Tucked out of sight, these properties from around the world take a desire for privacy to new extremes. Whether they're camouflaged among their surroundings or concealed underground, these covert homes were designed to remain hidden away from prying eyes. Click or scroll to uncover these incredible clandestine homes...

Thanks to its camouflaged exterior that's almost the same shade as the boulders that surround it, this modern home is nearly invisible to the eye. Known as Infinite Horizon, the property lies in the heart of Joshua Tree National Park, California, an area known for its rugged rock formations and stark desert landscapes.

Even when you view the house from the front, it's hard to see – the desert hues perfectly blend with the sandy shade of the building itself, while the home's low-lying form makes it appear like part of the hillside.

A secluded oasis in the heart of one of America's most stunning regions, this desert home provides lucky guests with jaw-dropping scenery and unmatched privacy.

If you can find the front door, you’ll be able to step inside the contemporary and light-filled home. With an open-plan layout, chic furnishings and floor-to-ceiling windows that frame incredible panorama, it really is the stuff that dream homes are made of. Inside, there’s a living room, a kitchen, a dining zone and two bedrooms. 

A wood-burning fireplace will keep lucky guests warm all year round and the home’s energy and hot water is powered by solar panels. There’s also an amazing deck that juts out over the rocks and provides unmatched views, a firepit for toasting marshmallows, an incredible heated swimming pool and a hot tub – perfect for immersing yourself in the great outdoors.

You'd be forgiven for not immediately spotting a house in this photograph, but if you look closely at the hilly patch of land in the centre, you might just be able to see the roofline of one of the world's best – and most unusual – concealed homes...

Edgeland House was designed by the architects at Bercy Chen Studio and was built seven feet below the ground, with just two angular tufts of grass visible from the front of the property. The project was inspired by one of America’s oldest home-building traditions, the Native American Pit House.

Located beneath the earth's mass in such a way that it retains 'thermal comfort', while still allowing enough sunlight to come through, the house is truly a feat of modern design and engineering.

Head around the back and you can see a little more of the amazing home, as the tufts of grass show themselves to be two glass wings that connect to an exterior terrace and swimming pool.

The property was completed in 2012 and sits inside a deep excavation on a former industrial plot. Designed to protect and repair the local ecosystem, it features an insulated roof, hydronic heating and plenty of glass, for maximum energy efficiency. 

Although a large proportion of the house is concealed underground, it's still beautifully bright and inviting. The architects ensured that plenty of natural light could filter inside. Angled to imitate the form of the hill, the home's floor-to-ceiling windows create a modern space while encouraging indoor-outdoor living.

The interior spans 1,400 square feet and every room is impressive, with vaulted ceilings, sharp, angular walls and modern fixtures.

Perfectly disguised inside an ancient forest, this amazing treehouse is as clandestine as it is cute. A pretty garden path leads to the front door, where you'll find the cosy and rustic cabin, covered in cedar shingles.

Known as the Cedar Falls Treehouse, the property is located on a peaceful two-acre site and was built to minimise its impact on the surrounding forest. It therefore floats above the ground on wooden legs. A timber bridge connects the house to the entrance, while its elevated position makes any guests feel like they are sleeping in one of the forest's many trees.

At just 150 square feet, the interior is cosy and romantic, with big picture windows that allow for views of the canopy from every space. There’s a main floor with a bathroom, kitchenette and living area, as well as a loft with a queen-size bed.

Only accessible by a ladder, the bedroom is snug and stylish, and yet surprisingly spacious. As for outside, there’s a kitchen for cooking up an alfresco feast, an outdoor shower with robes and a wrap-around deck with a fire pit, so guests can gaze up at the towering trees while they unwind.

From the road, you might not be able to spot a modern tiny home, nestled among the trees. The property is concealed inside a dense woodland in Durham, North Carolina, and was created to enable visitors to get away from it all.

Even when you walk up the front pathway to reach the property, it blends beautifully into its surroundings thanks to the home’s mossy green roof and timber exterior – painted black so that at night it’s indistinguishable from the trees. Plus, the land around the tiny home has been left untouched, allowing it to grow lush and almost hug the property.

Inside you’ll find all the amenities you could want – as well as plenty of home comforts. There’s a lounge, a full kitchen, a laundry space and even high-speed internet. But guests are warned that they may find themselves instead opting to relax in the swing on the screened-in porch while listening to the sounds of birdsong.

