Portlandia Season 5, House For Sale

In Portlandia's' Episode 8: House for Sale, Fred and Carrie adjust to live in a tiny house, shot at Caravan-The Tiny House Hotel in Northeast Portland's Alberta neighborhood.

(Augusta Quirk/IFC)

Are you searching for an affordable home in Portland's Alberta Arts District? Does your soul want sustainability yet your heart yearns for luxuries like a master bathroom with soaking tub, TV and a window framing landscape? Would an efficient home office and library filled with classics feed your mind?

The tiny house that stars in Thursday's episode of "Portlandia" might be the perfect fit. If you can squeeze in.

In the poking-fun-at-Portland series, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein point out the benefits of micro living. In one scene, Armisen's character slides open a rustic wood door to reveal himself sitting on a toilet, his pants puddled at his ankles.

"This is the bathroom and a home office," he explains, his elbows resting on a narrow desk. You can't see Brownstein, except for her arm reaching over the desk caddy. "Can you hand me the shower gel please?" she asks.

Such are the pleasures of living in a 1/4 Bedroom + 1/4 Bathroom* + 1/4 Living Room + 1/4 Kitchen. (*Disclaimer on 'Portlandia's" real estate flier: Do not turn on the shower while watching TV -- your line of vision will be dramatically affected.)

People new to the tiny house movement -- the idea of living simply in a shelter the size of an area rug -- might think the show's 89-square-foot micro house is a set creation. Longtime tiny house fans, however, instantly recognize it as one of six bijou abodes for rent at Northeast Portland's Caravan-The Tiny House Hotel, the world's first rentable tiny house compound.

If you'd like to see more of Caravan and the tiny house interiors, sign up for the Tiny House Tours on March 1 and 8 ($10, limited to 100).

And if you want to stay longer, some of the tiny houses are for sale. As Armisen's character says in the show, "It just takes five minutes to move in."

-- Janet Eastman



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman



