Unique Oregon Coast Rentals Gem: the Tiny Homes of Tillamook's Sheltered Nook

Published 11/07/2018 at 7:39 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Bay City, Oregon) – At the outer edges of the Three Capes Tour, on the inner edge of Tillamook Bay, sits smallish Bay City. Inside that sits something truly tiny but packed with a wide range of delightful surprises in the lodging realm.

Sheltered Nook is a rather unique hotel experience on the Oregon coast: beyond the whole tiny homes idea. It’s part bed and breakfast and part vacation rental.

Each of these tiny, quaint constructs is about 385-square-feet of living space, complete with full furnishings, locally-made furniture, TV and cooking utensils. It’s the kind of hot ticket idea that's popular with a variety of older generations, but certainly millennials.

The homes are all decorated with their own themes, and the place is pet friendly. Believe it or not: these penny-sized places can host six people each.

Surrounding this tiny of community of even tinier dwellings is a forest and a bit of a playground. A fire pit graces the center, barbecue gear awaits your grilling skills, and there’s a disk golf course.

It’s the brainchild of Dee Ann Hodges-Harguth and her husband Hank, who moved to the Bay City area in 2005.

He came from a construction sales and management background, and indeed he still does that for an engineering equipment firm based out of Alaska and Washington.

Dee also came from the construction management world but became enamored of the travel biz.

“Learned that traveling is not staying in a confining hotel room, but seeking out experiences,” she said.

While enjoying their new digs that first year, Harguth said she read an article in the local newspaper about a cyclist who traipsed up and down the coast staying in people’s homes through a kind of proto Air BnB thing called Warmshower.com. She was intrigued and in 2010 she and Hank opened up their home to cyclists cruising the Oregon coast in need of a warm meal and shower. It turned out Dee loved to cook and entertain, and she estimates some 500 cyclists stayed there.

In 2014, Dee and Hank made the big move to turn their home into a bed and breakfast.

Over the years of hosting so many she listened to them say a lot of similar things.

“After talking to the guests, I was hearing what they wanted,” she said.

It all seemed to point this idea of tiny cabins, or tiny homes. Having their own BnB became a little tiresome as the couple started relishing their privacy, so Dee and Hank went headlong into the tiny homes idea: the first was delivered in 2016 – and thus Sheltered Nook was born.

That dynamic of hanging out with the guests, entertaining and having good conversation remains.

“It’s about conversations, it’s about family, and it’s about community,” Harguth said.

Looking ahead to the future, they’re wanting to start a food cart at Sheltered Nook's little park and a taproom. In the meantime, however, they’re part of the North Coast Food Trail that has livened up Tillamook County, along with flanking towns such as Cannon Beach or Lincoln City. Along the lines of their sustainability approach, they’re specializing in local grocery foods.

“We have a small store that has local products,” Harguth said. “We feature breakfast baskets that contain local produce. We have our liquor license, so we feature five local beers, and you can fill up growlers now.”

Among the finds is Tillamook ice cream as well as locally produced salt, along with other fresh produce from this part of the north Oregon coast.

“A lot of people come and they’re tired, and they can quickly pick up something to eat,” Harguth said. 

You'll find the charmer at 7860 Warren Street. Bay City, Oregon. (503) 805-5526.  http://shelterednook.com -- Lodging in Tillamook Bay - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

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