To be affordable, tiny houses are often all angles, with sharp, modern design. For those of us tired of spare, impersonal homes in drab brown-black, this mango-like dome is a juicy slice of bliss:
Steve Areen built the orange dome on a Thai mango farm — clearly inspired by the fruit — using blocks of compressed dirt. Treehugger quotes the musician and photographer:
The cost for the basic structure was under $6,000. It took a few more weeks to add the details, such as doors, screens, pond, upstairs structure, stonework and landscaping. All this, including furnishings, was under $3,000 … Bringing my total cost to about $9,000. Please keep in mind this is in cost-friendly Thailand.
The round windows and doors, together with the warm terra cotta color, make the whole place feel organic and welcoming. Areen adds that the project was unusually low-waste compared to normal homes, and he hid scraps and bricks under his bed frame, rather than add them to the waste stream.
Now he wants to replicate the adorable abode in cooler climates, using sustainable insulation materials. (GOOD. We can’t all move to Thailand and play the guitar in our windowseat!) His dome home would fit in particularly in Florida or the Southwest, but we could picture cooler-hued versions in the Northwest as well. Paradoxically, taking design cues from your landscape helps you stand out and fit in at the same time.
Check out way more images on Designboom.
