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Category / Desirable Digs

California Dreaming on the Last Hippie Houseboats

Hippies and houseboats; they seem to go together almost like wine and cheese. At least, they used to, especially in California in the 1960s when a mix of old beatniks and young hippies formed a community of whimsical water homes in the Bay Area… I found this photostory lurking in the depths of the LIFE archives, titled “Floating-Houses-California”…

In the Parlour with Cecil Beaton

His name was familiar to me, but I’ll admit that before this post, I didn’t know much about Cecil Beaton. If I’m honest, it was actually his 18th century English manor I fell in love with, Reddish House; the conservatory to be specific. A conservatory or sun parlour if you will, is just the sort of thing…

Fairytale 1950s Chalet Architecture of the West Coast

Were they expecting snow in New Mexico in the winters of 1950? It’s an architecture that should seem a little out of place in a climate like Orange Country, California, but for some reason, it’s sort of charming in a sad and nostalgic way; like watching re-runs of I Love Lucy and realising the ‘American Dream’ feels more like a kitschy,…

Your Office on Cloud 9 in Paris

I remember moving to Paris and not really knowing where to start. In fact, I probably took a lot longer than I should have to rev my engines because I just didn’t have a place to go and plan world domination where the environment inspired me, the wi-fi was reliable, the chairs were comfy and the kitchen was accessible for…

America’s Prehistoric High Rise Apartment Complex

They call it the Montezuma Castle, but the 90ft high monument should never have been named that. The thing is, the Aztec emperor who the ruins were named after, Montezuma, mistakenly believed to have been connected to their construction, was not even born until the cliff dwellings had already been abandoned for several decades. The European-Americans who…

Take a Tour of a 1964 Underground Fallout Home

I found this little gem of a photo series on my weekly fish through the LIFE archives, accompanied by just a few clues to the full story behind it. Filed under “Underground House in Denver, photographed in 1964 by Robert W Kelley”, I did a quick Google search of underground homes built or exhibited in 1964. The most…

Helping Nature Re-decorate the Abandoned Homes of Detroit

Nature is always happy to take over the places we’ve discarded. She’s the first one to reclaim it, curling up around old drainpipes, making herself comfortable in between the cracks and decorating crumbling brick with her own wild wallpaper. In Detroit, a city where vast urban abandonment has been part of the landscape for decades now, a group of…

Dolce Vita Villas For Sale on the Forgotten Italian Riviera

Sprawling over several small bays with clear blue waters peppered with fishing boats, is a dormant paradise of the dolce vita years. A forgotten “St. Tropez”, where movie stars, artists and writers once flocked to the scenic beaches of Tuscany during summer. Whereas most of us think of Tuscany for its rolling hills, scenic countryside and…

Oh nothing, Just Sleeping Under the Stars in a Hotel Room with a Removable Roof

Some people might have mountains they want to climb on their bucket list, or elephants they want to ride. Me? I’m adding this hotel room onto my bucket list. At a very fancy hotel in the Italian hills of Lombardy, described as an enchanting place off the beaten track for those “seeking the pleasure of some…

Check out the Private Portable Islands Christie’s are Now Selling

It’s the kind of scenario that comes straight out of a science-fiction movie set in the future, where the polar ice caps have melted and everyone is living on manmade islands drifting in the ocean, sailing the Earth. But of course for the 1%, their apocalyptic “Waterworld” looks a little more 5 star… No longer just a…

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