Step inside Australia’s weirdest homes

The strangest homes Down Under

Australia is home to plenty of iconic architecture – such as the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne – but some of its homes should definitely be added to the list, too. Ideal for those who want more than four square walls, these quirky and eye-catching residences are almost too unusual to be true.

From a converted garage covered in grass to a bubble house formed from 11 colourful domes, click or scroll through what could well be the weirdest homes Australia has to offer...

Flintstones home, Sydney, New South Wales

Upon first view, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd wandered into the live-action set of The Flintstones – but you'd be wrong. Hollander House is the vision of architect David Hollander, who built the 2,966-square-foot home in the late 1960s.

However, in 2015, graphic design studio owner Pieter Owen and his wife Michelle took the house on and set about adding their own improvements, including extra decking, a balcony and a contemporary kitchen.

Flintstones home, Sydney, New South Wales

Inspired by Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, the man behind Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló in Barcelona, the sculptural home is made from hand-formed ferro cement and the low-set home is nestled into the Newport rock looking across the ocean. However, Hollander House is no dingy cave home, with an open floorplan, curvaceous white walls and plenty of skylights allowing the Australian sunshine to flood in.

Flintstones home, Sydney, New South Wales

Spacious, too, the split-level property offers three bedrooms – one with a private deck featuring a freestanding bath, two bathrooms, two living areas, and a study. Head outside, and you'll discover several dreamy decks set among the trees and parking for two cars, including an electric vehicle charger.

If you've fallen in love, it's currently on the market with a guide price of AU$2.3 million (£1.2m). Yabba-dabba-doo!

The Grass House, Melbourne, Victoria

Never has a property been more appropriately named. Positioned in the Fitzroy North suburb of Melbourne, The Grass House was once a garage that was converted by architect David Luck into one of Melbourne's quirkiest homes.

The Grass House, Melbourne, Victoria

The exterior of the converted garage is covered in native grass thanks to large, vertical planters that span the entire length of the building. These living walls serve as natural insulation for the home and are kept lush by an automated watering system.

The Grass House, Melbourne, Victoria

Inside, the two-storey home is just as unusual, with slimline rooms decorated with angular high ceilings, sloping walls, extensive windows and units built into alcoves. The home comprises two spacious bedrooms with recessed skylights and an open living area with an adjoining kitchen. If these homes are considered weird, then we don't want to live anywhere ordinary!

Kooky fantasy retreat, Crossover, Victoria

This kooky little property can be found on the 18-acre Mira Mira retreat in the beautiful Gippsland countryside of Crossover, Victoria. The tiny home is one of a few unique structures on the estate, including a cottage, a Cave House with a door that resembles an open mouth and a main residence known as Dragon Manor – a fairytale castle that took the owner two-and-a-half years to build.

Kooky fantasy retreat, Crossover, Victoria

Known as the Tanglewood Sculpture, the building was also inspired by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. The rooms of Tanglewood are filled with psychedelic colours and quirky details, including hand-finished walls, archways and staircases. 

Kooky fantasy retreat, Crossover, Victoria

The fairytale property has two distinctive bedrooms, one with an all-purple colour scheme, a characterful skylight and hand-stencilled butterfly motifs, while the second is pink and green, with a tree-like bed frame and cave-esque walls. Mira Mira went on sale in 2022 and sold in December for AU$1.8 million (£937k) at the time of its listing.

Converted Second World War bunker, Yelta, Victoria

From the outside, this strange, clandestine bunker might not look exactly homely, but thanks to an impressive conversion, it's now a very comfortable family home. Amazingly, this was once a Second World War bunker utilised by the Australian Air Force. Intrigued? Let's take a closer look...

Converted Second World War bunker, Yelta, Victoria

According to The Daily Mail, the Australian Air Force built the steel bunker in 1941. It was constructed into the side of a hill and covered with dirt in order to keep it hidden from Japanese enemy forces. It was used to store fuel for the nearby Mildura air base, and can be found in Yelta, Victoria, next to the Murray River. 

The bunker was decommissioned in 1945 and left vacant until Stephen Gooding purchased it, along with three others, 30 years ago. 

Converted Second World War bunker, Yelta, Victoria

Gooding converted the bunker into a four-bedroom home complete with an open-plan living room, kitchen and dining area. There are also two bathrooms located across the 5,000-square-foot floorplan. Despite being underground, the interior is bright and light, with original structural supports, curving walls and quirky alcoves. How's that for weird and wonderful?

The Bubble House, Karalee, Queensland

Appropriately named, the Bubble House in Karalee, Queensland is almost too surreal to be true. Its curvaceous and colourful exterior is formed from 11 intersecting domes, each painted a different shade. The residence's original owner, Graham Birchall, came up with the design almost 40 years ago and it took three decades to come to fruition.

The Bubble House, Karalee, Queensland

Birchall was inspired by monolithic dome houses and wanted to create a structure to honour the strength and simplicity of the humble circle. The size of the bubbles range in diameter, providing 11,302 square feet (1,050 square metres) of interior space, with varying ceiling heights, curving walls and plenty of other quirky interior design details.

Despite its relatively low rising profile, the retro home features three floors and every room is as strange as you might expect...

The Bubble House, Karalee, Queensland

There’s a rotund entrance tunnel that leads inside, where you'll find a lounge, dining room, library, media room, sports bar, circular kitchen, three bedrooms and a basement, complete with a cellar and workshop. From arched doorways to random structural columns, circular windows and unique fireplaces, there's something unusual to see in every room. 

