When you think of the word "
house" and picture it in your head, you may have one specific image that comes to mind immediately. It might be a standard, old-fashioned single family home with a driveway and picket fence, or it may be a two-bedroom apartment in the city overlooking a park.
Most likely, the first image that comes to your mind isn't anything resembling one of the more common "alternative homes" that have recently become popular. Alternative homes are perfect for those who have chosen to create their own unique and creative home, either because it's more affordable and doesn't require a mortgage, or because they want to be adventurous. Read on to learn more about the different types of alternative homes that are common today.
Boat home
Among all of the different types of alternative homes that exist out there today, boat homes are ones that at least somewhat resemble traditional houses that we're used to seeing. The only thing that sets boat houses apart from normal ones is that they are located over water. They double as homes to live in, and a place for owners to store their boat.
Boat homes are traditional in many foreign countries as well, especially countries with water-based lifestyles with communities that rely on fishing for their livelihood.
A far as style goes, it is common in countries like Scandinavia, for boat homes to have sand floors. In America, modern boat homes can be found in most all coastal cities and are a popular and cost-effective alternative to the often high-priced beachfront homes that typically dot the shorelines of these cities.
Motor home
Motor homes are a highly popular form of alternative homes that many people opt for as an affordable substitute to traditional homes. Motor homes are a perfect option for the restless, adventurous type who love to hit the open road and experience new places. Although older caravans were bulky and offered poor gas mileage, newer models are sleek and modern, loaded with amenities and complete with the navigation and entertainment options.
Motor homes, or RVs, are a common alternative home option for many Americans. For a price that's much lower than your average traditional home, owners can take their home out on the open road to a new city every week, living and functioning as they would in any other typical house or apartment - the only difference is, this one has wheels.
Shipping containers
This is where the options for alternative homes start getting a little out of the ordinary.
Believe it or not, shipping containers have actually become a popular option for alternative homes, offering a small, intimate living space for a small one-time fee - the fee of purchasing the shipping container. With a shipping container, there's no monthly rent payments or mortgage, it's often a one-time fee of around $1,500 to purchase a shipping container, and after that it's all yours to do whatever you want with it, and take wherever you want - as long as you can find a way get it there yourself.
Some owners have turned shipping containers into woodland cottages, tree houses, or even homes that look like hobbit holes (complete with garden rooftop) or the Barbie Dream House.
Shipping containers, with dimensions of 20-feet long by 7-feet wide and 7-feet tall, may not seem like much, and may not even seem like something that could make a suitable living space for the average person, but the low cost of living is attractive to many people and the unique lifestyle that comes with it may offer some the challenge of living efficiently.
Straw bales
This alternative home option may sound like something one of the Three Little Pigs would live in, but it's actually a very real and very practical option that has been seen in many places, including many European countries. Straw bales can be very affordable - much more so than most of the materials used for building a traditional home - and thus, a sensible option for building an alternative home.
The bales are stacked in rows on the home's foundation, then typically stuccoed or plastered. Their uniform shape and flexibility allow a wide variety of structures to be built using it, as well as a variety of different types of homes with unique designs and architecture. Plus, straw bales are a much better insulator than you'd expect, making it easy to keep the house warm during the colder months.
Pallet homes
Pallet homes are alternative homes that you can build using materials that you can find at your local supermarket or grocery store in the backroom. Pallets are delivered daily to most stores and they're used to load the boxes of product on in the delivery truck. Then, these pallets are typically set aside and either disposed of or sent back to the warehouse. Pallets are very easy to obtain and also very affordable, making it a great cost-effective material use when building a home.
However, pallets aren't typically very strong, and certainly not as strong as the wood used to build traditional homes. So don't count on your pallet home being the sturdiest of structures. It isn't likely to withstand a hurricane, but it will provide a suitable temporary alternative home.
Earth Berms
Whereas pallet homes aren't structurally sturdy enough to be viable long-term homes, earth berms are quite the opposite. Earth berms are alternative homes that are generally built into the sides of hills or large embankments. Although they may look like something out of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, earth berm homes are extremely affordable and are some of the most structurally sound alternative homes you could own. In addition, they tend to be much warmer than traditional homes, being that earth provides excellent insulation and protection from the elements.
The architecture of some earth berms homes is also quite impressive, with cozy, intimate interiors that offer the same kind of amenities that you'd find in a traditional home, like indoor plumbing, and electricity.