These Unusual Homes Are Far From the Standard Four Walls

Ms. Hoggzet, a 42-year-old therapist, says their four children loved it from the start – especially the semi-circular indoor pool, although it was bright red. She soon became associated with architecture, appreciating the light from all the windows. Her husband, a 48-year-old who works in IT, took a little longer, but when he saw how much others liked him, he came around, she said.

“I get a little embarrassed sometimes because it’s definitely weird,” says Ms. Hoggzet. “But we think it’s beautiful now. Everyone tells us this is the most special home they’ve ever been.”

Real estate agents say unusual homes have appeared more frequently and have attracted more attention since the pandemic began. It’s a combination of an overheated housing market, a shortage of housing, the ability to work from anywhere, and an open mind to new ideas.

“People have an increased sense of detachment,” says Eric Gunther, senior editor at Realtor.com. “They say ‘I could be anywhere, so why not be in Montana?'” “

“Exotic homes have always been on the market, but people are more open to the idea of ​​adopting them now.”

It’s hard to miss a few lists: the so-called “monolithic dome” home in Kennebunkport, Maine, looks like a giant concrete bunker, while what’s advertised as a “land yacht” in O’Grace, Michigan is a replica of a wooden motorboat that looks like Come out trick. In Seal Beach, California, a 19th-century water tower has been transformed into a four-story home above its neighbors. An 18,700-square-foot Disney-like fairy castle with a moat and 126-foot-tall towers is up for sale in Woodstock, Connecticut, for $35 million.

In the 1960s and 1970s, some vacation homes were designed in more exotic shapes that contributed to their sense of escape from suburban conformism and traditional home styles, says Chad Rundle, associate professor in the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Environment. They are designed as vacation homes, he said, and are often built in recreation areas, places that have likely been more desirable since the pandemic as places to live and work year-round.

“The gap between the time an idea, such as A-frames or mirrored carpet, enjoyed an initial wave of popular interest and the subsequent revival of that idea seems shorter,” says Mr. Randell.

However, selling one-of-a-kind homes can be a challenge, says Melissa Tindall, a real estate agent at Compass Mountain West in Sun Valley, Idaho. She has a listing for a five-bedroom, five-bathroom 12,550-square-foot home that she markets as the “Sun Valley Spaceship” for $5.95 million in Bellevue, Idaho. It contains an amphitheater, pond, and a 12-foot circular metal sprocket, once used in a Montana mine to decorate its doors. The trick is to help the buyer visualize themselves there, she says. “The right buyer is out there. It’s just a matter of conjuring up the right feelings.”

Michelle Mayer and Doug Graham surprised themselves when they went out of their way. The couple, 33, lived in apartments only until October, when they paid $1.05 million for a steel-framed semicircular home in Escondido, California, with a predominantly glass facade. The home, on 8 acres, has a two-story inverted Y-shaped stone fireplace that extends inside and out.

“It’s amazing,” says Mr. Graham. “It’s a magical oasis.” But “it’s not for everyone,” says Ms. Meyer.

Although it has some quirky elements, like clear glass doors in all the bathrooms and an old-school bus on the property, the couple is impressed with the details put in by the home’s builder, who gave them a four-hour tour, pointing out hand-collected South American wood and skylights. Above the shower in the master bathroom.

Daphne Pulsifer is still waiting for a buyer who fully appreciates the “monolithic dome” house in Kennebunkport, Maine, which she and her husband built. On the market since June, priced at $690,000, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom 1,477-square-foot home is on 42 acres and has an off-grid photovoltaic system, laminate and tile floors, oversized windows, handcrafted woodwork, large deck and fenced pasture .

Ms. Pulsifer says the design idea came from her husband, Daniel Bates, who drew his inspiration from photos of a vaulted house he saw in a magazine as a child. She says that although the house has internet and mobile service, it will appeal to people who want to live off the grid. “It’s an opportunity, but it’s clearly not for everyone,” she says.

An unpaved element of the house may be the long, unpaved driveway, a private road that Mrs. Pulcifer and Mr. Bates named The Path to Misery. “We have a dark sense of humor,” she says. Although there was some interest, given its location 10 minutes from the upscale vacation town of Kennebunkport and two hours from Boston, “it brings together a really small buyer,” says listing agent, Josephine Bauer with Coldwell Banker.

Ken Metz sold a wooden yurt in November in Killingworth, Connecticut, about 25 miles east of New Haven, for $250,000, just below the asking price of $285,000. Soon after the one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 900-square-foot home was listed last April, it received feedback that it needed a lot of work. So take it off the market and invest an additional $40,000 in landscaping, new plumbing, new windows, heating, and additional interior renovations. He had already invested $30,000 that included a new roof, refinishing the wood, new appliances, and cleaning and cleaning the 6-acre parcel. Sometime before its sale in November, Mr. Metz listed the house for rent and was surprised by the amount of inquiries he received. “I was shocked at how quickly people responded with interest in renting this unique home. I think it was all about the experience of staying in a tent,” he says.

The converted water tower, located in Seal Beach, California, south of Los Angeles near Long Beach, says co-owner Scott Ostlund, may be hard to sell. He says he distinguishes who buys it. He wants someone who “opens him up to society,” he said. The four-story, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home features 2,828 square feet of 360-degree views of a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Residential and commercial real estate agent Mr. Ostlund and his partner, Barrett Woods, bought the tower, originally built in the 19th century to service steam-engine railroad cars, for $1.7 million in 2016 and renovated it. The house is for sale for $4.95 million and was advertised in its marketing pitch as “a stunning example of stunning architecture.” It has two garages, jacuzzi, plunge showers and a round lounge surrounded by large windows.

This “land yacht” home for sale for $750,000 is located in O’Grace, Michigan, on a plot of land overlooking Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. It has been on the market since August. The five-bedroom, two-bathroom boat replica still includes details like a handcrafted oak dining table with lifesaving tools, a ship’s wheel and a smoke stack just like the original steamboats, says Barbara Baum Friethy, which her grandfather William Baum designed and built. Boat with his sons in 1936 for about $12,000.

“I kept it just the way my grandfather built it,” says Ms. Pom Frithy, 72, a pediatric therapist in Maine. “I wish we could keep it in our family.”

Christopher Mark says he can keep the 19,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom castle, which he built on 75 acres in Woodstock, Connecticut, about 46 miles northeast of Hartford. The investor, who is the grandson of Chicago industrialist Mark Clayton, says he created it for his three daughters, a seven-year process that ended in 2010. And while they loved living there, they are now grown up. “It was a pure love project,” he says, one that’s currently listed for $35 million. “If I don’t sell it, that’s fine,” he says.

John Bezzie, registration agent for Randall Realtors Compass, says there are two hurdles to overcome to sell a castle: the price point (the average home price in the area is $85,000) and the fact that not everyone wants to live in a castle. “It’s not your average $35 million worth of possessions,” he says.