When I was growing up people lived in houses and animals lived in barns. Of course there were different types of houses, including flats, bungalows and apartments but generally speaking you lived in a house. When I left for uni I started working in a pub and I remember one of the regulars had a huge ball on his key rings that made it awkward to carry his keys and I couldn’t work out why he didn’t just take it off, so I asked him. I was astonished to find that the key ring was important, not for sentimental reasons like I had suspected, but because it was a buoyancy aid to keep his keys a float should he ever drop them – from his barge. Yep he actually lived full time on a boat and at the time this was unheard of or at least it was for me. Nowadays people are turning different things into homes all the time and living in a converted barn or on a barge is no longer a novelty but something that seems rather normal in comparison to some of the other unusual houses that are now on the market such as underground eco huts and fully functioning tree houses.
These homes are being built for a number of different reasons. Some because they want to give a new life and purpose to an old building. Some because it’s financially cheaper than buying a regular house and others because it benefits the Eco system in some way. Of course there are also the ones that have been built simply to shock, make a statement or to indulge ones fantasies. But what ever the reasons you can’t deny there are some very unusual houses out there.
I have always wondered what it would be like to live in a light house, ever since watching round the twist as a child I had a dream to live in one of those. Although now as an adult and a parent all I can see are the pitfalls like trying to make sure a toddler learning to walk doesn’t fall down a spiral stair case. Or the amount of shouting it would take to get the attention of a teenager right up at the top when they don’t want to hear you, or the number of stairs you would have to clean on a regular basis and not to mention how on earth do you insure a home as unique as this?
Although I have since learnt that house insurance by chilli insurance is great for meeting your needs regardless of they type or uniqueness of your property so maybe one day I will look into finding my own little lighthouse on the coast somewhere.
But in the meantime here are some more unusual houses from around the world, be sure to let me know which one is your favourite? If I was to win the lottery I would definitely buy the bubble palace in France!
Flintstones inspired house in the USA.
This house was originally built for Dick Clark and looks out over the city set in 22 acres of land and recently sold for $1.5 million.
Bubble Palace in France
The Bubble Palace in France was built to resemble pre-historic human cave dwellings. It is spread of 1,200 square meters and includes 10 bedrooms as well as views over the bays of Cannes and Nice. This unusual house was last put on the market for £300 million, one of the highest ever asking prices for a house in Europe.
Transparent house in Japan
(Imagine being in charge of keeping those windows clean!)
Personally I can’t think of anything worse than living in a transparent house where everyone can see your every movement, not to mention every untidy room in your house and fingerprint on your glass but if this is something that appeals to you then you might be interested to know that the design was based on the tree house living and it is made with 21 floor plates that are connected by ladders and stairs.
So do you love a good semi detached house in a village surrounded by neighbours or are you more of a Flintstones inspired home looking out over your community?