This Tiny House Carved Out of a Single Tree Could Be in Hobbiton Instead of Haida Gwaii

The trees are BIG on the islands of Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Island)- big enough that you could actually live in them. Artist, raconteur and fly fisherman Noel Wotten of Sitka Studio in the town of Tlell demonstrates this with this incredible space that he carved out of the stump of a single tree.

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Noel says it took twenty-two years of work to carve out the interior of the stump and build the room, which is lined with photographs, humorous notes, photographs and tributes to some of the musicians who have played in the room, such as author Paul Quarrington. Evidently the room has fabulous acoustics; Quote from a poster inside: "It has been said that playing guitar in here is like playing guitar inside a guitar!

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Here's the before photo of the stump.

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a detail of the roof.

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another interior shot, taken through the tiny window.

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That board sticking out of the side of the house is in fact a form of scaffold for loggers; they stick them in the trees and use them as a place to stand while they saw away. I would have thought it was a bit bouncy but that's how it's done.

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Noel Wotten has posted silly signs everywhere, but I groaned at this one.

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Haida Gwaii is full of smart, talented and a bit eccentric people and I was thrilled and honoured to meet a few of them in my short visit. I hope to be back soon to spend more time with them. (I was in Haida Gwaii as a guest of the Rainforest Alliance, looking at sustainable forestry.)

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