From Scandinavia to the US, people are finding community and freedom living on water. Dominic Lutyens looks at eight examples of remarkable houseboats across the globe.
, captures the freedom many associate with water-borne homes. Viewed through a porthole, two swans glide by on a glassy lake. In the foreground is a less distinct glimpse of a houseboat interior. Boat-dwelling isn't always plain sailing, however. After all, houseboats are often buffeted by the elements, while truly remote ones can be completely off-grid, which can take getting used to.
A former car designer, McMurdo had previously converted shipping containers into structures with different uses, including an office for his cottage's garden, and has a company that upcycles shipping containers, called Reetainer. His new home rests on a reinforced-concrete pontoon and a large deck that provides plenty of outdoor space. A wooden pergola crowns the roof, and projects beyond it to provide a more shaded area.
Rather than conform to the European architectural style of many local buildings, he chose to create a self-build structure inspired by flat-hulled barges that traditionally transported wood through the delta. He wanted his design – a two-storey structureto be made of environmentally friendly materials, and so fabricated the hull using ferro-cement, which involves applying reinforced mortar or plaster over an armature comprising metal mesh, expanded metal or metal fibres.
The wooden houseboat dates from the 1970s. De Kroon has added colour to its interior, painting walls rose-madder pink, and hanging dresses in her favourite shades of saffron yellow and crimson from door frames and furniture."When you live on a boat on the Amsterdam canals, colour is important to warm up the space," she reasons.
"We haven't missed anything by moving from land to water," they say. In fact, there was nothing unnatural about this: Lis spent childhood summers aboard a wooden fishing cutter."We caught herring, plaice, sea trout and cod," she recalls. Since acquiring Oldenburg, the couple have gone on many sailing expeditions, mainly along the west coast of Jutland.Soggybottom Shanty, US
Aiken moors the boat by tying it to a jetty. She boards and disembarks from it using a sloping gang plank and, of an evening, relaxes playing the banjo on the porch of her home in an echo of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride that captivated her as a child.Altar, Brazil Martins admits his family and friends initially experienced panicky withdrawal symptoms when deprived of wifi – but were soon happy socialising more, swimming and paddling around in canoes.
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