A lofted circular bed platform in a yurt created by Zach Both. | Photos by Bryan Aulick, courtesy of Zach Both

730 square feet built for just $65,000 Looking to get off the grid but not sure #VanLife or tiny homes are for you" Consider the tent-like yurt: It?s more spacious than a tiny home, more permanent than a camper, and it provides all the necessities of life in a downsized, affordable way.
Rooted in the history of Mongolian and Turkic shelters, yurts today stem from the 1960s and 1970s when yurt-pioneer Bill Coperthwaite looked to indigenous Mongolian design to build round, dome-like structures in the American west. Still, yurts aren?t always?how shall we put it?the most design-oriented structures. Since then, yurts have grown in popularity as easy-to-assemble, easy-to-maintain shelter. Today, however, we?re reporting on what might be the prettiest, most innovative yurt we?ve ever seen. Located 20 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon, this zen-like, plant-filled yurt was constructed over six months by Zach Both and Nicole Lopez.
A filmmaker and designer by trade, in 2014 Both lived the nomadic lifestyle in a tricked out van before eventually settling down in the Pacific Northwest. The couple built the contemporary-style yurt as their home base?Lopez works at a nearby hospital while Both uses the yurt as a home office for his filmmaking and writing.

The yurt is located 20 minutes from Portland, Oregon.

The yurt measures 30 feet in d...