Coolest Houses in the World

From invisible treehouses to castles on wheels, some of these enviable mansions come complete with slides, 360-degree panoramic views and even underwater bedrooms. Be warned, by the end of this article, your own home might start to look pretty shabby by comparison!

Goose Creek Tower, The "Dr. Seuss House"

One home is enough for most people, but not for the owner of the Dr. Seuss House in Talkeetna, Alaska, nicknamed as such for resembling Dr. Seuss’ famous art-style. Officially known as Goose Creek Tower, this teetering structure was created using layers of steel supports, assembled with a crane, to stack a dozen log cabins on top of each other.

The owner utilized his engineering expertise to continually add to what was originally only planned as a two-story cabin over the course of 20 years. Though it certainly has great views, anyone with a fear of heights will want to steer clear. In fact, the house has now grown so tall that the owner can’t build any higher without entering federal airspace!

The Safe House

This next house is perfect for fans of The Walking Dead. Located just outside Warsaw, The Safe House is the only home in the world that’s been designed to withstand a Zombie apocalypse. At first glance, it looks like a sleek modernist mansion, but flick a switch, and the mechanical concrete walls and strong steel shutters transform the pad into an impenetrable fortress.

And while you wait for the zombies to arrive, one of the large protective shutters conveniently doubles as a home cinema. What’s more, it even has a drawbridge to get to the separate swimming pool building without going downstairs. Because who says apocalypse living needs to be totally deprived of luxury?

Slide House

Why walk when you could slide? Your inner child will be obsessed with this next house, and for good reason: it’s a modern family home that features three-floors of built-in slides.

One side of this home, found in Tokyo, has standard stairs, which is boring but essential for reaching the top floor. Once you’ve made the climb, though, you can cross to the other side of the house and ‘ride the slide’ all the way back to ground level. If that wasn’t enough, the house also boasts a built-in ball-pit.

Fun-filled Design by LEVEL Architects for Families with Kids by ArchiNest

The Egg House

Up next, we have something a little different. This strange little sphere-on-wheels was designed as an eco-friendly capsule apartment, crafted out of little more than iron wire, bamboo, sandbags, and plexiglass. The Egg’s owner, architect Dai Haifei, created this quirky home as a fun way to explore innovative and cheap ways of living in busy cities.

He lived in it for 2 months back in 2010 to prove its viability, and only moved out when it got too chilly in the winter. It may lack luxury, but this portable home has most of the essentials, including solar power and a cozy bed. The grass seeds in the cladding ensure that a little rain will transform the egg into a luscious green lawn, although, in practice, as the grass grows, it kind of starts to looks like a moldy old mattress.

House N.A.

This next house is strictly for those who have nothing to hide. Why? Because it’s made almost entirely out of glass. Located in the centre of Tokyo, every wall of this home is completely see-through. That means everything you do will be visible to nosy neighbors and curious tourists alike.

House N.A. is supposed to look a bit like a modern treehouse: the white steel struts represent branches, while the flood of natural sunlight creates the illusion of living al fresco. Instead of rooms, the house has platforms which you reach by climbing small ladders. It’s a stunning home, but if you value your privacy, you might want to install some curtains before you consider moving in!

Chateau on Wheels

Who doesn’t dream of living in a castle? Well, the owners of this next house are living that dream, but in a pretty unusual way. The Chateau on Wheels in New Zealand is a mobile home with a difference: it’s designed to look like a miniature castle.

Unbelievable House Truck Transforms Into Fantasy Castle by Living Big In A Tiny House

When the house is on the move, the turrets, which are actually made of collapsible plastic, can be folded away to avoid startling passing motorists. But as soon as the owners reach their destination, the side doors unfold, and turrets pop out to reveal the castle within. Inside, the clever and cozy space-saving décor makes this castle the perfect pad for a small family. A brilliant way to live like royalty, on a budget.

The Heliotrope

We’d all like to save the planet, but not everyone is willing to live in an experimental, eco-friendly home in order to do so. But that’s exactly what one German architect did! In 1994, Rolf Disch built himself this cylindrical, solar-powered home in Freiburg, Germany.

The amazing thing about Disch’s creation is that it actually rotates, allowing it to harness maximum solar power by following the movement of the sun. Disch envisioned a house that could be totally energy-efficient, renewable and CO2 neutral, and utilized cutting-edge green energy technology to achieve his dream.

The home’s heating draws from a combination of super-efficient insulating materials and those metal solar-thermal railings that surround its walls, which trap heat throughout the day. Meanwhile, the house’s occupants’ waste is all composted or recycled using state-of-the-art purification systems.

The energy usage is so efficient that the house actually produces five times more energy than it uses, allowing it to provide its surplus to the local grid. As the world’s first energy-positive solar home, that makes it a real ray of sunshine on the German property market!

