Image via Complex Original
Once just barges with a bathroom and bed, houseboats and floating homes have received a serious upgrade. Gorgeous domiciles owned by the affluent now offer all the comforts of a traditional home with a sweet on-the-water address. With a third of their country below sea level, The Netherlands leads the houseboat charge with ultra-modern, prefab designs that are being exported across the globe. Check out these Dutch abodes, along with an eclectic mix of other high-sea homes in our houseboat slideshow.
25 Awesome Houseboats
Train Car Houseboat
Train Car Houseboat
The entire center of this Sausalito houseboat is made from a 50-foot, 120-year-old reclaimed train car that the owners cut in half, arranged in a “V” shape and fastened to a concrete hull. The home retains the train's original roof, exterior wall and stovepipe, used for heating. The springs and beams that formed the train car's undercarriage can still be seen from the master bathroom.
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Modern Wooden Houseboat
Modern Wooden Houseboat
Technically a barge since the residence cannot propel itself (though it can be moved via tugboat), this contemporary home with sleek, wooden exterior sits on the Eilbekkanal in Hamburg. A single wall spirals from the boat's exterior to the interior dividing the space: rooms for public use form the outermost part of the interior, while bedrooms and bathrooms are located in the core for increased privacy.
Dubai Marina Houseboat
Dubai Marina Houseboat
Catamaran beams and stainless steel support 360 degrees of glass, making this abode a sunbathers dream. Kitchen, dining room and living room are on the upper level; bedrooms, bathroom and steering cabin occupy the lower deck. A spiral staircase leads to a terrace that's perfect for cocktails and catching rays. Architectural lights make this home even more arresting at night.
Geometric Houseboat
Geometric Houseboat
Spotted in Copenhagen a few years back, this futuristic houseboat sports a geometric metal façade and secondary glass structure for sunbathing. Little is known about the inside of the home since no member of the media has ever been granted a tour, but modern Danish design tends to feature loft-like open interiors with few, if any, walls.
Cosmic Muffin Boeing Houseboat
Cosmic Muffin Boeing Houseboat
A 1930's Stratoliner owned by Howard Hughes, this plane was once the highest-flying jet. To turn the aircraft into a watercraft, the wings and tail were nixed and electrical, plumbing, sanitation and air conditioning systems were added. The original interior, designed by Raymond Loewy with some help from Rita Hayworth, was updated with restored airline chairs and a classic leather-top bar.
Three-Story Houseboat
Three-Story Houseboat
This 4,000 square foot multi-level home is the largest of the 400-500 houseboats in Sausalito. If the remarkable roof deck views aren't getting them close enough to the water, the home's owners can launch their kayaks straight from the second-level living room at high tide. An indoor atrium filled with plants stretches all three floors of this on-the-water mansion.
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Houseboat Inspired by Nature
Houseboat Inspired by Nature
The distinctively curved shape of this Portland houseboat is meant to mimic the bends of the Columbia River on which is sits. A sliding door within the expansive glass façade allows access to the deck. The exposed beam ceilings create patterns of light that change throughout the day and with the seasons.
Watervilla De Hoef
Watervilla De Hoef
This beauty from the Netherlands, floats on a foam and concrete base that can be made to support a garage, lawn or even street. Designed by renowned Dutch firm Waterstudio, the abode was essentially slid into a notch cut out of the canal bank in an existing suburban neighborhood.
source: Pieter Kers
Lake Union Floating Home
Lake Union Floating Home
Parked on Lake Union in Seattle, this $3.45 million dollar masterpiece uses multiple surface materials and several recessed decks to create a visually interesting exterior. Inside, a translucent stair tower seamlessly connects the two levels and serves as a focal point. A rooftop deck with panoramic views of the city is reached by another cool, circular stairway.
Car Ferry Houseboat
Car Ferry Houseboat
Architect Olle Lundberg salvaged an Icelandic car ferry to create this one-of-a-kind residence. A loft-like living room and bedroom now stand on a sunny deck once filled with cars and trucks. Lundberg installed a glass garage door that accentuates the extremely high ceilings and adds to the home's industrial feel. While currently docked at Pier 54 in San Francisco, this masterpiece can move.
Watervilla IJburg
Watervilla IJburg
Another Waterstudio construction, this split-level, three-story houseboat in a residential area east of Amsterdam has simple lines that create a clean, distinct shape. Large vertical windows and a roof terrace offer fantastic views of the surrounding area.
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Lusatian Lake District Houseboat
Lusatian Lake District Houseboat
Designed with the shape of a sail in mind, the curved roof of this prefab houseboat gives the home a super modish look. Made to blend seamlessly with the water, a sleek aluminum shell covers a mostly-steel body. Large windows, multiple skylights and a sun deck roof terrace result in loads of light.
