Visit the Boneyard Studios tiny houses community in D.C.

If you live in or around D.C., there is an easily accessible tiny home community and showcase near you. Founded in 2012, Boneyard Studios is the District of Columbia’s resource for tiny homes. Their mission — as stated on the website — to “demonstrate creative urban infill, promote the benefits of tiny houses, support other tiny house builders, and model what a tiny house community could look like.” 

With a little over 6,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, they have a small community of tiny home enthusiasts gathered together to ask questions, browse the small space directory via Google doc, and tour their two designs of tiny homes. Their tours recently kicked off again and are hosting several events throughout the summer and fall. In the past, they’ve also held modest concerts to go along with the tours. Boneyard Studios is nonprofit, so they ask for a small donation if guests can afford it during their District events. 

The Matchbox and the Pera House are both styles of tiny homes created by Boneyard Studios. According to the designer Jay Austin’s website, the Matchbox is a 140-square-foot abode that boasts as a carbon-zero home with a rain catchment system, a composting toilet, low flow shower, a small garden, and greywater management. 

The Pera House (named after one of the Boneyard Studios founders, Lee Pera) is 145-square-feet of modern renovation as a former tiny home shell made living-space. It features a rain screen siding on the exterior, a 4-foot removable porch, slideable storage cabinet, and counterweighted ladder. The water system includes pumps, filters, greywater management, and rain catchments like the Matchbox, but isn’t completely carbon-zero like the Matchbox. Regardless, both homes are extremely popular designs. 

For the time being, Boneyard Studios is currently searching for a permanent location in the District.