Casa de Penedo

If getting back to nature is your thing, you’ll love this home in Northern Portugal.

Built between four enormous boulders, it’s so well-camouflaged that you might not even spot it at a first glance, which is exactly what the original owners wanted! They planned to use the house as a peaceful holiday retreat, a place to unwind and soak in the sights.

However, news about the mysterious stone building spread fast, and soon tourists were rushing to take a look. Eventually, the owners moved out, and the house now functions as a small museum dedicated to the beauty of the surrounding landscape. Reportedly, though, without any electricity in the building itself, things at Casa de Penedo are still very much au naturale.

Upside Down House

There’s something slightly off about this next house, it’s upside-down! This is the appropriately-named ‘Upside Down House’ in Weisenweg, Germany. Nobody actually lives in this house, due to a combination of it being an art installation and the rather obvious practical limitations.

Everything inside this house in Germany is upside down by Insider

With toilets on the ceiling and lights on the floor, many people have to leave the Upside Down House after just a few minutes because its mind-bending weirdness leaves them feeling dizzy! If you can stay inside long enough, though, you can make the most of some unforgettable photo ops. Assuming your lunch doesn’t make a re-appearance mid-snapshot.

The Skateboard House

Some skateboard obsessives would totally live on the ramp if they could. And thanks to the PAS House, more commonly known as The Skateboard House, these dreams could soon become a reality.

etnies PAS House by HYPEBEAST

It hasn’t actually been fully-built yet, but this mini-apartment prototype shows what’ll it’ll look like when it’s finally constructed in Malibu, California. The idea is that every single surface would be skateable, meaning the walls, the floor, and even the ceilings are fair game for you and your board! Which would mean all beers retrieved from the fridge should be delivered overhead, with a kickflip or two to finish up.

The Steel House

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this hunk of sculpted steel in Texas doesn’t look all that much like a house. In fact, many people think it looks more like an enormous metal pig.

This unusual home isn’t actually finished, as the architect sadly died in 2008 before he could add the pool, aquarium and the nude statues that he’d originally planned! Still, the house is pretty impressive, built entirely out of hand-welded steel and glass, commanding gorgeous views over the edge of a canyon. And bare though it may be, its interior is something else!

Volcano House

Ever wanted to live in a house on a volcano? It sounds cool if a little risky. Still, health and safety red tape didn’t stop one intrepid architect from building this home in Newberry Springs, California; a mansion located right on top of a volcanic cinder cone.

Of course, the cone’s completely safe now, having crusted over many millennia ago, and now simply provides a perfect vantage point for the residents living atop it. The unusual structure looks a little like a flying saucer has crash-landed in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

And just like a UFO, this space-age mansion has stunning views of the skies that stretch out over the desert dunes, not to mention its classy décor and private lake. All this place needs is some kind of supervillain to drill a hole to the lava deep below for their enemies to be thrown into.

House On The Cliff

Moving from volcano homes to cliffside retreats now, we have this home, built straight onto a cliff face in Salobreña, Spain.

The owners fell in love with the location, but had no idea how to build a home on such a steep slope. Luckily, the inventive architects they hired to figure it out came up with this unusual solution. The house is actually carved into the cliff, which means it looks a bit like a futuristic cave. The weird, wavy roof, fashioned out of metal plating, helps the home to blend into its rocky surroundings, while also paying homage to the rippling sea below.

And, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows, the unusual location’s magnificent view of an unbroken vista stretching out from the Alboran sea to the horizon is fully-visible at all times. As the adage goes, if someone tells you to jump off a cliff, don’t do it. But if they tell you to jump into this cliffside swimming pool, you should seriously consider!

Boeing 727 Fuselage Home

The 727 Fuselage Home in Costa Rica is an opulent two-bedroom suite hidden inside a real, retired airplane. The Hotel Costa Verde salvaged the Boeing 727 plane, which would otherwise have been used for scrap metal. They moved it piece-by-piece to its new home on the edge of San Miguel National Park, where it now appears frozen in time, permanently soaring through the jungle.

With hand-carved, teak wood furniture, and a terrace that allows residents to observe the local tree-top sloths, toucans, and monkeys, it certainly beats flying economy-class. The plane’s windows look out all the way to the ocean, meaning as long as you don’t wake up in the night thinking you’ve crash-landed in Jurassic Park, you’ll probably have a spectacular time.

Skysphere Futuristic Man Cave

The Skysphere is a solar-powered micro-home in New Zealand that sits atop a 20-ft-tall tower. Built by New Zealander Jono Williams for around $40,000, in order to reach this futuristic mancave, you’ll need to climb a ladder hidden within the central hollow pole. Once you’re up there, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the view!