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Lake Huron Houseboat
Lake Huron Houseboat
Slightly more house than boat as it now stands, this home was built offsite then actually floated across Lake Huron to its current location. Since water levels vary considerably from month to month, the dwelling is built on top of steel platoons that allow the house to fluctuate with the lake. A “rain screen” of cedar strips around the exterior can contract to shelter interior space or expand to adjust light.
The Silberfisch
The Silberfisch
Clean lines and atypical angles make this zero-emission home in Oldenberg, Germany rather arresting. Eco-friendly attributes include rain barrels, hemp and wood insulation and a water-saving toilet. Since living at sea shouldn't mean you don't have some greenery, the designers added a rooftop terrace that functions much like a lawn. Large front windows not only offer panoramic views, but also allow light to reflect off the white minimalist interior.
Remodeled Seattle Houseboat
Remodeled Seattle Houseboat
Once a dilapidated residence, this 840 –square-foot compact home is now an entertainer's dream with light, open spaces that flow perfectly and a large roof deck with views of the Cascade Mountains. The steel, cedar and concrete materials used in construction were designed to weather so that the new houseboat will blend in with the old industrial waterfront. Though completely made over, the home retained two original floats, one of which can be seen through a window in the floor.
Sleepless in Seattle Houseboat
Sleepless in Seattle Houseboat
While you may not recognize this house, we bet your girlfriend would. Featured in the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan classic Sleepless in Seattle, this charming 2,075-square-foot, four-bedroom home on Lake Union has a 360-degree wrap-around deck that offers awesome views of both the water and city.
Piet Boon House
Piet Boon House
Dutch architecture firm Piet Boon, known for simple but sophisticated style, designed his beautifully crafted three-story houseboat in Noorderplassen, Netherlands. Vertical slats on the home's exterior regulate light while a pump warms the icy water below to create a radiant heating system in the bungalow's underfloor.
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Watervilla De Omval
Watervilla De Omval
Floating on the Amstel River in Amsterdam, this ultra modern 2,100 square foot houseboat has an open floor plan with panoramic views from almost any spot inside. The white walls and ceiling follow the streamlined aluminum facade creating a smooth transition from outside to inside.
Nackros Villa
Nackros Villa
Designed by architect Staffan Strindberg and located on the east coast of Sweden, Nackros Villa is 2,000 square feet with six rooms and a kitchen. Extensive glass walls offer unrivaled views and give the home a light and spacious feel. A 1,080 square foot roof garden allows this houseboat's owners to have the best of both land and sea.
Karala Houseboat
Karala Houseboat
Called Kettuvallams, the massive houseboats in Kerala, India are typically rented out to tourists. With hulls made of long wooden planks tied together with coconut fiber and cane, plus wood and bamboo interiors, these floating domiciles as are natural as you can get. While traditionally steered by two men, most modern Kettuvallams are motorized.
Iceberg Houseboat
Iceberg Houseboat
Architect Daniel Andersson's Aland Islands houseboat sits almost entirely below the waves with just a rooftop deck open to the sun. From the terrace, a spiral staircase heads down to a roughly 650 square foot living space featuring a living room, head, galley, dining room and bedroom. A small sauna opens out onto the staircase allowing owners to run straight out and into the water. Natural light filters in through a central atrium and windows below the waterline provide undersea views.
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Chelsea Houseboat
Chelsea Houseboat
A little more ”boat” than most of the homes on this list, this 1,400 square foot three-bedroom vessel is moored on the River Thames, a short distance from Chelsea's King's Road. While the interior is relatively standard, this home's highlight is the 577 square foot deck featuring a swimming pool surrounded by neatly-trimmed hedging.
Ijburg Floating Neighborhood
Ijburg Floating Neighborhood
This private district in Amsterdam contains 75 mixed income units that vary in height but maintain a consistent subdued color palate. Each home has an upper deck that faces the water and a veranda dockside. Colored plastic or glass panels can be inserted into each home's metal frame for a custom look. A triangular dock and varying distances between rows ensure that though similar, the development isn't entirely uniform.
The Owl
The Owl
The name for this classic and prominent Sausalito home, built by sculptor Chris Roberts in the late 1960's, comes from the horned wooden tower with wide-eyed windows. Roberts built two other celebrated houseboats in the area, one of which belonged to author Shel Silverstein.
Warehouse-Inspired Houseboat
Warehouse-Inspired Houseboat
Historical waterfront warehouses inspired the design of this Portland home with industrial detailing and exposed utilities. Two outdoor areas-an enclosed entry court on the walkway side of the house and an expansive deck on the river-offer plenty of room for tanning. Plants are plentiful in both spaces, bringing a land-like feel to the floating residence.
source: Art Grice Photography