Central Washington State

In Beverly Washington, on the banks of the Columbia River, there stands a truly out of this world home. The idea of the Lunar Lander formed about 10 years ago when Kurt Hughes’ daughter, Kiku, attended space camp.  They printed out a picture of the original Apollo Lunar Lander and thought it might make a nice tiny house. And after 6 years of weekend construction, they had the Lunar Lander Dwelling.

Now, traditional tiny home design can make these structures rather heavy and unstable. Kurt, an accomplished catamaran designer, wanted to do better so he built his home like one would a boat. He filled the walls and doors with extra insulation, making the home ultra energy efficient. His monthly electric billy rarely tops $20. And like with boats, the walls and floors are covered in epoxy, keeping the home dry and mold-free.

He also wanted the home lightweight, so Kurt cut weight wherever he could. While most tiny homes weight 10,000 pounds the Lunar Lander only comes in at a svelte 3,000.  While you may think its low weight may make the home unstable, Kurt redesigned the leg structure (from four legs in the original lander to three) along and added extra trussing and concrete pads. This Lunar Lander is not blasting off anywhere soon.

Between the scenic daytime river views and the scenic nighttime Milky Way sky above, Kurt and his family have the perfect weekend getaway.  A home that shows that with some smart and creative design, you can reach the stars.