The most unusual home designs around the world   

By Arushi Sakhuja

The joy of doing up your home is manifold. right from deciding on the architecture to infusing the interiors of your home with accents that spell out your personality. What may seem strange to some, maybe beautiful to others, and that is the beauty of design – there is nothing known as right or wrong. From sprawling lawns to baroque villas, mid-century homes or Mughal palaces; the demand for well-designed, luxurious homes is plenty. While some prefer to stick to concrete-covered brick walls and manicured gardens, others lean towards fresh and modern facades that exude a strong visual impact.

But if majority take the usual path there are a few who stand out with their unconventional design sense. Some break the boundaries only to create their own definitions, which become a new genre. Design mavericks in the field who today are synonymous with off-beat styles often found their way to the top by breaking the norm. Be it Salvador Dali’s surrealistic designs or Albert Hadley’s mastery of marrying glamour and functionality, impeccable design was born by those who broke the rules.

Your home is often an extension of your personality, a space that you can seamlessly decorate according to your personal tastes and preferences.  A famous quote by interior designer, Billy Baldwin states, “Be faithful to your own taste, because nothing you really like is ever out of style,” and we couldn’t agree more.

Keeping this philosophy in mind, it is important to appreciate design even in unconventional forms. Breaking the stereotype of what we typically define as a home, and it’s about to get a lot more enticing with these bizarre homes. Here is Luxebook’s curated list of unconventional homes that will impress even the most discerning architecture buffs.

Upside Down House  

When it comes to unusual design homes, the Upside-Down House in Germany is one that most of us are familiar with. Being out of the outdoors, much like the name everything in this home is upside down from the façade to the placement of furniture. The house was designed by Klaudiusz Golos and Sebastion Mikuciuk, for a special exhibition in Trassenheide Germany and is open to the public for visiting. However, when the construction of the home started, it was envisioned to be a tourist attraction, rather the duo just wanted to do something different.

Flintstone House  

We’ve all been through a phase where we have a fictional obsession, from some it could be a movie character for others a bizarre dream, but one such individual, Dick Clark (actor and producer) turned the dream into a reality. Being fascinated by the idea of the stoned-inspired Flintstone home, he created a Flintstones Home in Malibu California. Taking inspiration from pop culture, it is almost a replica of the house owned by the Flintstones family from the popular cartoon show from the 60s. A sprawling property merely minutes from the beach, it covers 22.89 acres of land and offers an amazing full rotation panorama of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, Boney Mountains, Serrano Valley, and Los Angeles. The exceptional dwelling contains one bedroom, two bathrooms, a fully functioning caveman kitchen and Neolithic décor throughout. In 2014, the home was put on sale for a whopping $3.5 million. All we can say is that if we wanted to live in a fantasy world, this would surely be our dream home.

Earth House Estate  

Is your dream home one that is sustainable yet infused with visionary architecture? The magical Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse on the outskirts of Zurich designed by Peter Vetsch is out of the ordinary. Vetsch is known for his sustainable homes and the architectural idea is to build homes to allow residents to live within the ground, rather than simply on it. Located in the city of Dietikon, this complex has nine cosy earth-covered homes grouped around an artificial lake. Although they look tiny from the outside, the houses are far more spacious inside.

S-House  

Clean lines, geometric patterns and modern technology, and this home in Saitama, Japan is no different. Known for their signature glass houses, Japan has simple but intelligently designed homes and interiors. Created by the Japanese architect Yuusuke Karasawa, this house replicates a zig-zag pattern courtesy of the stair design while exuding a modern appeal. Championing a monotone colour scheme but predominantly overshadowed by tones of white, it is contemporary in every form. The smart construction allows for plenty of natural light and can be described best as a complex, layered network space.

Dune House

Aptly named Dune House, nestled in Atlantic Beach, Florida, USA, this home was designed and built by architect William Morgan in 1975 on a sand dune. Years later, the home has been converted into a modern living space although still unique in design. A duplex, this home was initially built as a holiday rental. The architect felt a need for privacy and hence built the home underground in an existing sand dune. Due to the mass of sand surrounding the home, the inside is kept to a nice temperature all year round but it can get hot in the summer. However, the true beauty of this architectural masterpiece is the lack of use of lines.

Nautilus House

If you wish to experience life under the seas, this home is the place to be. This fantastical house shaped like a seashell brings aquatic design to architecture.

A masterpiece by architect Javier Senosiain, this unique shell-shaped home is in Naucalpan, Mexico. Inspired by the beauty of nature, the buildings have been constructed to bring us back to creating harmony with nature, and Javier even brought elements of aquatic life into this design. The Nautilus House is earthquake-proof and maintenance-free. Using a technique called ferrocement construction, a frame of steel-enforced wire is coated with concrete, allowing for rounded, natural curves, and organically shaped rooms. Hundreds of small rainbow-coloured stained-glass windows line spaces of the ceiling and bring to life the stunning design.

Cube Houses  

Are you someone who is inspired by Art Deco? We mean linear and geometric patterns. If you just said yes, this innovative home in Rotterdam Netherlands will have your heart. Kubuswoningen are a set of innovative houses designed by architect Piet Blom in 1984 that replicate the shade of a cube. The USP of this design is the creation of 38 small cubes and two so-called ‘super-cubes’, all attached to each other. This iconic building has now been transformed into a hostel, where guests can stay in a tilted cube room.

Bubble House

France is synonymous with art and aesthetics, so it isn’t a surprise that the iconic Bubble House is an artistic masterpiece. Designed by Hungarian architect Antti Lovag in the ’70s, the Palais Bulles (Bubble Palace), is a complex of interconnected, terracotta-coloured domes on the French Riviera that brings together architecture and nature.  Lovag’s interest in spherical architecture stemmed from his belief that straight lines are aggression against nature and curves were better suited to the mobility of man.

The iconic dwelling was built between 1979 and 1984 by French industrialist Pierre Bernard and was bought in 1992 by the fashion designer Pierre Cardin. Spread across 2.1-acres, it has six levels and includes gardens and three pools. What’s more? Unique in design, the interiors include ten-bedroom suites decorated by contemporary artists, gardens, water ponds, a swimming pool and a 500-seat outdoor auditorium that overlooks the sea while facing the breathtaking bay of Cannes.

The Leaf House

Nature seems to be a much-loved source of inspiration when it comes to architecture. The Leaf House in Angra Dos Reis Brazil by Architect firm Mareines & Patalano is an architectural masterpiece. The home’s roof looks like a giant flower with six petals, and each petal covers a different section of the home. A curved swimming pool works its way through the house before culminating in a small pond stocked with fish and vegetation in the backyard. Lacking corridors, the swimming pool is curvy in shape and runs into the house. Upon passing the dining room, it converts into a pond having fishes and aquatic plants in it. The true beauty of such a home is how nature and art have been fused together to create a home for mankind.

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