Peering out of the tree-tops in Pittsford, New York is a collection of pods whose aesthetic falls somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and War of the Worlds (if the aliens were hippies, that is). Locals have crowned it “the Mushroom House,” and for a price you can put down roots there yourself…
Built in 1969, it was designed by James H. Johnson, and consists of five 80 ton pods. It was a resourceful, all-hands-on-deck effort, with builders Peter Strong and William Ashton making the bases for the stems out of “30’ “pie pan” molds of concrete and polyurethane.”
The inspiration for the home was the Queen Anne’s Lace flower, whose texture is also recreated on the house’s interiors:
There are 3 bedrooms in the 4,200 sq ft space, which also boasts some extensive mosaic work by ceramic artist Marguerite Antell, who said she wanted the space to feel as “extroverted as possible and still maintain privacy.” Over the years, 20 artists have lent their talents to the constant building, updating, and embellishing of the space.
But living in the fantasy home has come with its fair share of reality checks. “We have four different gas and electric bills,” explained its owners to Rochester Magazine in 2015, “Apparently, RG&E can’t consolidate the bills.”
With the home share revolution of the past few years, the Mushroom’s owners let it moonlights as a rental with a price tag of $6,900 per month.