Contemporary and filled with natural light, the cabin is incredibly inviting. Upstairs is where the bedroom lies, on an open mezzanine with views of the lounge downstairs. Ample windows flood the interior with light, while also providing plenty of vantage points from which to observe the surrounding woodland.

Known as The WonderINN, this secluded retreat is almost invisible among the trees. Nestled in the region of Akershus, Norway, not too far from the hustle and bustle of Oslo, the property is surrounded by a tranquil nature reserve and boasts a partially mirrored exterior that reflects the surrounding scenery, allowing the cabin to blend right in.

The magnificent mirrored home was designed by couple Jeremy and Erle, who, after living in a campervan for six months, decided to move to Norway and start WonderINN – a company that specialises in offering architectural gems in the heart of nature. This property is just one of many the couple has curated around the world, including the iconic Panorama Lodge in Iceland.

Inside, the micro home offers pared-back interior design, walls of glass and everything you could need for a cosy night away, including a kitchen, dining zone, bathroom and double bedroom.

The master bedroom is perhaps the most impressive space, thanks to its unobstructed views across the waterfront below. Head outside and there's also a staggered terrace, a hot tub and an alfresco dining area where you can enjoy your morning coffee. This gorgeous tiny home is definitely a hidden gem!

From a distance, this beautiful country home is cleverly camouflaged amid its surroundings. Entirely covered in ivy, the property, known as The Palladio, is positioned on a hilltop plot in Arcadia, a rural suburb of Sydney, Australia, and dates back to the early 1990s.

The camouflaged crib pays homage to Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, whose buildings were renowned for their classical proportions and symmetry. Surrounded by magnificent gardens, the estate has two dams, a self-contained guest house, a pool house and a fitness centre, as well as the main ivy-clad residence.

The single-storey brick home offers a light and free-flowing interior, with a large entrance gallery, an open-plan lounge, a dining room, a kitchen, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. There are plenty of striking period fixtures throughout too, such as doors dating back to the 18th century, antique fireplaces, parquet flooring and ornate columns.

Extensive glass doors open up to the leafy garden, where a mosaic-lined swimming pool, pretty courtyards, a championship-sized tennis court and various alfresco entertaining spaces can be found. In December 2019, the house sold for just under AUD$3.2 million, which equates to £1.7 million ($2.1m).

Partially submerged under a hillside, this unique Earthship lies in Springfield, Missouri, and from the front, it's hard to recognise it as a house at all. Yet walk around the back and this contemporary home is revealed...

The brutally beautiful bunker-style home spans 2,500 square feet and boasts a natural green roof and walls of glass. The front door sits at the top of the hillside, while the entrance hall leads down into the property's depths, where a series of underground rooms can be found.

Despite being nestled inside the hillside, the underground home is surprisingly light and inviting, with exposed concrete ceilings, structural columns and a monochrome colour palette. The three-bedroom, three-bath home comes complete with a kitchen, a living room, a dining zone and a laundry room. 

There are plenty of unique architectural details throughout, including circular roof lights, rotund walls and porthole windows. Outside, there's a spacious yard, a firepit and a dining patio. If you fancy spending the night here, you can rent out the one-of-a-kind holiday home on Airbnb.

Over in the Mexican state of Morelos, you'll find Casa Meztitla, an award-winning masonry home that gently blends in with its surroundings. Situated close to a natural reserve, the ancient El Tepozteco Aztec temple and the rugged terrain of the El Tepozteco National Park, the house was architecturally designed to reflect its environment.

The property is formed from rustic stone, concrete and large glass doors that pivot open to connect the interior with the mountainous landscape beyond. Partially nestled beneath the earth, some of the rooms are located underground, while others are elevated, resulting in a broken-plan layout that makes for an unusual interior design.

Head inside and you'll find a lounge, a dining zone, three bedrooms and four bathrooms. Every space is enhanced by floor-to-ceiling glass, while raw stone, concrete and modern furnishings add to its one-of-a-kind aesthetic.

The master bedroom is perhaps the finest room in the house. With its subterranean design, open shower and private courtyard space, it's the ultimate tranquil oasis. What's more, outside there's a lap pool, a solar-heated Jacuzzi that faces the mountain, an open-air kitchen and numerous terraces for outdoor dining.

This charming mountain hideaway can be found on a scenic lot overlooking the coastline of La Peña in Andalucía, Spain. The rural home is minutes from the beach but occupies a quiet hillside plot that allows for total off-the-grid seclusion. In fact, from the top of the hill, you can hardly see the house submerged in the grass.

