Vintage Glam Is Probably World’s Most Expensive Tiny House, Definitely the Fanciest

If you want a higher degree of mobility, you will have to settle for a smaller trailer base which, in turn, means fewer amenities and a more compact space. If you feel like you can’t do with the basics for daily living, then you will have to get a bigger trailer and a bigger tiny, and this will impact its mobility. It seems as if there is no middle ground between these two alternatives.

Except that there is: Vintage Glam isn’t just a halfway solution that packs all the creature comforts in a very compact footprint, but one that does it with an abundance of style. It’s not called that for nothing.

Vintage Glam is one of the earliest and perhaps most famous models from Portland, Oregon-based builder Tiny Heirloom. It was introduced in late 2016 and briefly held the title of the most expensive tiny home in the world. Today, more expensive models have been built, but few others can still match it in terms of glamour or, perhaps just importantly, smart use of available space.

Vintage Glam sits on a 33-foot (10-meter)-long double-axle trailer and, in total, offers just 200 square feet (18 square meters) of living space across a single floor. It’s the very definition of tiny, yet it’s incredibly fancy in ways that few other mobile homes can be. Despite its size, it still has a bedroom, a living room, a full bathroom with a soaking tub, a high-grade kitchen, and even a crystal chandelier. You know something is fancy if it has a moving chandelier!

Commissioned for a couple moving from Los Angeles to Portland and looking to make the transition with the house itself, Vintage Glam uses a very neat gimmick to provide all of the above in such a tiny floor space. Instead of using the usual tiny house layout, with a loft bedroom, it uses a wooden platform that hides everything in plain sight.

As you walk in (from the two-person porch, no less), you have the platform on the right. On top of it is the living room and, while it appears inaccessible without a ladder, it’s reachable via retractable steps. The platform hides the steps, as well as a dining set with hard benches and a table, extra storage, and the master bed. Switch-operated linear actuators push out whatever piece of furniture you need, so that, when not in use, they’re not in sight. When dining, you can also move the chandelier from the kitchen area over the dining room area.

At the opposite end is the kitchen, which includes anything from dishwasher to farm sink, oven and burner, fridge, and cabinetry and sizable pantry, with marble countertops and high quality appliances. A small loft is also available here, currently used for décor. It could sleep a third person, if need be, or serve for storage.

The bathroom is hidden behind barnwood sliding doors, and is the other piece de resistance of the build, thanks to the clawfoot soaking tub with a living wall. As a rule, tiny homes only have space for a shower – and this one also holds the distinction of being perhaps the first to integrate a living wall.

The golden-footed bathtub, the living wall and the high roof with generous skylights make this bathroom one of the most impressive ever in a construction of this type. But it’s just one of the things that give it its name: styling is decidedly glam, with vintage influences which, Tiny Heirloom says, strive not to fall into tacky territory. Granted, this kind of styling isn’t for everyone (no styling is ever for everybody), but if you’re into it, you can’t help but appreciate the attention to detail, the small but luxurious touches, and the way in which everything comes together without creating the impression of a cramped space.

Vintage Glam basks in natural sunlight, thanks to custom windows and solar paneled skylights. It helps with how spacious the home feels, despite the fact that it is… well, tiny.

This particular unit comes with RV-style hookup for electricity and water, but like every other tiny builder, Tiny Heirlooms offers the possibility of customization. That means paying extra, which puts Vintage Glam into a league all of its own, since the model described above starts at $150,000.