It’s been 20 years since Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring came out in theaters. But hobbit homes have an enduring appeal. Here are some of the cutest of these types of houses, featuring key details like green roofs and round front doors, from around the world.
Slovenian hobbit home
This Slovenian hobbit home will thrill archeology fans. After archeologists discovered the ruins of a Chalcolithic-era settlement in the village of Razkrižje, near the Slovene-Croatian border, local government officials decided to reconstruct it. The homes are made of locally sourced, natural materials, such as loam, wood and straw, with outer coverings of lush, native grass. To get the right curves, the architect used a steel frame, then filled it in with a sand, straw and clay mixture. An inviting natural rock pathway leads up to this darling home.
Related: Adorable timber cabins in Chile let you glamp among the trees
Casa Organica near Mexico City
Peanut-shaped Casa Organica seems far from Mexico City, though it’s actually in the suburbs. Mexican architect Javier Senosiain filled a rebar skeleton with mortar and coated it with sprayed polyurethane. Then, he hid the 1,873-square-foot house in the lawn by covering it with grass so it looks like a dune. The floorplan hinges on two oval spaces, one for more public areas — the living room, kitchen and dining room — the other for bedrooms and bathrooms.
“The original concept is defined in two large spaces: one day and one night, looking for the feeling that inside the person will enter the land, that was aware of the uniqueness of this space without losing integration with the exterior green areas,” Senosiain said. “The green dune is the envelope of the interior volume that is almost invisible. From the outside we only see grass, shrubs, trees and flowers. Walking on the garden is walking on the roof of the house without realizing it.”
New York forest hobbit home
What do you do when you’re both a construction supervisor and a Lord of the Rings megafan? You build your own personal hobbit home, of course. That’s what Jim Costigan did in Pawling, New York. His two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is surrounded by 1.7 acres of forest. “I thought that was the coolest house I’d ever seen,” Costigan said of Bag End, Bilbo Baggins’ home in the movies. “The curvatures, everything about it was unique.” So he switched gears from from working on Manhattan skyscrapers to something cozier. His cottage, which he calls Hobbit Hollow, is both adorable and full of energy-efficient details like triple-pane thermal windows and a heat recovery ventilator. The outside is natural stone topped by a green roof.
Colorado hobbit home near Rocky Mountain National Park
For hobbits who like to travel, Colorado’s WeeCasa Tiny House Resort features tiny homes on wheels. If these homes weren’t busy providing vacationers a place to stay in Lyons, Colorado, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park, you could take them on the road. Ranging in size from 135 to 400 square feet, they have cedar shake siding, ivy-covered roofs, large circular entryways and wood interiors. The resort has easy access to hiking, mountain biking and river swimming as well as one of America’s most iconic national parks.
Wisconsin earth-bermed home
Earth-bermed architecture is one of the world’s most ancient ways to construct shelters. This adorable dwelling designed by architect Mike McGuire stands on 3.4 acres of forest in River Falls, Wisconsin. The two-bedroom, two-bath home has a luxurious 2,236 square feet of floor space — you can fit a lot of hobbits in here. Arched glass openings, an energy-efficient sod house design and an arched structural base make this hobbit home fit right into the landscape of rolling hills.
Miner builds hobbit home in Australia
Former miner Nigel Kirkwood knows a lot about tunnels, having worked in mining for 25 years. With all this underground experience, he decided to make his own underground retirement hobbit home. He built the dwelling himself in Quindalup, Western Australia and buried it under almost 1,000 tons of greenery-covered soil. In summertime, it blooms in a riot of colors. He put in a drip irrigation and fertilization system to keep his home green year-round.
Columbia Gorge Airbnb
A hobbit home in Washington’s breathtaking Columbia River Gorge that you can rent on Airbnb? Yes, please. This is tiny house builder Kristie Wolfe’s first solar-powered hobbit house. A stone fireplace is the heart of this 288-square-foot home on a 5.5 acre piece of land near Chelan, Washington. Bonus point for lots of natural light and views of green, rolling hills.
Hobbit teahouse
What could be a cuter use for a hobbit home than as a teahouse? Danica and Jože Kolarič created this magical place in the hills of Slovenia. They used all-natural materials, salvaging many from the ruins of old farmhouses, giving the teahouse both an earthy and antique feel. There’s also a beehive and garden pavilion on-site.
Home for thrifty hobbits
Probably the world’s thriftiest hobbit home, this dwelling built into a hillside cost only $100 in materials. Simple living advocate Dan Price wanted to show how inexpensive life could be if you live off the grid with few possessions in a hobbit house. The earth surrounding his 80-square-foot dwelling keeps him insulated and warm. Price collected cast-off planks of wood for years until he had enough. Then he grabbed a pick and shovel and got to work.
Welsh hobbit home made from reused materials
At £3,000, this Welsh hobbit home cost more to build than Price’s, but it is still in the realm of unbelievably inexpensive. Simon Dale and his family built the frame of locally gathered oak thinnings and used mud, stone and straw bales for insulation. They finished the walls with breathable lime plaster and used scrap material for all the plumbing, windows, furniture and flooring.
Images via Nel Botha, Arhiv Lastnika / Ambienti, Javier Senosiain, Jim Costigan, WeeCasa Tiny House Resort, Dale Antiel / Edina Realty Inc., ABC South West: Roxanne Taylor / Homecrux, Airbnb, Jasna Marin / Ambienti, Dan Price and Simon Dale
