8 Modern Houseboats and Floating Homes That Will Make You Say Goodbye to Dry Land

Maybe you’re looking for something different than your average house or apartment, or perhaps you just want to be close to the water but not too far away from land. To get the best of both worlds, a houseboat might be the way to go. Houseboats and floating houses give you life by the water but with the feeling of an actual house and not just a cramped boat. On top of the excellent views, they’re usually more affordable than traditional houses making them particularly attractive to home buyers. Never thought about life on the water? You might just change your mind after seeing these 8 modern houseboats and floating houses.

Floatwing is a prefab, self-sustainable floating house designed by Friday, a Portugal-based design house that began at the University of Coimbra. The modular design lets you choose from a studio all the way up to a furnished 3-bedroom house that floats to your desired locale.

Photo courtesy of Nautilus

Nautilus Houseboats designed the Nautino Maxi, a houseboat large enough to sleep six people comfortably. A smaller deck resides on the lower level with a full rooftop deck above to enjoy the water views all around.

Photo by Eva Bloem

Located in The Netherlands on the Spaarne river near Haarlem’s city center, the vanOmmeren-architecten designed Houseboat Haarlem Shuffle opens up towards the water with floor-to-ceiling windows, while the street side of the rectangular structure is closed off for privacy. Thanks to its solar paneled roof and two heat pumps, the houseboat is energy neutral.

Photo by Ben Benschneider

Vandeventer + Carlander Architects are behind the Lake Union Floating Home that resides on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. The two-story home takes what could have been a boring box and instead created a contemporary structure with endless visual interest.

Photos by Norbert Wunderling

The Tatami House was designed by Julius Taminiau Architects as part of a floating village in Amsterdam. They worked with a low budget and based the design on tatami mat principles concerning their layout. Since the tatami mat is roughly the same size of a plywood panel, the layout is based on the tatami grid which utilized full pieces of wood which helped reduce waste and keep costs down.

Photo by Richard Navara

Designed and owned by Marek Ridky of Flowhouse in the Czech Republic, the Thesayboat houseboat was made for a couple looking to escape the weekend. The upper bedroom is surrounded by louver-covered windows to views the stars.

Photo courtesy of Welcome Beyond

Welcome Beyond’s Modern Houseboat is situated on Lake Rummelsburg, a small bay in the river Spree in Berlin, Germany, and it’s available for rent. It offers two adults and two children a comfortable place to relax on the water without being too far away from civilization.

Photo courtesy of X Architects

The Dubai-based “O” De Squisito House Boat was designed by X-Architects with clean, contemporary lines and a white and glass exterior. The upper level houses the public living spaces, including a concealed kitchen, a living room, and entertainment room, while the lower level consists of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and steering cabin.

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The Naïve Low Chair Comes Flat Packed and Screws Together

A few years ago etc.etc. launched the original flat-packed Naïve chair and now they’ve just released the newest member of the family – the Naïve Low Chair designed for EMKO. The chair comprises eight pieces, including four legs, two back rods, a seat, and a back rest, that easily screw together to form a comfortable upholstered seat. Like the original, the new design can be easily unscrewed and taken to a new location when it’s time to move.

The four legs screw into the bottom of the seat, while the two shorter rods screw into the top of the seat. The backrest features a leather strap with two pockets that slide over the two rods to hold the back in place.

The new design sits lower than the original for a more laid back feel with a wide cushioned backrest for added comfort.

The Naïve Low Chair comes with an ash or black ash wood frame with a variety of upholstery options available to match any decor.

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Coffee Cups Made from Old Recyclable Coffee Grounds

Having just opened our very own snack bar, inapinch, we’ve spent lots of time researching and sourcing cups, bags, and boxes for our to-go offerings. And now with New York potentially banning plastic straws, finding viable eco options for businesses that also highlight aesthetic and branding needs seems more relevant than ever.