The house hit the market in August 2020 for AU$1.5 million (£784k) but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it failed to sell.

Transformers home, Port Melbourne, Victoria

Located in the upscale coastal suburb of Port Melbourne, Victoria, this boxy, ultra-modern home is quite unlike any other on the street – except for the identical one that lies next door, that is! Designed by architect Simon Cookes, the two properties are akin to Transformers robots, thanks to their angular, modular exteriors.

Transformers home, Port Melbourne, Victoria

Described as “flamboyant and kooky” with a "spaceship, retro and boat vibe" by realestate.com.au, the unusual three-bedroom residence is one of two that Cookes designed in the area back in 2014, and is filled with bespoke finishes, including recycled timber, marine ply and stone surfaces. Dramatic angles, innovative designer lighting and polished concrete floors add to the home's uniqueness.

Transformers home, Port Melbourne, Victoria

Cookes knocked down two old homes in order to build his innovative designs, but he retained aspects of the previous properties by using bricks, timber and old bottles found underneath the original foundations. Amazingly, the bottles were turned into light fittings that now hang in the hallway. Eco-friendly and sustainable, too, the home features solar-powered hot water and a rainwater harvesting tank.

Geodesic dome house, Apollo Bay, Victoria

Upon first glance, it's hard to figure out exactly what this structure is. The futuristic house lies in the town of Apollo Bay, in southwestern Victoria, and is positioned close to the coast and the area’s spectacular Great Otway National Park. A cross between a giant golf ball and a UFO floating in mid-air, the unusual home is actually nestled on a sloping plot, with access via a blue steel bridge.

Geodesic dome house, Apollo Bay, Victoria

The impressive building was constructed in the mid-1960s by prominent Tasmanian furniture designer John Smith, and boasts plenty of quirky details inside and out. While the exterior features a hat-like domed roof and tiny windows, the interior is light, bright and bursting with character.

Geodesic dome house, Apollo Bay, Victoria

Inside, the geodesic dome house offers a living room, a galley-style kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. As for quirky design touches, there are endless skylights, numerous alcoves and built-ins, rotund barrel ceilings, honeycomb-shaped wall coverings and spiral staircases. The one-of-a-kind home last sold in 2020 for AU$600,000. We don't know about you, but we're obsessed.

Metal cylindrical house, Agnes Water, Queensland

The Drewhouse by Simon Laws of Anthill Construction is a seriously distinctive residence. Formed from a series of prefabricated pods, built offsite then shipped to a remote forest in Agnes Water, Queensland, where it was assembled, the metal home is truly one-of-a-kind.

Metal cylindrical house, Agnes Water, Queensland

One part of the house is formed from an old corrugated cylinder, while covered walkways connect the various pods to a large outdoor living and dining area. A ribbed, parabolic roof formed from Aramax steel cladding covers the top of the structure, adding to its unusual aesthetic.

Metal cylindrical house, Agnes Water, Queensland

With its cylindrical-shaped living rooms, this real-life Hobbit house blends retro and contemporary elements with cave-like spaces that are both cosy and chic. The holiday home sleeps six and comes equipped with two bedrooms. Plus, it has rainwater tanks and solar-powered hot water, making it highly energy-efficient with a low environmental impact.

The Pole House, Fairhaven, Victoria

With jaw-dropping views of Fairhaven Beach, the longest strip of sand on the Great Ocean Road, The Pole House hovers 131 feet above the ground and from the back appears to be floating in mid-air. In reality, the property is supported by steel stilts and can be accessed via a 76-foot-long glass bridge.

The Pole House, Fairhaven, Victoria

The floating home was originally designed and built in the 1970s by architect Frank Dixon, but after falling into disrepair it was sensitively restored by Franco Fiorentini from F2 Architecture. The restoration resulted in modern living areas with plenty of retro elements, including curved walls of wooden cladding and futuristic suspended fireplaces.

The Pole House, Fairhaven, Victoria

The cliffhanger home is said to be one of the most photographed residences in this part of Australia. With a single bedroom and bathroom, both of which have incredible coastal views that stretch 30 miles, it's the ultimate luxury vacation retreat. In fact, it's available to rent via Coolstays.

Gravity-defying home, Casuarina, New South Wales

Truly mind-bending, this futuristic pad in the town of Casuarina, New South Wales blends design innovation with expert engineering. The property was named after American animated sitcom The Jetsons, which followed a family living in the gravity-defying Skypad Apartments. Defined by its two geometric elements, one that balances on top of the other, the home is unlike anything you might have seen before.

Gravity-defying home, Casuarina, New South Wales

Spanning 5,403 square feet (500 square metres), the house is strategically positioned on its long, narrow plot, and was designed and constructed to maximise all 190 feet of beach frontage. The lower level of the home sits neatly on the ground, while the upper storey, which weighs 80 tonnes, cantilevers out at 45 degrees, giving the impression that it’s floating in mid-air. Outside, the home boasts white curving walls and custom horizontal windows, and almost looks like a spacecraft that's landed on earth.

Gravity-defying home, Casuarina, New South Wales

Inside, there's a large living room, a dining area, a modern kitchen, five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Every single room has a minimalist design aesthetic, with raw concrete floors, crisp-white walls and dark cabinetry. Many of the groundfloor spaces flow out to the garden, where there's a soccer pitch, an in-ground trampoline, an al-fresco entertaining terrace, an outdoor shower and an 82-foot heated lap pool that lies below the overhang. 

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