Strange house designed like a squashed by a big stone mountain in Portugal

this house as formed by nature. with two large boulder mountain without leaving the concept of healthy homes with doors and windows for ventilation air and sunlight can warm the house and towering chimneys. a house with an extreme exterior is located at NAS Montanhas de Fafe, Portugal. This house looks very sturdy so they can face extreme mountain weather with wind and rainfall are great. via Trendir

Casa Milà

One of the most famous Gaudi designed structures in Barcelona is the Casa Mila, an apartment building completed in 1912. This is Gaudi at his best with an interesting amorphous shape and amazingly colorful details.

Besides the beautiful ironwork which I've shown in a few of my previous posts, many of his buildings are exceptional in their roof architecture. Not content with ugly chimneys and ventilation shafts, Gaudi would decorate these utilitarian objects and turn them into works of sculpture.

While I wasn't able to tour the Casa Mila due to time constraints, I was able to bring a small piece home with me. Over the past few years I've been collecting tiny (tacky?) miniature buildings from house museum gift shops and the main ventilation stack from the Casa Mila now sits on my bookshelf in between Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest and Gaudi's nearby Casa Battlo. What do you like to bring home from your travels as a momento?

Minimalist concept design treehouse in Muster, Germany

house on stilts by adopting a tree house was designed by architect Baumraum situated in a private garden in Muster, Germany. pillar of this house from a tree but instead of steel rods. to get to the tree house was built a staircase made of steel and wood. interior design is minimalist and comfortable allowing an occupied house is comfortable to linger in it. via Trendir

Palau Güell

One of the lesser known Gaudi designed buildings in Barcelona is the Palau Guell. Unfortunately closed for repairs after years of work, I wasn't able to see inside which I hear is pretty amazing.

The Guell name is not unfamiliarly associated with the architect, as many of Gaudi's most famous designs were commissioned by the family. This was the Guell's main townhouse, built by Eusebi Guell from 1886-1890 directly off La Rambla. The house stayed in family hands, with a brief confiscation as army barracks during the civil war, until it was gifted to the country in 1945.

The main entrances seen on the facade were meant for carriages, one for 'in' and one 'out'; hows that for efficiency, much like a restaurant kitchen! The house revolved around entertaining and a large main entertaining room was located just inside off the entry court. The ceiling was studded with holes into the private rooms above to look like starlight, which also provided views of guests below so that the family could decide what to appropriately wear to greet their guests. Another efficient and ingenius idea!

As I wasn't able to see this for myself (the house should be open to the public again by summer 2011) I had to content myself with the beautiful ironwork on the windows outside; true masterpieces.

The small street that it's located on off La Rambla makes it hard to get a very good picture but you can see below that the facade is actually rather plain and quiet for a modernista structure, no matter how lovely. The exterior interest lays in the details of course which I've tried to show here. I think the lesson here is that Gaudi knew when his buildings should be stand out stars, and when they should be background structures. They can't all be masterpieces; sometimes a house is just a house, no matter how extraordinary!

Underground house designs are unique and extraordinary in swiss

This house located on a mountainside in the Swiss village of VALS, when viewed from the mountain top home is not visible because its position is located in the soil. opening of this house follows the contours of the mountain when seen from above like a hole located at the mountain. This remarkable house designed collaboration between the Dutch architect on SEARCH and Christian Muller Architects. Via Trendir, via Gizmodo, via Abitare

Houses on Lake Huron, Canada designed by MOS Architects

This floating home designed by Michael Meredith MOS, is located on a lake
in canada named Lake Huron. most of this houseboat made from wood from the walls, floors, ceilings and bath fixtures. see the condition of the lake water which adjusts up and down season and weather, the house was set on a floating pontoon structure steel.via trendir

Family house on the hill with exceptional design and elegant appearance

Family homes are very comfortable and elegant with a modern minimalist style, designed by architect Cadaval & Sola-Morales. it is situated beside a steep hill in Spain with a wide window allows the homeowner can enjoy beautiful mountain views.

Beach house with the concept of houses on stilts by Kieran Timberlake

Unique beach house designed by Kieran Timberlake with a stage and has the advantage of allowing to be dismantled and moved elsewhere...more

Unique home situated on the edge a cliff by Jarmund / MNAL U.S. Vigsnæs Architects.

The house on the edge of the cliff that is located in Norway with a unique design, designed by Jarmund / MNAL U.S. Vigsnæs Architects. most of its building materials made of wood. with the location of the edge of the cliff allows views can not be seen from the outside ..... more

A Victorian treasure

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an event at a house which is stuck in time; 1898 to be precise, the last time anything had been changed. While these rooms feel dark and heavy to many of this today, at the time they were safe and warm. Not just the wealth of the owners is on display, but they also show how far industrialization had taken our society.

The little girl's room had dolls set out for a tea party which was pretty charming (although reminded me a bit of a horror movie!).The servant's dining room in the basement showed the heavy German influence of the family.

While it may seem overwhelming as a whole, if you narrow in on details one is struck by how every piece has been paid attention to; Pretty extraordinary!

The ceiling in the front salon was particularly pretty. I'll be offline for the holiday but will be back next week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Houses pipe in Karaj, Iran by Barsav Concept & Construction

A unique private homes are made of pipe in Karaj, Iran. designed and built by Barsav Concept & Construction with the design team led by Alireza Assadpour, create a plan for Cottage Pipe took inspiration from an aluminum pipe factory in nearby ...... bdonline

Amazing place to stay Cliff Hanger

Have you ever seen a model home like this? half of this house looks like a fly. The Barn Balancing of MVRDV and Mole Architects has made its debut in Suffolk, England. now this house is not just a concept but has become reality exceptional .......trendhunter

A gentleman friend

This past weekend I stopped by Goodwood, one of my favorite shops here in my DC neighborhood, and fell in love with a certain gentleman that I brought home.

I had an unfortunate accident where a large framed watercolor in this very spot on my gallery wall fell off and shattered 3 weeks ago (in the middle of the night of course). It was fate. I was free to bring home the gentleman and as he's the only portrait I own, I feel I need to name him. Any ideas, would love to hear them?

Unique furniture by Alberto Vieyra

Very cool furniture called "Origamex" designed by Alberto Vieyra. This is a new creation, made from metal with marble top and amazing lines. if we see this furniture looks like marble but is actually made of metal.........maisarqutetura

A bright idea

While in Barcelona, I stayed at Le Meridien on La Rambla. In the lobby next to the elevators was a vase of lilies that were very peculiar; their color changed, pink to white to blue to yellow. Now how did they do that?
Up in the ceiling was a very regular looking little box hidden in the stair opening that threw a slowly changing point of colored light onto the arrangement; So slow that it was barely perceivable. I began to wonder, weren't those flowers pink this morning or am I going crazy? Just another bright idea, sometimes technology IS useful!

Stunning shells

Another fascinating pair of objects from the decorative arts museum were these Victorian era (what is the spanish era equivalent?) shell bouquets. While these are relatively common, I had never seen any so colorful or intricate before!

This one in particular was stunning - an entire garden with maiden under a canopy of shell flowers under a glass dome! Sadly the lighting in the museum needs an upgrade and the picture isn't as clear as I had hoped for. Maybe some summer craft ideas for at the beach?