Darlington Couple Builds
Following With Tiny Homes On Airbnb
Darlington, WI — Five years ago, Ashley and Jeremiah Kleiber rented a tiny home in Kansas and loved it. Their enjoyable stay inspired the two successful business owners to undertake a small-scale vacation getaway themselves. Three weeks later, with Ashley’s design skills, and Jeremiah’s background as a contractor engineer, the two built their first tiny home on their farm outside of Darlington, Arbor Crest Cottage.
On May 12th 2020, the couple opened their tiny home for the first time to guests. The cottage was so popular (rented out 80-90% of the 1st year) with bookings primarily from Chicago and Milwaukee, the Kleibers had to hire a cleaning person full time, and two years later they decided to design and build another tiny home, the Bower Cottage. “We built them from the ground up, our woodworking and craftsmanship,” says Ashley. She designed the fixtures and details inside each cabin creating a very Kleiber aesthetic (décor and style) finding inspiration from the tiny home in Kansas. For guests visiting the Kleiber farm’s tiny houses their stay is about quietude and relaxation, connecting with nature and farm life.
“The goats and livestock are a draw, it’s hard to be in a bad mood
being around goats,” says Ashley.
And each tiny home has its’ own unique layout and aesthetic. The tiny homes are spacious enough to host families but Ashley thinks the cottages are best suited for couples. The Arbor Crest Cottage with a 2nd floor sleeping loft features woodworking details courtesy Jeremiah Kleiber. Arbor Crest is open all year round. While the Bower cottage, was one the main floor with all the home’s amenities on one level, ideal for people with mobility situations. The Bower also features woodworking details built by Jeremiah like a herring bone patterned hardwood floor. Guest access the Bower Cottage via a walking bridge which crosses a small wooded gully. The newest tiny home is open March through New Year’s Eve.
Who are the guests that seek the Kleiber’s tiny homes? “We have a lot of guests that have turned our place into a semiannual retreat. There are musicians that stay a week and use their time to write. We have hosted people from all over the world,” says Ashley.
The Kleibers are adding creature comforts for the guests all the time.
“I take being a host very seriously, I want to create comfortable and welcoming place to stay for our guests,” says Ashley. She and her husband have created lists for places to eat and let people know what’s going on around the region at the time of their visit (email it to them).
Also included with the stay are numerous guest amenities on the Kleiber's farm. Amenities include hammock spaces among the trees, seating spaces out by the goats, a new livestock pavilion, user friendly gates to animal corrals for guests, a mini cow, a farm store, and a new place for chickens (fresh eggs!)
Even with all the new projects, Ashley and Jeremiah still have time to run their lifestyle home store, Lilygene Collective in downtown Darlington.
For the future, Ashley Kleiber would like to see more guests from the region renting out the tiny homes. “We”re working on a website right now instead of relying on Airbnb.” says Ashley. And, the cottage may host micro-weddings. Ashley Kleiber is also an ordained minister having officiated her friends’ weddings in the past.