Almost every part of this high-tech house can be controlled using a smartphone, including locking and unlocking the doors, playing music and changing the color of the lights. There’s no kitchen or bathroom, so this definitely isn’t suitable as a full-time residence, unless you have a bladder of steel, but it’s certainly a great spot for star-gazing. Or for a very literal way of proving you’re above everyone else.

Boffil's Cement Factory Conversion

Would you live in an abandoned factory? Personally, the very idea gives me the heebie-jeebies, but this was obviously not the case for one brave Spanish architect, who became aware of an enormous, abandoned cement factory in 1973.

Ricardo Boffil was captivated by the cavernous, ivy-strewn location he found there, filled with stairs that led nowhere. But instead of calling in the Ghostbusters, brave Boffil saw an opportunity. He dedicated the next 40 years of his life to converting the factory into a house and studio, preserving many of its original features, including the colossal cement silos. The result is this enormous and impressively-open-plan home, which we can only hope isn’t as haunted as it looks.

Gue(ho)st House

The Guest-Ghost House in Delme, France, has at varying times been used as a prison house, a school, and a funeral home. But in an attempt to give it an entirely new lease of life, two artists teamed up to transform it into an enormous work of art instead. Covering it in a thick layer of polystyrene, resin, and bright white paint, the intention was to create something resembling the classic white-sheet ghosts we’re all familiar with.

According to the artists, this was in reference to the countless different individuals who’d come and gone, leaving their ghostly imprint on the building over the years. The result is a spooky white structure dripping with swooping, sculptural shapes, almost like it’s been coated in melting mozzarella. Sadly, you can’t actually live in the Guest-Ghost House, as it’s currently in use as a visitors center. But if you like the look of it, perhaps you’ll be inspired to attack your own home with a pot of white paint?

Beverly Hills Mansion

While some homes are cool because of their uniqueness, sometimes you just can’t beat a good old-fashioned luxury mansion. Located in Beverly Hills, California, and made from concrete and steel, this wonderfully-decadent home has it all.

There’s a 500-bottle wine cellar, several pools and water-features, luxurious kitchens, glass-walled leisure areas, and a rooftop terrace with views of the city. This house is so fancy that even the custom staircase cost half a million dollars to make! If this embodiment of luxury living seems like your dream home, the only catch is that it’ll set you back a cool $14,000,000.

Luxury Treehouses

Sick of living on solid ground? If so, allow me to introduce some unconventional homes with a more elevated approach to accommodation. First up: the Mirror Cube. Blink and you’ll miss this hidden hideout, which is expertly camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings.

This cube-shaped treehouse in Norway is wrapped around the trunk of a tree and covered in mirrors, meaning it reflects the leafy forest around it. Inside, you’ll find enough space for two people to enjoy a simple woodland hideaway, with a double bed and a rooftop terrace accessible by ladder. Be careful though, if you leave the Mirror Cube for a stroll, you might want to leave a light on so you can find it upon your return.

But perhaps you’d rather stand out than blend in? If so, you might prefer the Bird’s Nest in Sweden. This unusual treehouse does what it says on the tin, it’s designed to resemble a giant, twiggy nest, accessible via a ladder leading to a hatch in the floor.

The home within is big enough for a family of four, and small porthole windows allow you to peek through the twigs at the forest scenery. Bird-person costumes are not required for entry, but you might as well wear one anyway.

The Domestic Transformer

If you’ve ever grown bored with the layout of your home, this next house poses the ultimate solution. Gary Chang, an architect from Hong Kong, devised an ingenious way to demonstrate how small living spaces, like the 360-square-foot apartment he’d lived in since childhood, could be totally transformed.

Utilizing his architectural know-how, he maximized his space by installing sliding screens, movable walls, and hidden storage spaces. His single-room apartment could now be transformed into a whopping 24 different rooms, simply by moving the walls. It’s an intriguing blueprint for how we could use space in the future, as cities grow busier and house prices rise!

Domestic Transformer: Tiny Apartment Transforms by MILLENIONDesign

Villa Vals

When a group of architects decided to construct a mansion on the Swiss Alps, but didn’t want to ruin the luscious mountain meadows, it was a tricky dilemma. Their solution? An underground home, built into the scenery.

With a long wall of the mansion exposed to the outside world, plenty of sunlight and beautiful alpine views are guaranteed. And if all that’s too pleasant, you can always retreat into the subterranean tunnel that connects to the old storage barn further down the hill. You know, for when you want to work on your Smeagol impression in private.

Cork House

This house in Eton, England is made almost entirely out of cork. That’s right, the squishy stuff that pops out of champagne bottles!

The home was constructed by hand out of blocks of compressed cork, an environmentally-friendly material which can be harvested gently from cork trees without needing to fell the tree itself. With spongy walls of this unusual, yet effective, insulating material, the minimalist house is totally unique, while still coming equipped with all the essentials.

