From Rugged to Round
I thought after our treehouse adventure that maybe we should move on to something a bit less rugged and a lot more round.
When I was about nine years old my mom took me to meet some friends of hers. They had this huge dome home sitting on a cliff, in in the woods, in Oregon, overlooking a lake, with a huge deck and hot tub. The sun actually set while we were there - it was like nothing I’d ever seen. I was amazed, and as you can imagine, completely smitten. I’ve had a thing for any round home ever since.
Like this one:
This home and a virtual multitude of other cool homes are built by Deltec Homes. Deltec has this to say:
“In a time where technology increasingly separates us from our roots, many of us choose to retreat to nature and to the peace that can be found there. Deltec is incorporating this desire into its homes and homebuilding. What better way to escape from the rigors of our hectic lives than retreating to a space designed with nature in mind?”
Heck yeah! (Says the girl permanently attached to her computer) but I can feel where they’re coming from.
Deltec Homes located in
Do you love the curvy kitchen? I want the curvy kitchen… and this room:
Very relaxing… much like the treehouse but you know, more upscale.
Deltec has a Q&A on their site that discusses the energy efficiency of their homes, how to build, costs, and amazingly the hurricane-proof qualities of these homes. Which they cover in a realistic manner:
“There are no hurricane proof home designs that we know of, but based on our homeowners’ experience, a Deltec home comes about as close as you can get. Deltec has never lost a home to high winds in almost 40 years of business.
Names like Katrina, Andrew, Ivan, Hugo and Charley represent billions of dollars in property damage and destruction. To Deltec homeowners, they typically represent just some lost shingles.”
Another perk is speed. Some of the homes can go from this…
To this…
In about five days. (Sadly, as Deltec says, “rainbow not included”) To give you an idea of what a round home looks like on the inside, here’s a floor plan:
They have too many cool things on their site to show you in one post. So, I’ll likely save the rest for another time. In the meantime you can go check them out for yourself. They have tons of pictures, videos, and much more good info at their site.
I’m out for now but I’ll leave you with this…
Now, do you love round homes as much as me?
[All photos courtesy of Deltec Homes] Thanks Deltec!
Tags: Asheville-North-Carolina, curvy, Deltec-Homes, energy-efficient, home-builders, hurricane-proof, Oregon, Round HomesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: General
8 opinions for From Rugged to Round
Angelique
Jun 28, 2007 at 6:12 am
Jennifer (I actually typed “Jeffiner” first… maybe I should return to bed?):
You know, I used to dislike open floorplans, but as I’ve gotten older, I have come to crave the beauty of having everything set out before you in non-linear fashion.
I wonder why humans (at least of Western European origin) gravitated toward “boxes” instead of “spheres”? Were they easier to build? Easier to protect? Easier to clean? (I think not on the latter. Damn walls. Damn moulding. Damn dusty bunnies.)
As always, thanks for the inspiring start to my workday!
Angelique
Marilyn Braun
Jun 28, 2007 at 11:29 am
I think you’ve converted me! That house is just beautiful, especially the kitchen area.
Crabby McSlacker
Jun 28, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Some very cool places!
Angelique raises a great question too–how did we end up so stuck on rectangles and boxes and not circles and spheres? Seems like lots of earlier dwelling like teepees (sp? tipis?) and huts and yurts were nicely circular. I guess it’s the skyscraper mentality–easier to go “up” in a boxy shape.
Jennifer Chait
Jun 28, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I imagine we got stuck on squares because think of the limited tools in the old days. Now we have tools that cut quick circles, hearts, and any other shape we want. Back in the day we had ‘a saw’. I don’t think I’d want to try and hand build (with my one saw) a round house — easier to cut straight.
Although, me and my limited technical knowledge could be way off. I think I’ll look into it because it is interesting — and if it’s at all cool I’ll post it here.
Thanks for visiting.
Sigrid Peterson
Jun 29, 2007 at 1:00 am
I spent a lovely evening in summer 2004, hosted by the owner of a round house, in or near Durham NC. The house and the view were spectacular, and the host cooked a wonderful meal for us, as well.
Ben
Jul 1, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I wasn’t too sold on the idea until I got to those interior shots. That is kind of fun. And I guess a circular floor plan would make you feel … I don’t know … connected? That sounds good. The final exterior shot made up for the others, which weren’t really piquing my interest. So, I guess in the end I’ve really come around full circle on this one. Ha ha ha.
Jennifer Chait
Jul 1, 2007 at 11:08 pm
“Full circle” I actually laughed out loud at the sheer corny effort. Too funny. Thanks for stopping by - and for the laugh!
House Research Is Hard Work
Jul 12, 2007 at 1:37 am
[...] ago, maybe seven or so posts everyone got to talking about why we build square houses instead of round houses. As noted by me, it was an interesting question — worthy of further research. Off I went; [...]
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