When I was young, I used to read the story of Hansel and Gretel and the house made of sweets and gingerbread, and of the woman who lived in a shoe. Even though the stories were fantasy, the thought of living in an odd house stayed with me.
Here is a collection of houses from around the world that would look better suited in a fairy tale.
Nautilus House
Built in 2006, Arqitectura Organica built this house, in the shape of a nautilus seashell, for a young couple who wanted to live in a home different from any other.
The World’s Tallest Log Cabin
Built by a former Russian gangster, Nikolai Sutyagin’s home is the world’s tallest log cabin, constructed entirely of wooden planks. It soars up to 13 floors, reaching 144ft and about half the size of Big Ben.
The Storybook House
The aptly named Storybook House looks like it was ripped right out of the pages of Lord of the Rings. Built over 20 years by Richey and Karen Morgan, the house is a handbuilt homage to Grimm’s fairy tales.
The Mushroom House
Designed by Terry Brown, a professor of Architecture and Interior Design at the University of Cincinnati, the Mushroom House resembles a giant mushroom.
The Cubic Houses of Rotterdam
Designed by Piet Blom, the concept behind the Kubuswoning (Cubic Houses) is that each cube represents an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.
Dar Al Hajar
Built by Imam Yahya of Yemen, the Dar Al Hajar, or Rock Palace, represents unique Yemeni architecture
The Spaceship House
Located in Urbandale, Iowa, the Spaceship House is a sight for sore eyes. It belongs to an eccentric man with a thing for science fiction.
The Kettle House
The Kettle House is a landmark of Galveston, Texas, and survived Hurricane Ike. Built in the 1950s, it’s made almost entirely out of steel and is built to stand the test of time.
The Thin House
The aptly named Thin House is located in Sorbonne, Paris. You must be “en forme” to live in there.
The Glynne Arms
The Glynne Arms is a historical landmark on the edge of the Himley Estate in the United Kingdom, more popularly known as the Crooked House. Its crooked condition was caused by the mining of coal underneath and around the building’s foundation.
The Dancing House
An office building in Prague, the Dancing House was designed by architects Vlado Milunic and Frenk Gehry. Inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the building resembles a pair of dancers.
Krzywy Domek
Hard to pronounce, the Krzywy Domek, or Crooked House is an irregularly shaped building in Poland, inspired by the fairytale illustrations and drawings of fantasists Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg.
Interesting.
This really opens your mind up to various ideas of what i would like my house/home to look like if i had the opportunity to design a house for me and my family. probably any design is possible as long as the wallet matches though, hey?
Kas, N16
Not sure if having a bar or tavern on a tilt is good for the inebriated.
Some of those are pretty cool. Thanks! For some reason, I find the log cabin quite pleasing to the eye.
I guess you could have included a couple of Gaudi’s projects as well.
Francis Barragan
I was only able to view this page in Chrome. It could not be rendered in Firefox even when using the Internet Explorer render in the add on IE tab.