e all have different ways of letting our creative juices flow. From playing an instrument, working on your dance moves, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen, there are so many expressive art forms to consider adopting as your new hobby. One that often goes unthought of is architecture and home interiors. Have you ever felt that feeling of extreme excitement, stress, and happiness all at once when moving into a new space? That feeling where you have total control of setting up your new home and have all of your ideas and designs come to life?
You likely imagine an average house when thinking about setting up a new space, right? Rewind hundreds of years ago, people actually lived in a wide-range of spaces. From caves and huts, to castles and flats, there’s more out there than just your typical four walls and a roof ‘home’. Today, it’s possible to turn any idea of a house design into reality.
Tiny home or mansion. Modern cube shaped home or rustic farmhouse. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your next home, or you just want to browse some of the wild homes that actually exist in this world, this article is just for you! Check out the top 10 strangest homes in the world. They are definitely worth looking at. Who knows, you might even get some inspiration for your own!
Transparent Home - Tokyo, Japan
This Tokyo home is exactly how it sounds, completely transparent. If you’re a fan of natural light, this one takes the cake; however, if you’re also big on privacy, maybe not so much. This 914 square foot home was designed by a group of Japanese architects, Sou Fujimot Architects. The group was inspired to build the see-through home by our ancient predecessors, who inhabited trees. The interior consists of 21 individual floor plates, all situated at various heights- allowing the house to be used flexibly. Individuals can choose to be close or distributed across the house like birds perched on the various branches of a tree. Check out a virtual tour of the Transparent Home below.
Skateboard House - Malibu, California
Ever dreamt of a house designed as one massive skate park? Designed by a former pro-skating world champion, Pierre Andre Senizergues, this is the world’s FIRST skate house to exist. The best part? The walls were designed to be skated on both indoors and outdoors. Every space inside the house is completely skateable (furniture included) as the ground becomes the wall, then the ceiling in a continuous surface forming a tube of a 10ft radius. Is it just us, or would this house make for an absolutely sick bachelor party? Watch below.
The Keret House - Warsaw, Poland
Yes, we know tiny homes are trending right now, but this Poland House designed by architect, installation artist, Jakub Szczesny isn’t just tiny, it’s the world’s slimmest home. Measuring 122 centimetres at its widest point, the Keret House is situated into a crevice between two buildings in the centre of Warsaw and is a temporary home for many travelling writers. At its narrowest point, the house is a mere 92 centimetres wide! Take the short, virtual tour below.
The Hobbit House - Wales
Not only is this house literally straight out of Lord of the Rings, it is also one of the most eco-friendly structures in the world! Located on a hillside in Wales, this ‘strange’ home was built at a low cost of just $5,200 by foregoing convention, designer and builder, Simon Dale. Motivated by a more sustainable life, Simon Dale used renewable materials like straw bales in the floor, walls and roof for natural insulation. Other green features include a skylight in the roof for natural light, solar panels for electricity, spring collected water, underground air cools the fridge, water on the roof is used for the garden and the toilet is used as compost. Go green or go home, right? See the famous home below.
Old Water Tower becomes Modern Home - Belgium
Don’t judge this book by it’s cover. This 100 foot water tower might not look so modern on the outside, but believe it or not, it’s actually an extremely modern home now. The home also comes with a bit of history too. What was once used used to serve as a Nazi hideout during the war, was later transformed into a living space in 2007 by Bham Design Studio. The home design is quite minimal and many of the original water tower elements like the main water conduct, concrete ceilings and stairs, and the giant 250,000 liter water basin were kept to preserve the strong identity of the building.
Brooklyn Tower Clock Home - New York City
Interested in soaking in some of the best views NYC has to offer? Or perhaps you’re interested in always knowing what time it is. This 7,000 square-foot penthouse clock home is located at the very top of the Brooklyn Clock Tower and breaks a record for the priciest condominium unit ever sold in Brooklyn for $15 million. Unlike the hobbit home, this home is extremely modern and is equipped with everything you need to feel luxury in the comfort of a home. From radiant heated natural stone floors, glass wall tiles, fixtures and fittings by Dornbracht. While soaking in the master bathroom's tub, you'll have views of the Manhattan Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. To top things off (pun intended), the home also features a rooftop cabana and open deck providing amazing views from the Verrazano Bridge to the Empire State Building. Tour the beautiful home below.
Flinstone’s Inspired Home - Malibu, California
Yab-a-dab-a-doo all the live long day. Inspired from the iconic 60’s cartoon, the Flintstones, this Malibu home is an exact replica of Fred and Wilma’s house in the show. This house is perfect for a couple, as it has one bedroom, two bathrooms, a fireplace and plenty of large windows. Offering amazing views of city lights, sunsets, the Serrano Valley, the Boney Mountains, the Channel Islands and the Pacific Ocean. The only downfall? Dino the Dinosaur doesn’t come with the home. Have a look inside Fred and Wilma's house below.
World’s Smallest Home (1 Square-Metre) - Germany
We’ve all heard of tiny houses, but this is next level. Created by Berlin-based architect, Van Bo Le-Mentzel, this 1 square meter DIY wooden structure (AKA, a house), is only one square meter and can be used as a space to relax, or perhaps used as an extra room inside your apartment. This house is portable, can be used vertically or horizontally, and it’s even on wheels so you can bring it basically anywhere! The house is famously known as ““One-Sqm-House.” Check out the teenie home tour.
Dumpster Home - Brooklyn, New York City
Ever dreamt of living in camouflage? This could be your calling! Nobody would have even the slightest clue that this is a home. A California designer, Gregory Kloehn, really decided to turn the saying “someone else's trash is another man’s treasure” into reality when he transformed an old dumpster into a home for himself. Comparable to the same size as a camping tent, Gregory’s 6X6 feet dumpster home has everything he needs to live day-to-day. There's a small kitchen in one corner with a microwave and a mini-stove, powered by a propane tank. There's a small seating area, and there's a small sleeping area with storage space underneath. Check out the dump for yourself.
Stone House - Portugal
To end things off on a more rock solid note (pun intended), the list would not be complete without showcasing the famous stone house in Portugal. Also semi-inspired by the popular Flintstones show, this home features two-stories, a living room, a fireplace, windows, a front door and even a shingled roof. The home is known to attract thousands of tourists each year. Check out a video of the home below.
If you think we missed any strange houses, let us know!
