15 49.0138 8.38624 both 0 bullet 0 4000 1 0 horizontal https://www.messynessychic.com 300 4000

Category / Desirable Digs

One of Europe’s Greatest Treasures Hides in a Sleepy French Village

Conques was never supposed to be found. Or at least, not easily. The sleepy village had been presiding over the French Midi-Pyrénées mountains since the 7th century, when a monk named Dadon decided it would make the perfect place for sacred hermitage. Not only was the valley close to a legendary Roman spring, but it…

The Mountain Wizard of Woodstock

What happens when you put Rip Van Winkle, Robin Hood and Paul Bunyan in a blender? You get Clarence Schmidt, the iconic outsider artist who spent a lifetime building an eccentric folk art kingdom on a mountaintop in Woodstock… Schmidt was originally from Queens, but he split for the country when he inherited five acres of…

The Lost French Castle That’s Taking 25 Years to Re-build

Let’s say a volunteer became involved in the early stages of building this castle at the age of twenty. By the time construction of the fortress is complete they would have doubled in age and already celebrated their 40th birthday. These days, that’s a heck of a long time to take building something, but that’s because this is no ordinary…

Fixer Upper of the Week: A Ghost Hamlet in Salem

The memories of this place are hiding in the warm breeze and the peeling paint. Happier times are somewhere in the reflection of the glass windows and the creaking door speaks of the stories that have passed through it. At one time in my life, I want to be the person that brings back the…

Hollywood’s Iconic ‘Gone with the Wind’ Movie Set Has Been Hiding in a Barn for Decades

It was the first ever film to receive more than five Academy Awards, one of which was bought by Michael Jackson when he bid $1.5 million on the 1939 statue for Best Picture. Re-released in theatres in the US eight times, it raked in more than $400 million, which when adjusted for inflation is anywhere between…

Legend of the Button King

The secret life of Dalton Stevens was born in the quiet of 2:00 am, in the even quieter town of Bishopville, South Carolina. (Population = more or less 3,000.) Stevens, then 53, had recently developed insomnia. “I didn’t have nothin’ to do,” he said. Then he picked up a button. He started bedazzling an old jumpsuit…

For Sale: Spacious Hand-Carved Cave Cathedral

Here’s something you won’t find on Craigslist. Hidden beneath the desert of Northern New Mexico, hand-sculpted from the sandstone cliffs, an etherial cave network built by a single man, is up for sale. Armed with not much more than a pick axe and a wheelbarrow, a sixty seven year-old sculptor and off-the-grid visionary artist, Ra…

Private Island Complete with an Abandoned “Nazi” Castle for Sale

You know what this island is made for? Childhood adventure stories. Deserted in the turquoise Caribbean sea with a creepy abandoned castle, mermaid caves and mysterious tales of World War II German submarines– it’s Tintin meets Jack Sparrow; a place to let your imagination run riot … for $39,000,000. Darby Island in the Bahamas, part of…

A Brief Compendium of Crazy Campers

By land or by sea, as big as a suburban house or as small as a tiki hut, nothing beats the charm of a kitschy caravan. We’ve whittled down a fresh compendium of our favourites, and if there’s one trend we’ve noticed amongst the winning lot, it’s that they bring the vacation to you. A…

Let’s Snoop Around the Former French Riviera Home of Coco Chanel

Today I thought we could make a quick stop at Villa Pausa on the French Riviera, the former residence of none other than Coco Chanel, between 1929 to 1953. In recent years, it was on and off the market for upwards of $50 million and in 2015, it was bought by none other than the House of Chanel. I…

NEWER POSTS 1 … 23 24 25 … 40 OLDER POSTS