So when we stumbled upon Berlin backyard start-up Kaffeeform, our faces lit up with delight! Product designer Julian Lechner became obsessed with trying to find a way to reuse coffee grounds to create a new material. After 3 years of experimentation, Kaffeeform was born by creating a new formula that creates new products out of old coffee. Lechner takes recycled coffee grounds and natural glues to create a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to products based on mineral oils. All Kaffeeform cups have the appearance of dark marblewood, smell of coffee, are very light, and finally, are dishwasher-friendly and long-lasting, so they can be used over and over again.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

– Dishwasher friendly
– Lightweight
– Durable
– High isolation qualities
– Slight coffee scent
– Food safe
– Free of BPA
– Eco-friendly material composite
– Made for unlimited consumption
– Each cup looks unique
– Carbon neutral disposal / Biodegradable

In 2018, Kaffeeform won the Red Dot product design award for it’s innovative material and process. The coffee grounds are collected in local coffee shops in Berlin and then dried, packed and shipped in through a sheltering workshop – a collaboration that is constantly growing over time.

We cannot wait to see more innovation like this, as more product designers turn to renewable sources as their inspiration for creating new products.

All images courtesy of kaffeeform.

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Studio Floris Wubben Creates the Crystal Twist Lighting Collection Out of Acrylic Stone

The process-focused designs of Amsterdam-based designer Floris Wubben have been well documented on Design Milk and his latest work continues teetering on the line between functional objects and works of art. The Crystal Twist collection of lighting is composed of HI-MACS acrylic stone that looks as if it’s popped open like a refrigerated can of dough.

Watch the process:

The HI-MACS material is typically used for sleek surfaces, like countertops, but Wubben chose to use it to make lamps with a raw, organic quality. While working on the design he discovered that the material could be torn apart when it was heated. He created a tool that helped tear off the edges of the strips of acrylic stone and then wrapped the warm stone around a mold to create the spiral. To create the lamp, he layered the twisted stone so light would emit through the cracks and highlight the torn edges.

The Crystal Twist collection was developed in collaboration with Baars & Bloemhoff.

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Collective Design’s Collective Concept Showcased 13 Featured Designers

Every year, Collective Design curates a group of contemporary designers to reveal their latest works and ideas. This year’s curation, collectively debuted as Collective Concept, featured 13 designers: Allied Maker, The Coast, Coil + Drift, Crosby Studios x Opening Ceremony, Farrah Sit, Fort Standard, GRADUAL, Jeff Martin Joinery, Moonish, Rhyme, Slash Objects, Vipp, and Wallpaper Projects.

Inspired by the historical sacredness of totems, Allied Maker presented an illuminating set of three large totem fixtures created in stone, glass, and wood that honor the connection between makers and materials.

The Coast Studio balances form and weight with a new lighting series called Either/Or, named after the book by Søren Kierkegaard and consists of three lamps for nightstands, tables, and floors. The fixtures spark an interplay between user and object: touch controls the lighting but because of the design, the light responds back by rocking back and forth like a cradle.

Coil + Drift showcased the arched June Floor Mirror carved from walnut wood, the Cirrus Double Pendant made of cast resin and mirror-polished chrome, and the Soren Dining Table in ash wood and black leather.

Crosby Studios collaborated with Opening Ceremony to create a playful collection of furniture, lighting, and objects inspired by a hand chair replica by Pedro Friedeberg.

Farrah Sit’s lighting pieces play with the balance of weight and strength. “Ida” uses a luminous strand of neon arcs below a bar of Carrera marble while “Pingala” suspends a single stone pendant wheel beneath its neon strand.

Fort Standard designed a series of “Stacked Stone Vessels” that are made from precision cut, stacked, and laminated rings of marble.

GRADUAL’s LED chandeliers called “Lightweights” are reminiscent of hanging stalactites and are made of thousands of stacked sheets of paper that let light escape between the sheets.

Vancouver-based Jeff Martin Joinery created a series of glass-blown vessels that are uncovered using their signature cork excavation method.

Design duo Moonish’s TILT is an interplay of weight, fragility, and interdependence in a singular piece of furniture.

Rhyme presented their Insula Series of rugs inspired by Insula Art, an Irish art movement that’s characterized by swirling motifs and spiral forms.

Slash Objects uses marble and brass in their puzzle-like pieces to highlight the beauty of these two materials without the use of hardware.

Vipp collaborated with Harry Nuriev (founder of Crosby Studios) to create a conceptual Vipp kitchen as a living laboratory.

Wallpaper Project’s Silver Studies 13 experiments with the chemical process to create the colorful wallpaper.

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