What’s also unique is that it isn’t necessarily permanent! When the owners are done with it, they can take it to pieces and crumble it into a cork dust, which can be buried to aerate soil and encourage plant growth. So, if you want to live the champagne lifestyle, what better way to do it than living inside a giant cork?

Spitbank Fort

If home security is your kind of thing, it doesn’t get much better than an isolated fort in the ocean! And this next building, known as Spitbank Fort, fits that bill perfectly. It was once a sea fort, home to hundreds of soldiers who had the job of guarding the coast of Plymouth, England. At the time, it was probably a pretty uncomfortable spot, crowded, cold, and battered by the waves.

The fort has now been transformed into a luxury hotel on its own private island, with a sea-view sauna, heated pool, sunbathing spots and a well-stocked bar. Instead of being expected to guard the coast from pirates, guests can relax with a champagne breakfast or a spot of fishing. And while living there is only available in the form of a temporary stay currently, considering the fort’s historically changing purpose, who’s to say this couldn’t be your new home eventually?

Kellogg Doolittle Residence

At first glance, this stack of stone slabs looks little more than an intriguing natural feature of the desert. That is, until you realize it’s an actual house in Joshua Tree, in the Californian desert.

Constructed of sand-colored concrete slabs, carved to blend seamlessly with the rocks around them, the architect wanted to create a building that seemed to crouch on the landscape, almost like a sleeping animal. When you step inside, though, the house totally transforms.

Light filters through the concrete-and-glass roof, casting mysterious shadows over the boulders, stone floors and striking wooden décor, giving you the impression of living in a science-fiction cave. This place might just knock the volcano house off the top-spot for the ultimate Bond villain abode.

Floating Homes

You’ve probably heard of houseboats but you probably never boarded a water-bound house quite like the Floating Seahorse. This sea-borne abode is part of a fleet of 130 similar homes being constructed off the coast of Dubai. The bedroom is on the lowest floor, which means that it’s completely submerged beneath the waves, talk about sleeping with the fishes!

Huge windows overlook the coral reef, a protected environment where endangered seahorses live and breed. Ascend from the bedroom and you’ll be treated to an upper level which boasts its own mini-bar and hot-tub. Once these are built, they truly will be the ultimate party pads!

Another water-bound beauty is this place, known as the Arkup. These ‘livable yachts’ can move around like boats, but have all the luxuries of a designer home.

Available to buy now for $5.5 million, they justify their price tag by boasting two floors, four bedrooms, state-of-the-art furnishings and balconies overlooking the water. They’re designed to withstand the elements, and the solar panels on the roof mean they’re surprisingly eco-friendly. What’s not to love? For one final floating concept home that’s sure to attract countless buyers as soon as it hits the market, we have this water mansion designed by architects Stephan Fuchs and Thomas Wacker.

The plan is to float several of these homes off a remote bay, accessible by a shuttle service, creating a sort of floating, luxury village. The inhabitants won’t have to feel lonely, though: each home is big enough for 8 people, and the enormous sun decks leave plenty of room for soaking up some rays. Plus, if you get bored of being on the water, the convenient jet-ski parking bays mean you can easily zoom back to dry land. Not that you’ll ever want to leave, of course.

Summer House

Nestled on a forested cliff in the middle of one of Norway’s most spectacular fjords, this magnificent abode is known as the Summer House. Incredibly, this wide-open spectacle of glass and stone was built without felling a single tree or hacking away at any rock. The rockface and the uneven terrain are all incorporated into the home, giving it an excitingly rugged and elemental feel.

Summer House Storfjord: A Window to Nature | The World's Most Extraordinary Homes S02E07 (Norway-2) by Designs 360

The building is made up of a series of pods, each topped with a turf-covered roof, giving it the appearance of a treehouse nestled in the forest scenery. In fact, it’s so committed to being integrated within nature, that there’s no road access to the property, meaning you’ll need a reliable pair of walking boots if you ever want to visit!

Casa Brutale

It’s one thing to live among the rocks of a forest. It’s another thing entirely to live wedged inside a natural rock formation like this. This stunning home, known as Casa Brutale, hasn’t actually been built yet, but it’s due to begin construction in Lebanon in the coming years.

Casa Brutale. Architectural visualization. VR experience by yurikblech

Being built into a sheer cliff face, with the sea-facing walls made entirely of thick glass, will allow for totally unique, sweeping views over the ocean below. And the best part? Instead of a roof, it’s planned to have a glass-bottomed infinity pool.

That means that every room in this one-of-a-kind mansion will be illuminated with rippling, water-filtered light, giving an effect similar to being submerged underwater. If Casa Brutale is anything to go by, it seems living underneath your swimming pool is the best way to guarantee a little privacy!

If you were amazed at the coolest houses, you might want to read about the most dangerous houses. Thanks for reading!