Ways You Can Use Your Yurt

Because yurts are low cost, portable, versatile and adaptable to individual needs and tastes — and beautiful — you can use them for a wide variety of purposes. Rainier Yurts are especially easy to set up and once in place can be plumbed, wired, heated and easily ventilated or cooled (these options require licensed contractors and unfortunately are not provided by Rainier). Built to handle snow, rain, wind and sun, Rainier Yurts are ideal for year-round or periodic use.

"Yurts are fashionable," says Irene Rawlings, co-author of Portable Houses (Gibbs Smith Publisher). "They've sort of outgrown their hippie connotation and ended up being very much like second homes." New owners are using them as backcountry ski huts, guest cottages, home offices, yoga retreats and restaurants. They are found in back yards, on beaches, in ski resorts, summer camps and as nightly rentals in state parks.

 

Year Round Residence

 

As seen in Mother Earth News, April-May 2004

"We built the first yurt to be constructed inside the city limits of beautiful Port Townsend, Wash. Our project is one-of-a-kind, and all who set foot inside are in awe. This yurt comes fully equipped with a loft, study, bedroom, custom-built kitchen, lovely flooring and an attached bathhouse. It is also the first yurt with actual glass windows instead of vinyl, which is the standard material for yurt windows. We paid great attention to using environmentally friendly products and designed this structure with simplicity and energy conservation in mind."

Melissa Nagy

Port Townsend, WA

 

Vacation Home: The Davis Yurt

 

Robert and Gretchen Davis bought six acres of land at the end of a dirt road near where relatives were already building on Hood Canal, in Northwest Washington. "When we bought the land, we planned to build a cabin," explains Rob. "But as we started looking at the cost of doing that, we realized we'd have to choose between going to Hawaii for two months every year, and our log cabin, so we started to look around for some alternative solutions."

 

Rob is a retired engineer. He and Gretchen lived on Whidbey Island, WA full-time. As they looked around for a living space that would be a less expensive alternative to a cabin, they stumbled across Nesting Bird Yurts, then located in nearby Port Townsend, WA. After a more research, the Davises decided to put up a 21' yurt on their land.

 

As you can see, the Davises have a beautiful view of the water from their deck. "This is the most economical vacation home anyone could imagine — and we live like royalty!" says Gretchen Davis.

Robert and Gretchen Davis

Hood Canal, WA

A Rainier Yurt offers a variety of other uses:

• Campground Rentals

• Guest Rentals

• Ski Resort Hut

• Camps

• Temporary Housing

• Fitness and Retreat Centers

• Seasonal Worker Housing

• Ecotourism

• Meeting Facility

• Office

• Spa Enclosure

• Meditation/Fitness Room

• Photography or Artist Studio