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Category / Desirable Digs

How a Lost English Castle is Coming Back from its Hopeless Ruin

How to save a ruin? It’s a question that’s been on my mind lately since I discovered a derelict 17th century château just outside of Paris, which could soon be beyond saving. So when I came across the story of another 17th century historic ruin across the channel in England, arguably found in much worse shape than…

The Hermès Secret Garden on a Paris Rooftop

High above the grand boutique windows of number 24 rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where Charles-Émile Hermès relocated his father’s harness workshop in 1880 and first began to retail saddlery, there is an exquisite little-known paradise that overlooks the rooftops of Paris. I stumbled upon some insider photographs by Quentin Bertoux of this secret little Parisian terrace, so let’s take a…

Any Takers on this Historic Brothel For Sale?

I‘m always on the hunt for the most unusual properties on the market. We’ve found old churches, lighthouses, trains and entire ghost towns, but never before have we come across an old brothel for sale. And ain’t she a beauty! The small town of Wilkeson in Washington has a current population of under 500 and was…

Inside the 150 Year-Old Skeleton of an Unfinished Octagonal Palace

She’s a beauty isn’t she? Pictured here after she was abandoned in the 1930s by a cotton baron’s family that were never able to finish their dream home, Longwood mansion is an extraordinary antebellum plantation house that still stands to this day in Natchez, Mississippi. It’s the largest octagonal house in the United States and despite the ornately-finished…

The Ultimate Gypsy Wonderland Motel

Paradise comes in many shapes and forms for different people, but give us a country ranch with 18th century barns, vintage neon signs, Frida Kahlo-influenced folk art and outdoor porches decorated with salvaged antiques and string lights? Let’s just say, we’d be making ourselves quite comfortable… Behold Rancho Pillow, a 20 acre compound that rests near the…

The Wonderful Lost World of Mr. Hendy

Number 36 High Street in Hastings, England, started out its very long life as a soda-bottling shop. During the restoration of this 18th century grade II listed Georgian town house, they unearthed bullet-shaped soda bottles under the floorboards. According to records, it was later a saddlers in the 19th century, then a tailor, a sweet shop, a…

A Hidden Jungle Book Façade of Paris

Could you dream of a more perfect façade? I tell you, it’s really hard to get anywhere in this city when you’re constantly jumping off your bike to photograph something magical at every turn. This pastel mosaic menagerie has just been hanging out on a backstreet in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, waiting for someone to notice… When I saw the building’s caretaker sweeping…

Camping like an Alien

When NASA tests habitation on Mars, they do it at a station in the Mojave Desert. This is a landscape that was chosen to be most representative of another planet and it’s also where Andrea Zettler, American sculptor, installation artist, and investigator of social practice, set up her sci-fi campsite. Lead Image (c) Rich Combs One of Andrea’s…

The Coziest Bus Stop in Britain, Made by a Mystery Guerrilla Homemaker

For the residents of a small village in Dartmoor, England, the universally-dreaded morning commute to work is now very much something to look forward to. Last summer, the village of Walkhampton woke up to find their grim and graffiti-covered bus stop had been transformed into a welcoming living room, complete with an armchair, pillows, framed pictures, potted…

Oh, Just an Abandoned Hobbit Castle Built for Sheep

Having spent seven years surfing what I’ve come to call the “underweb”, I’ll tell ya, it takes some pretty weird stuff to surprise me these days. But this? This restores my faith in the internet’s ability to never run out of obscure things to show me. Behold “Colin’s Barn”, an eccentric hobbit-like superstructure built in the 1980s by…

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