Loading the slideshow
The slideshow requires script be turned on to function.
Next up
A river runs through the entire homeToday's luxury homes feature lazy rivers, reef aquariums and water slides.
Subterranean spaces of the superrichSome wealthy homeowners hide parts of their manses underground.
McMansion makeundersThe rich makes homes appear modest by burrowing below.
Peek inside a modern Portland homeThis house was designed with change in mind after its owner's divorce.
The anti-ski houseMany homeowners shun the traditional chalet for a modern alternative.
Off-the-grid mansionsThese often-spectacular homes are self-sustaining.
Fabulous built-in fish tanksWho needs an aquarium when you have one of these in your home?
Inside a real-life spy lairThe world's foremost collector of spy memorabilia shows off his house.
The kitchen that ate the houseAs floor plans open, food-prep areas are creeping into other rooms.
© David Marlow
© Sotheby's Homes
© Sotheby's Homes
© Benjamin Garcia Axe
© Iwan Baan
© Patrick Bingham Hall
FIND YOUR DREAM HOME OR APARTMENT
must-see on msn
-
10 curious facts about Shakespeare
Tooltip Information:
10 curious facts about ShakespeareVideo by:Description: Portrait of William Shakespeare ((C) Fine Art Images/SuperStock/Getty Images)Rating:Views:
-
2013 summer movie guide
Tooltip Information:
2013 summer movie guideVideo by:Description: Man of Steel ((C) Warner Bros.)Rating:Views:
-
14 exercises for people in pain
Tooltip Information:
14 exercises for people in painVideo by:Description: 14 exercises for people in pain (Health.com)Rating:Views:
-
Jennifer Lopez stuns at beach shoot
Tooltip Information:
Jennifer Lopez stuns at beach shootVideo by:Description: Jennifer Lopez stuns at beach shoot ((C) E!)Rating:Views:
A very good design and a marvellous house open air and open to sky, to keep in touch iwth nature,
but I had to grille it in the end to keep away the burglars.
I love this type of architecture. So simple and perfect.
http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/United%20States/Plano/Farnsworth%20House
Incredible open-air homes
By Marcelle Sussman Fischler of Forbes
Mountain view home
Park City, Utah
This award-winning, 9,000-square-foot home has dramatic views of the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains. Instead of duplicating all the elements of a two-tier great room outside, a 30-foot stretch of wall folds like an accordion to one side, instantly creating an outdoor living room. Come summer, an equivalent room below opens onto the pool area and lawn. Mosquitoes and other bugs are not a worry, said architect Clive Bridgwater, but the chipmunks can't readily distinguish between outdoors and in.
- MSN Living: 15 amazing outdoor rooms
Incredible open-air homes
The Glass Pavilion
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Like a jewelry case filled with sparkly baubles, the walls of the Glass Pavilion are crystal-clear from floor to ceiling, says Suzanne Perkins of Sotheby's International Realty, who handles the $13.9 million listing. The 14,000-square-foot modern home in exclusive Montecito has walls so clear that it's hard to distinguish whether they're open or not.
Slide show: Amazingly private house of glass
- Video: A mobile sauna?
- MSN Glo: Unbelievable outdoor living rooms
Incredible open-air homes
Privacy in a house of glass
There's no need to worry about neighbors taking a peek; the five-bedroom residence is privately set on nearly four acres of oak groves. The home has an open floor plan; a bookcase between the living and dining spaces provides definition to the great room. Downstairs, a walnut-lined gallery can display as many as 32 cars.
- MSN Living: Deck out your outdoor space
- On our blog, 'Listed': America's ugliest mansions? Maybe not
Incredible open-air homes
Bamboo house
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
It's like living in a forest within a forest. The moon is visible through a cone-shaped dome under an umbrella roof on this jungle home constructed of bamboo. The open floor plan includes an internal garden that links the kitchen and living area with the bedroom space, yet feels secure for the architect's mother, for whom the home was designed. The open-air construction and overhanging tin roofs provide natural ventilation and protection from the sun.
- MSN Living: 15 amazing outdoor rooms
Incredible open-air homes
House NA
Tokyo
The potential downside of living in a see-through house on a small lot on a narrow city street surrounded by more traditional buildings is a lack of privacy. The upside is loads of natural light. Photographer Iwan Baan describes architect Sui Fujimoto's minimalist all-glass House NA, as "one continuous space of staircases, small platforms and glass." The platforms become a place to sit or can serve as a desk, a step up to the next platform or a place to roll out a bed.
Slide show: Amazingly private house of glass
- Video: A mobile sauna?
- MSN Glo: Unbelievable outdoor living rooms
Incredible open-air homes
Leaf house
Rio de Janeiro
In harmony with nature, the inside and outside of the flower-shaped tropical beach house designed by Brazilian architect Rafael Palatano are almost fused. The eucalyptus wood roof functions as a giant leaf shielding the enclosed spaces from the hot sun.
- MSN Living: Deck out your outdoor space
- On our blog, 'Listed': America's ugliest mansions? Maybe not
Incredible open-air homes
Entertaining in a leaf
It's the open entertaining areas that wow. Sliding glass doors allow trade winds from the sea to pass through the residence, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling to both the enclosed and open spaces. The landscape is everywhere; the curvy swimming pool snakes into the house and, when it passes the formal dining room, turns into a pond with aquatic plants and fish bordering a "Brazilian lounge."
- MSN Living: 15 amazing outdoor rooms
Incredible open-air homes
Box House
Amagansett, N.Y.
This Hamptons beach house, perched one story off the ground to maximize views of the ocean and the bay, gets plenty of natural light. Sliding glass doors run from one end of the 90-foot-long box to the other.
Slide show: Amazingly private house of glass
- Video: A mobile sauna?
- MSN Glo: Unbelievable outdoor living rooms
Incredible open-air homes
An open box
The entire center section of the home opens up, overlooking an infinity-edge pool. "The glass box is more focused on what is outside than in," says Frederick Stelle, the architect.
- MSN Living: 15 amazing outdoor rooms
Incredible open-air homes
Fish house
Singapore
Singapore's tropical climate lends itself to open, breezy spaces and natural ventilation. At this eco-friendly house with a living green roof, views from every room stretch to the ocean as well as the garden with its large swimming pool. The transition between inside and outside is practically seamless.
- MSN Living: Deck out your outdoor space
- On our blog, 'Listed': America's ugliest mansions? Maybe not
more from Forbes
