The Amazing Stuff

If the Halloween season has inspired you to finally live out that fantasy of being the neighborhood’s resident creep (just me?), then you might want to check this place out. But consider yourself warned. This faux castle in Woodstock, Connecticut, actually does have a lurid past.

It’s less about murder and mayhem than it is about general weirdness and discomfort, which is probably a good thing. It’s still pretty disturbing, though.

The castle was built in 2009 by Christopher W. Mark. He’s the great-grandson of a wealthy Chicago industrialist.

He’s also living proof that inheritance can be a really, really bad thing.

Christopher Mark is a strange guy.

He describes himself as an importer of antiques, and he’s been described by others as being “colorful.” In this case, that’s not a good thing.

One of Mark’s business endeavors, for example, was a modeling agency, which posted its photos on a now-defunct website, complete with the models’ measurements. This was the description on the site itself:

“Just one look at the shapely form of beautiful women brings about physiological changes that our senses will not allow our minds to deceive.”

Um, gross.

Upon touring the house and finding several “massage” rooms — and a shower large enough for a whole party — a local politician said that the place was “just weird.”

Mark was cited by the town because his “business” was unlicensed, and he got into further spats when he wanted to make the castle larger than was actually allowed by city zoning laws.

Oh, and there was also an exotic animal refuge on the property, featuring a zebra, an emu, and an ill-fated camel. When Mark and his now ex-wife were divorcing, each blamed the other for the negligence that led to the poor creature’s death by starvation.

Inside, the house is expectedly grand.

No castle is complete without a sarcophagus, am I right?

Or a made-up coat of arms!

If that sounds appealing to you, this place is now on the market.

It’s listed as an eight-bedroom home, and it’s going for a cool $45 million.

(via Curbed)

So if you want a really sad haunted castle to call your own, this might be the one for you. It has a moat and everything. Just watch out for the ghost of that dead camel.

Angelo Mastropietro worked in business, had a high-flying (and high-stress) career, and was working hard to make money when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 29. The diagnosis made him realize that he needed to rethink his life if he was going to be healthy and happy.

Carving out a cave to turn it into a house might not seem like the typical way of going about this, but that’s exactly what Mastropietro did.

The project involved moving about 70 tons of stone.

The house was eventually featured on an English TV show called Grand Designs.

Everything looks pretty natural from the outside.

The home in question is believed to date back about 800 years, and is part of one of the oldest complexes of cave homes in England, located in the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire.

The cave homes in this area, which have been more or less continually occupied, are said to be the inspiration for the Shire in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mastropietro’s home was last occupied in the 1940s, so it was in need of a serious upgrade.

Inside, Mastropietro painted the sandstone walls white, which kept it from feeling too dark and heavy.

Mastropietro expanded the home and carved out some extra closet space. Oh, and he did it all by himself. His form of MS manifests in a series of flare-ups, which means that he’s still capable of demanding labor at other times.

Although MS can be debilitating, the condition has inspired him to reach his goals.

Not only did the home get a facelift, but it was also fitted with modern technology, including WiFi, radiant underfloor heating, and a fully-equipped kitchen.

In all, Mastropietro spent about 100,000 pounds on the project.

But to him, the chance to live a more peaceful life was worth it.

The excavation was grueling. Mastropietro spent hundreds of hours carving out sandstone.

Here, the host of Grand Designs helps out with renovations.

Watch some of the incredible labor that went into turning this cave into a home:

video-player-present

Channel 4 / Grand Designs

So the next time you think “man-cave” and envision a dark, dank, beer-soaked hovel full of sports paraphernalia, remember that some cave dwellers actually have a pretty great sense of style!

(via AOL UK, Daily Mail)

John Duncan loves living in Charleston, South Carolina, because of all the beautiful historical buildings in the area. Not only do they give the city character, but they also inspire Duncan’s artwork.

Duncan creates unbelievably accurate miniature models of homes, churches, and public buildings, and the only things he uses to do so are paper and a knife. Although they look like they were made with a computer, everything you see here was made by hand.

First, Duncan decides which house or building he wants to recreate, and takes some reference photos.

He draws up detailed plans, just like you would when designing a home.

He then cuts out all the components of the structure using papers of varying thickness.

For the amount of detail in these pieces, they’re actually quite small. They’re normally about 20 inches wide.

The main elements are cut from thick paper, while the smaller details are cut from thinner, more delicate material.

