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Elite Facts Presents
Most Amazing Houses You Won't Believe Actually Exist!
10. Glass Front Cabin
It was on one of their first dates that designer Lilah Horwitz and photographer Nick Olson
sketched out their dream home on a restaurant napkin. “We romanticised over the idea of
building something with a whole wall of windows, mostly thinking about watching a sunset or
stargazing from the inside of the house,” says Horwitz.
Soon the duo’s artistic vision, resourcefulness and ingenuity resulted in the getaway they’d
dreamed of – an antique glass house.
9. The Geo Dome
Nestled in a birch forest on the edge of a small cliff in Scotland, and visible only
from the sea lies this futuristic dome home. The homeowners relish the panoramic views
of the Lynn of Lorne and Castle Stalker, (Castle Aaargh to Monty Python fans) made famous by
Monty Python and the Holy Grail — views best enjoyed from the outdoor hot tub.
8. Architect Andrew Hinman was approached to find an odd solution to a very unusual
client design dilemma: how to put a vintage 1950s 12-metre trailer next to a river without
having it swept away by a South Texas flash flooding.
Hinman responded by lifting the 1954 Spartan Imperial Mansion trailer 1.5 metres above
the floodplain – 9 metres above the river onto concrete piers and building a new Swiss
Army knife-like accessory for the trailer, complete with big screened-in verandah and
a sleeping tower with an air-conditioned bathroom. This is one trailer that’s not going anywhere
for a while. The verandah dining space is encased by fine fabric mesh screens. The owner
is allergic to insect bites, so great attention was given to making sure the living spaces
were completely secure. There’s even a steel screen underneath the floorboards.
7. Founder of the aptly-named Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Jay Shafer has been building
and living in homes smaller than 11 square metres for more than a decade — and his
company is encouraging others to do the same. This energy-efficient home comes in at about
2 x 5 metres. The sleeping space is nestled into a tiny nook up above the great room.
The home’s superb insulation helps keep this place warm in winter and cool in summer
… considerably reducing the cost of energy bills!
6. Aiming to design a project that made people think about the uncertain nature of what we
call home, Artist Do-Ho Suh built a home teetering on the edge of the University of California’s
engineering building.
‘Fallen Star’ is a powder blue gable roof cottage and permanent sculpture inspired by
Suh’s journey from Seoul to the United States and his feeling of being plucked out of the
comfortable and familiar and lodged into a dizzying unfamiliar environment. Simulated
smoke in the form of steam rises from the chimney throughout the day. Inside, on the
fireplace mantel, the picture frames even show photos of people from the engineering
school below. Only the large bookcase and desk are bolted to the floor, while the eclectic
mix of other furnishings sometimes slip towards the door … but very slowly.
5. It’s not only owner Steve Michaels and his family who get to enjoy the Hobbit House
of Montana. Tolkien fans travel far and wide to enjoy the whimsical home and ‘shire’
surrounds that include a tree-stump-shaped troll house and small fairy houses. The hobbit
house’s main bedroom has a king-sized bed, a high-definition TV, satellite radio and
wi-fi. Michaels says you can even slip into slippers that look like hobbit feet or wear
a handmade wizard’s hat similar to the one Gandalf wears in the movie The Hobbit.
4. Looking to stretch your sea legs? This free-floating eco-lodge can hold up to 10
people during the day and has four comfy beds for overnighters, making it the ultimate getaway
for friends in the Netherlands
Onboard the floating home trend, this structure is built from FSC-certified Western red cedar
and tempered safety glass that fits into its aluminium frame. A solar panel provides the
lodge’s power. Although sustainability had an impact on the design, Beije looked at the
bigger picture instead of implementing every eco-friendly feature possible.
3. If you have claustrophobia, look away now. This polish Narrow House is the epitome of
small-space style. Designed by Jakub Szczęsny of Centrala this 1.2-metre-wide studio is
wedged into a gap between two buildings and takes up a total of 14 square metres of once
unused space. Centrala
Israeli writer Etgar Keret enjoys a tiny kitchenette, dining area, bathroom, bedroom and desk all
in an area just over a metre wide. In the bedroom, a 1-metre-wide mattress and desk
get plenty of light from the translucent front facade.
2. Growing up in East Africa, Simon Payne always felt an attachment to the great outdoors
and, in particular, tree houses. After a daytrip to Athens, Greece, he soon put his design
vision into practice, building a tree house within the gardens of one of his client’s
estates.
Payne chose a site among a collection of mature pine trees near the client’s main home and
not far from an existing children’s play area. The tree house is filled with a wide
range of high-tech gadgets and is fittingly referred to as “James Bond’s HQ” by
Payne.
The tree house substructure, deck, frame and roof are built almost entirely from FSC-certified
softwood timber, being one of the most sustainable construction materials available and ideal
for tree house construction.
1. Pan Am Plane House
Apparently, even aircraft boneyards aren’t safe from the avid scavenger’s eyes. Indeed,
it was deep in the heart of the Mojave Desert, California, where Francie Rehwald and her
architect, David Hertz, travelled to select a commercial plane that would be transformed
into her 747 Wing House in the hills above Malibu. Five years later the owner moved in
enjoying breathtaking views and providing a show-stopping dot point on the landscape.
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