HAMAR House started where all most good ideas seem to these days – on Youtube, in lockdown. 

Creators of the Gold Coast Hinterland accommodation are mother and daughter Inga and Edda Hamar. 

The duo reunited when Edda moved back to the Gold Coast from Melbourne in 2019. 

Inga said having her daughter back at their Bonogin home meant they spent more time together, which was when the idea sparked for Hamar House. 

“We’ve lived on the acre property for over 20 years and there’s a part of the land we haven’t used much,” she said. 

“When Edda moved back from Melbourne, we started to spend more time walking the area and exploring our own property, and we used to walk up to the spot the tiny house is in now. 

“It has a spectacular view, and it was through the conversations on our walks that we came up with this idea that it would be such a lovely spot to have a getaway that would allow people to embrace nature.” 

Edda said she fell down a Youtube rabbit hole of tiny houses and knew it would be the perfect addition to the unused space on their property. 

“There’s a Youtube channel called Big Living in a Tiny House, it was just so fascinating,” she said. 

“For me, after living in the city for 10 years, coming back to the rural property was so amazing to feel so relaxed and I felt really nourished spending time in nature. 

 “And I just thought, how can this be shared with more people? 

 “Experiencing the contrast of living the city life and then living in the bush, I wanted to be able to give that opportunity to other people and the tiny home was a way we could do that.” 

Hamar House was built off site on the Sunshine Coast and was towed up where it sits now on the rural Gold Coast Hinterland property. 

Although tiny, the house features every need, with a loft style bed above the kitchen and couch, with expansive window views. 

 The kitchen includes a fridge, gas stove top, microwave, and all kitchen utensils like a coffee machine, kettle and toaster.
 There’s a bathroom with a rain shower and eco-friendly composting toilet and even a work desk and couch.
 But if you’re staying, you’ll probably want to spend more time outside than in, with the large deck featuring a dining setting, swing chair and hot tub that overlooks the Gold Coast Hinterland. 

Getting up to the tiny house is also an adventure, as the house sits at the top of a steep hill and a private buggy is provided for guests to head up to their stay. 

Edda said it was important when building the tiny house that the project left minimal impact on the environment and wildlife around it. 

 “There’s a lot of birds here. There’s kangaroos and it’s such a beautiful little spot,” she said. 

“We’ve just added solar panels to the roof so the whole property is solar powered during the day. 

“Overnight we do rely on the grid but the next step is to get a battery.

“All our water run off goes straight into nature and we’ve got our composting toilet. 

“And the buggy to head up to the house is electric too. 

“We’re really just trying to weave environmentally sustainable features into every aspect of their stay.”

The house opened at the end of May this year and the women said as soon as they opened, they’d been flooded with requests to stay. 

“It’s been wonderful, people have loved coming here as a getaway,” Inga said. 

“We thought it would be a bit of a slow start, a booking here or there,” Edda said.

“But pretty much within a day of putting it on Airbnb we had bookings roll in and now we’re booked back to back non-stop and we’re having to block out some periods to give ourselves a break. 

“We really didn’t expect it to be so popular but we’re so happy and blown away. 

“We truly didn’t think a tiny house on a hill in Bonogin would attract people like it has.” 

Edda said a mixture of the borders being closed, a great location and the rising tiny house movement was to thank for their booked-out spot. 

“The borders being closed, everyone is just itching to go away so I think that has really boosted the bookings,” she said. 

“We’re able to offer Queenslanders a really interesting holiday. 

“And we’ve had a lot of people come and stay because they’re planning on getting a tiny house or planning on designing a tiny house so they want to see one from the inside and experience living in it.

“And I think we’ve curated an experience people really love in a spot that’s really great.”