Tiny homes pop up in Lava Hot Springs

The town of Lava Hot Springs has some new additions – five tiny homes. The homes are owned by “Aura Soma Lava” and took the place of its RV rental spots.They are park model homes.

From the outside the new tiny homes may look tiny. At 366 square feet, there’s a lot more room on the inside than you might think. There’s enough room for a couch, a t.v., kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom. Each one is fully furnished with Wi-Fi, air conditioning, a closet, desk, table, even pots and pans.

Each one of these homes has a very personal touch added to it. Owner Evelee Rush’s husband Bob, who passed away a few years ago, traveled around the world taking photographs. His photographs make up the themes for each of the homes.

You can spend a few nights in Africa, Morocco, Florida or Italy. The homes sit where RV spots used to, so water, sewer, power, etc were already there and in place. Rush thought the homes were a more efficient way to go.

Rush said it’s happened quick. They started the process in March and the homes are already ready to go.

“With RV sites, people by nature are transient,” Rush said. “So someone’s here one night, two nights – and they drive in and they drive out and it’s more of a challenge, it’s more management. If these come in and you can rent them by the night or the week or the month, then it makes it just a lot more viable.”

Also coming soon, each will have a back deck with a private hot tub. Rush said she has already had a lot of interest in these homes.

“I think they’ll be one of the most popular lodgings we have,” Rush said. “Period.”

It’s also catered to pets too. Each home has a “doggy drawer” with a few dog treats, a food bowl and there’s even a pet bed underneath the regular bed.

Rush said one of the coolest things about putting the homes together is they bought most everything from Idaho. The homes were bought and custom built in Weiser, Idaho. The steps were built in Malad, the mattresses all came from a company in Filer. A lot of the other stuff came from various local stores as well.

Rush said the total cost for each home is about $55,000. Rush said it’s been a lot of fun decorating and putting the homes together but it’s taken a lot of time.

“It’s a lot of work,” Rush added. “Have you ever had five houses all at once that you furnish 100 percent?”

Rush said the homes can be rented for about $189 per night, the longer it’s rented, the more discounted the price could be. Rush said they would prefer a two-night minimum.

She said these homes will also be available to rent during the eclipse in August.

There will be a public open house for the homes starting July 1 and running through July 4. The open house runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each of those days.

For more information on the homes, you can contact Aura Soma Lava at 208-776-5800 or 1-800-757-1233. You can also visit its website.