Why Have a House When You Can Have a Floating House?

Like a boat. But a house.

August 12, 2016 9:00 am

There’s something appealing about life aboard a houseboat, floating idyllically along your waterway of choice. Pack up, shove off, and you’re gone. It’s a wanderlust dream made real. 

Things get slightly more complicated when the houseboat is way more house than boat. Take, for example, this Seattle home by local firm Vandeventer + Carlander Architects. It’s literally buoyant, thanks to the 24′ X 44′ concrete floats on which it rests. 

The house was designed to integrate neatly with its marine environment: Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of Lake Union, and all of the bedrooms are on the ground floor, offering the calming sensation of sleeping just above the water’s surface. A rooftop deck is accessible by ladder, and another on the ground floor descends into the water.  

Sure, a traditional houseboat is more mobile — but we’d be willing to negotiate on that point for something as sleek ‘n’ chic as this. 

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