So you think your place is small? One night recently, a group of architecture students staying up late in a loft in Brooklyn took to amusing themselves by stuffing a mattress into a hole cut into the wall above a bedroom door. Then they tried the mattress out for comfort. Not half bad! It occurred to one of them, Nick Freeman, that people might pay money to call that elevated mattress home.

So Mr. Freeman posted an ad on the Web site Craigslist: “$35 — elevated mattress-sized space between rooms.” He used a minimalist pitch. “Opening between hall and room available for long/short-term use, accessible by ladder, sheets and pillows not provided.” The ad went up around noon, and by the end of that day, Mr. Freeman had a dozen potential takers. read all »

Germans are lining up to rent farm animals to help with the gardening as part of a new green scheme.

Werner Kiwitt, who runs an ecological park in Schleswig-Holstein, is offering sheep to cut the grass and ducks to eat the slugs. read all »

If you’ve ever been in an office, especially cluttered with little cubicles, you know how dark and dreary they can be, no matter how much light is pouring through the windows. Imagine spending the majority of your waking time in such an atmosphere.

Now you can make corporate America a little more cheerful by renting plants to local businesses. It’s easy! Your clients choose the type of plants they want to rent, you deliver them to the office. read all »

When Swiss dairy farmer Paul Wyler and his wife Helga, were unable to sell as much cheese as they produced each year, they hit upon a great idea. ‘Why not rent our cows?’

A rent-a-cow business was born and the Wylers, who run a 50-head farm in the Brienz area, managed to rent some of their cows to a few local restaurants. read all »

Camping at festivals can be a soggy and uncomfortable affair, and tents often get dumped at the festival’s end, sending them to landfills. myhab, on the other hand, offers waterproof accommodations that can be entirely recycled. read all »

An office is not always a necessity for professionals. Sometimes professionals do not keep one because they cannot afford one or they have no need of an office for a full day. However, there are professionals that wish to have an office for a short time daily, perhaps an hour or so. Therefore, if you have some space available to rent for a few hours a day, then this could be indeed a lucrative business for you. read all »

Back in 2004, MetroNaps launched sleep pods for bleary-eyed New Yorkers in dire need of a nap. New Yorkers who need to relax and recharge can now also duck into Yelo—a new sleep salon offering 20- to 40-minute power naps and reflexology treatments. Research has shown that napping can boost productivity and performance, and Yelo offers more than just a light snooze. read all »

An American company, Flexpetz, started quite a bizarre, but yet interesting service: to “rent” a dog for few hours per day or few days per week. The owners of this company declare that it’s a unique concept for dog lovers who are unable to own a full-time doggy pal and miss spending time with a canine friend. read all »

What happens when a Las Vegas hotelier teams up with a rebellious professional snowboarder? A first-of-its-kind hotel built for and by snowboarders, complete with boot dryers, glove warmers, PlayStation 2 consoles and 56-inch high-definition TVs in the rooms. read all »