Home design is a hot topic of debate when it comes to personal taste.
Meanwhile, there are those that think outside those boundaries and shun the societal norm.
I'm Reacher and today we're bringing you ten crazy & unique homes from around the world.
Number Ten
This giant pinecone is the dream of squirrels everywhere.
Hanging 35 feet in the air and suspended from the redwood trees in Bonny Doon, California
this treehouse blends perfectly into its surroundings.
The only way to enter the treehouse is by climbing a steep ladder and crawling through
a trapdoor.
But once inside the views of the forest above and below make the precarious journey well
worthwhile.
The see-through panels simultaneously provide 360-degree views for those inside, while reflecting
the colors of the forest for those outside, which allows it to be camouflaged among the
surrounding trees.
The interior features a double bedroom while down below, at ground level, is a small bathroom
that includes a shower, sink, and toilet.
Although it is no longer available to visit with Airbnb, there’s good news if you like
it – as it's currently on the market for $150,000.
Number Nine
Life in a big city can be stressful, that’s why Japanese architecture studio Life Style
Koubou designed Rings.
At first, the Fukushima based home looks extremely bland as it is composed of various concrete
walls stacked w/in one another and having no external windows.
It looks more like a Mayan temple than a traditional home, which makes for a stark contrast to
the conventional apartment buildings that neighbor it.
Inside, the house manages to be full of natural light through the use of open courtyards that
encircle the living spaces.
This allows residents to venture outside, while still being sheltered from the surrounding
city life.
Number Eight
Casa Oruga, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, has been nicknamed the Caterpillar
House for the way its steel exterior tilts up and down the sloping site.
As no construction is permitted above 3,300 feet, locals wishing to live in the mountain
foothills need to get creative.
As a result, the architect chose to use shipping containers for the construction materials.
Using these meant the owners had the added benefit of a shortened construction time as
well as lowering the final cost.
The home’s rusty, brown exterior allows it to morph into the surrounding Andes Mountains,
and its structure allows air to run through the shipping containers and keep the house
cool.
There’s even a lap pool and jacuzzi built into one of the side decks, allowing some
respite from the harsh mountain climate.
Number Seven
The S-House in Saitama, Japan is composed of intersecting diagonal planes and stairs,
encased in an entirely glass external structure.
The resulting effect?
A house that looks completely see-through, where the abundance of natural light, together
with its white walls, combine to make the house glow brightly in daylight.
Well-positioned furniture and interior walls offer some privacy for the bathroom and bedroom,
however being in the rest of the house feels like living in a fishbowl, where people can
watch your every move.
This transparency is a theme for the designer who wanted to play on the relationship between
space, nature, and humans.
Number Six
Home to former Playboy model Barbi Benton, The Copper Palace is like a 27,000 square-foot
spaceship.
Every wall and surface is unique, making the home awash with color.
From the dome-shaped projection room to the crystal-themed disco, each room has a unique
aesthetic with custom furniture and decorations.
Designed to be able to accommodate a 150-person dinner party, but also provide for privacy,
the architect opted to build four separate stairwell pods into its seven floors.
These pods jut out just above each other but don’t offer views into another pod, so it’s
as if there are different mini-spaceships combining to create one giant mothership.
Seen from the front, it gives the illusion of one massive window wrapping around the
entire house.
I'm Allie, and it's Minds Eye Trivia time.
By looking at just these images, do you know what this is and where it's from?
Leave the correct answer or your best guess in the comment section below.
Number Five
Hidden away in the Coachella Valley is a 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom house nestled in among the rocks.
Built in 1993, the owners only request of the architect was that their new home would
“not be a box with windows”.
And from the look of things, it seems he delivered.
You could be forgiven for imagining the interior would feel like living in a cave, but although
it consists mostly of rock, it has a warm feeling due to its curved walls, flowing ceilings,
and use of organic materials.
Natural light also filters through from the concrete panels above, making the home bright
despite the harsh climate outside.
Number Four
This towering structure in the remote Alaskan wilderness looks like it was imagined right
out of a Dr. Seuss book, hence the local nickname of "the Dr. Seuss House".
The owner planned to build a 1,600 sq ft log cabin as he wanted a home with a better view
of the mountains.
Once he realized he could put pillars on the top of it, it dawned on him to put a house
on top of the house.
And he just kept going from there.
The only reason he stopped was that he would encroach on federal airspace if he had continued.
The structure currently stands at 185 feet tall.
Although you can’t visit the house in person, you can still hire a pilot and fly overhead.
Number Three
Once touted as an icon of organic modernist architecture, the Bavinger House was demolished
in 2016.
The exterior looked a bit like a children’s jungle gym, with a matted brown roof that
spiraled up around the house in a fan structure which was supported by cables that attached
to the 55-foot tall central mast.
On the inside, the ground floor was made up of plants, pools and an external rock-wall
encompassing the home that made it look more comfortable to climb the staircase rather
than walk up it.
There were also no interior walls, leaving one to draw curtains across the room to create
a sense of privacy.
Ultimately, it met its demise due to funding problems that were exacerbated by damage from
a storm in 2011.
Number Two
When the Wave House was built, it certainly made waves in the community.
And no, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say it that way.
The outside walls are covered in over 300 custom pieces of white aluminum paneling,
positioned to achieve a cascading effect.
The front door, which is the main focal point, is constructed entirely from skateboard decks.
At the back of the house by the pool, the paneling on the house changes to mimic how
a bird’s feathers overlap.
This helps to keep the house drier as well as cooler by promoting air circulation.
The designer used the theme of nature so that nothing is repeated.
Even the interior wall tiles are placed differently to create unique effects throughout the house.
The use of white on both the exterior and interior walls allows the design to play on
shadows, giving the effect of the first-floor flowing into the second and blurring together.
Number One
This final entry on our list is actually a 13-home apartment building located in Guilford,
Connecticut, now known affectionately as the “Spaceship” building.
The structure was built in the 1980s by a couple looking to build luxury condominiums,
who asked a local architect to create something “really wild”.
The result was an elevated structure, which initially horrified the local residents who
called it “monstrous” and tried to prevent it from even being built.
A now-legendary impassioned speech by the architect meant the planning board passed
his proposal.
Two years and $2.5 million later, the Spaceship building was born.
Its copper-clad exterior may have weathered into a more bronze patina, but its place is
now cemented as a symbol of the town.