Each measurement needs to be precise so that every piece fits together properly.

There are a ton of individual parts.

“No detail is overlooked. From louvered shutters to and individual bricks, an exact replica of the building is built piece by piece,” Duncan says.

Duncan uses watercolors to add the finishing touches.

If you didn’t know better, you might think that this was a photo of a real house!

He even added sand to wet paint to create the appearance of stucco.

The landscaping makes it look even more realistic.

Each leaf, petal, and blade of grass is individually cut out and painted.

It’s serious labor!

Duncan estimates that there are usually about 1,500 leaves on a typical tree.

He even makes every single flower by hand!

Here’s the finished product.

Duncan says that projects like this will usually take about 250 hours to complete.

Duncan’s work has been recognized across the country, and he’s been commissioned to recreate many iconic buildings, including Charleston’s St. Michael’s Church. You can see many more of these creations on his website.

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With space at a premium and resources dwindling on our overworked planet, more and more people are looking to reduce and reuse where they can. This applies to everything from food to clothing, but it’s especially worth considering when it comes to housing. Why not build your home with something that already exists?

That’s what these clever architects and designers have been doing. They’ve recently started building homes with large shipping containers. As it turns out, they make great houses.

1. The Tree House, Jerusalem, Israel

These architects took a more rustic approach to the shipping container method, incorporating two massive Jerusalem pine trees that not only look nice, but also provide shade.

2. Casa el Tiemblo, Avila, Spain

These shipping containers weren’t redecorated much on the exterior, but the spacious interior and huge windows make up for that.

3. Crossbox House, Pont-Péan, France

Each level of this gravity-defying home in France was created using two merged shipping containers. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a large living room. It was designed and built to showcase a cheaper alternative to traditional housing.

4. Zigloo Domestique, British Columbia, Canada

Made with eight 20-foot containers and a host of other recycled materials, this was one of the first shipping container houses in Canada. It’s a spacious, modern home, and it’s estimated that about 70 trees were spared by using containers instead of lumber.

5. Six Oaks Shipping Container Residence, California, U.S.

This house was designed with the desire to wreak as little havoc as possible on its natural surroundings. Much of the interior was created using recycled redwood and plywood.

6. Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany

This is actually an event space rather than a home, but it’s still made with containers! It hosts workshops of all kinds.

7. Hybrid House, California, U.S.

This spacious home was created using five shipping containers and recycled steel. It also features a movable roof and a water collection system.

8. Bunny Lane

This house features a modern profile, but inside, the Bunny Lane house is a cozy stack of containers.

9. 12 Container House, Maine, U.S.

Made with 12 shipping containers, this house opens right up to the great outdoors through a large, garage-style door. Stacked containers serve as the rooms, but the building still has a homey feel.

10. Jones-Glotfelty Shipping Container House, Arizona, U.S.

The recycled containers aren’t all that’s eco-friendly about this house. It also uses solar panels and comes equipped with an energy-efficient climate control system.

11. Containers of Hope, San Jose, Costa Rica

Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe created this house for a couple who wanted to build their own home without driving themselves into debt. Made from two 40-foot containers, it’s a cheap, modern alternative to a traditional home.

12. Container Guest House, Texas, U.S.

This tiny guest house is only 320 square feet, but that’s all these minimalists need. The foundation is made from recycled telephone poles, and the flooring is repurposed bamboo. Despite its size, it’s rather luxurious.

13. Decameron Design Shop, Sao Paulo, Brazil

This design studio and shopping area features brightly painted containers. The containers are each little shops, and it makes for a colorful addition to the Sao Paulo neighborhood.

14. Caterpillar House, Santiago, Chile

Built on a mountain overlooking the city, this 12-container house was cheap and easy to build. It also uses the mountain’s cool air for eco-friendly ventilation.

15. 2+ Weekend House, Trebnie, Slovenia

Yes, this is real! These containers aren’t actually shipping containers, but modular sections created specifically for housing. With this approach, people can create houses that suit their specific needs.

16. The Port-a-Bach, New Plymouth, New Zealand

When folded out, this portable shelter can easily sleep six adults, and it even includes a bathroom and shower. The fold-out panel serves as a porch. When closed, it’s completely secure.

(via Digital Trends)

If living in a shipping container didn’t sound too awesome at first, you probably changed your mind after seeing what some clever design work can do.