO-inspired skylight.

The Lucky Bear Lodge is now located in the Greater Vancouver Area and is hooked to the grid, but Theodore plans to make it fully autonomous in the future. He's only been living in it for a couple of months, so he still considers it a work in progress. He says it's fully insulated, so he doesn't expect any trouble during the harsh Canadian winter – not when he has a mini-split and a wood-burning stove as well to rely on.

According to Ethical Tiny Homes, the documentary series on the build will be out "soon(-ish)," at some unspecified date later this year. More details should be out then.