Thanks to its beautiful living spaces, dazzling views and unusual design, the house has been featured in the likes of Elle Decor, Elle Traveller and The Times. Up close, you can really take in its rustic yet contemporary aesthetic, which includes a unique angular roofline.

Inside, the 753-square-foot property comprises an open-plan living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a double bedroom, a bunk room and a single bathroom. Every space benefits from stunning original interior features, such as raw stone walls, sloping timber ceilings, concrete floors and steel-framed windows.

There are plenty of one-of-a-kind design elements throughout too, such as the Hobbit-style door that leads into the children’s bedroom. Outside, there’s a garden with a shaded lounge area, an alfresco dining zone, a plunge pool and even an outdoor shower for rinsing off after the beach. 

Available to rent on Airbnb, this chic rural retreat is as inviting as it is innovative.

When Stockholm-based architect Hans Murman of Murman Arkitekter and his partner Ulla Alberts decided to build a country retreat on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, the house had to overcome a particular design challenge. The island's local authority decreed that no modern architecture should spoil the landscape so they came up with an ingenious solution to help this house disappear into a grove of trees.

The house uses a double façade with a printed vinyl cloth stretched around the entirety of the timber building. Steel rods hold the fabric around 16 inches away from the wood cladding, with parts of the screen extending out to hide private areas such as the outdoor shower. Inside, the cladding has been painted white with sliding doors seamlessly connecting the outside with the interior.

The evergreen trees that were used on the printed pattern also reach just one foot away from certain parts of the 538-square-foot house, which further blends the straight edges into the natural surroundings. The screen is translucent, allowing light to pass in and out of the small windows on the two end walls.

With typical Scandi elegance and restraint, this house manages to be both perfectly in line with the wooded landscape from the outside and cosy and stylish inside. The larger windows and inner courtyard are positioned to be completely private, and generous sliding glass doors on the western façade are used as the main entrance.

Designed by Jack Woolley, this house in south London looks like nothing more than a brick wall at first glance. Once a garden plot, the unassuming residential spot shelters a rather unique dwelling, tucked just out of sight.

The single-storey house was designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding properties. Squat in stature, the structure simultaneously protects the privacy of neighbours, while ensuring the home isn't overlooked thanks to its clever positioning of windows.

Named the Spiral House, the property twists in on itself, with the surrounding brick boundary wall spiralling in to create the property's single-storey floorplan. Inside, the remarkable feat of architecture features nearly 1,000 square feet of modern living space.

With the house sitting slightly below ground level, the courtyard features gently sloping steps that lead up to street level. Bi-folding doors complete the design, blurring the line between the terrace and the large living and dining area.

Escape to the hills of Switzerland – if you can spot this next clandestine property that is. Dug into the side of a mountain, the unique subterranean home is situated next to the famous Therme Vals hot water springs.

Completed in 2009, the plan for the design was to integrate the villa into the landscape so as not to disturb the local ecosystem. Consequently, to negate the need for roads, access is only possible through a tunnel that runs through the mountainside, with the entrance concealed in a local barn. 

The façade of the house slopes upwards, framing the best possible view of the breathtaking mountain ranges on the other side of the valley. Now a holiday rental, it's the perfect place for keen skiers or simply those who want to escape the hustle and bustle.

The property's surprisingly spacious interior has been furnished with the work of many local Dutch designers, which has resulted in contemporary living spaces accented with eclectic statement pieces.  

If you happen to be hiking or skiing in St. Lawrence Valley, or on the snowy slopes of Lac-Beauport, Quebec, then you might just spot the faint outline of a house on the mountainside. Known as Le Quartz, this upscale micro-house is so well camouflaged that many pass by it without a second glance.

Designed to immerse guests in a “captivating scenic experience,” the mountaintop cabin features a minimalist design with clean lines and an all-white exterior, enabling the property to seamlessly integrate into its environment.

The interior of the retreat continues the all-white theme, allowing the inside spaces to gently merge with the snowy landscape outside. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame dreamy views, further connecting the living spaces with the great outdoors.

As for rooms, there's a lounge, kitchen, dining zone and bathroom on the ground floor, as well as a bright queen-size bedroom on a lofted level. 

Despite its exposed location, the designers did their best to ensure the property didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. They built the residence on a natural slope, propping it up using a series of stilts.

To ensure year-round comfort, it was finished with heated floors, a central heating and cooling system and a gas stove for the coldest winter days.

Love this? Take a look at more amazing architecture and breathtaking homes