This dark and mysterious house is situated in the Yucca Valley, California, one of the driest regions of North America. Not a single natural source of water is to be found within miles of the property, thanks to temperatures that regularly surpass 120°F (49°C). 

Architects Oller & Pejic faced a number of challenges when designing the property, including the lack of water and the that fact the area offers nothing in the way of natural shade. With the aim of incorporating the building into the desert landscape, the pad was designed to appear like a dark object casting a shadow over a region where sunlight is often painfully bright.

Floor-to-ceiling windows expose parts of the open-plan living room to natural light, while the bedrooms are burrowed into the cool ground beneath. With interior and exterior walls painted in matte black, its box-like form contrasts with the rocky terrain of the vast desert landscape on which it sits.

Located deep inside a forest near Lillehammer, Norway, Cabin Vindheim has been designed to look like it’s buried by snow – and much of the time, it is! During the cold months, this area can see almost a metre of snow, partially submerging this weird and wonderful property.

Clad in black-stained pinewood, the house was designed by architecture studio Vardehaugen. Lillehammer is probably best known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics and the house pays homage to its claim to fame: when snow covers the roof, the structure turns into a man-made slope for ski-jumping!

Inside, the property comprises of a large living room, a bedroom, a ski preparation room and a small annexe. The rooms are all covered in wax poplar veneer and residents can gaze up at the stars from bed, thanks to a carefully positioned four-metre skylight window. 

Constructed between 1929 and 1945, Battersea Power Station is one of London's most iconic landmarks. At one time, it supplied a fifth of the city's energy. The coal-fired power station is nestled on the south bank of the River Thames and remained active until it was decommissioned in 1975. Despite being given Grade II-listed status, Battersea Power Station was left abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair, until, that is, the building was taken on by a team of property developers.

Building work began in 2013, to transform the beautiful and unique structure into 250 high-end apartments. The property reportedly sold for £500 million ($655m) and came with surrounding land, which will be regenerated into shops and restaurants, as well as offices and a total of 800 new homes. Luckily, due to the building's listed status, the developers must retain its Art Deco structure, its six million bricks, and its iconic chimneys.

The power station itself will offer luxury apartments that blend stylish contemporary touches with plenty of period appeal. As well as displaying the building's original brick and steelwork, which date back to the 1930s, each apartment will also come with floor-to-ceiling Crittall windows and state-of-the-art appliances. Despite their small size, homes here start from an impressive £885,000 ($1.2m).

Built on a floating steel frame on Lake Huron, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, this home is completely surrounded by water. Access can be gained from the mainland by a small side entrance, which opens onto a landscaped path. Could this be the ultimate hideout from the hustle and bustle of modern life?

Designed by MOS Architects, the stylish exterior has been clad in cedar planks, which protect the house against Canada's unpredictable climate. The expandable planks also help to bring light into the interior. Floating on the water, the home features a steel platform structure with incorporated pontoons, which were built first and towed to the lake. The main house was then towed to the site, before being anchored into place.

Inside, the two-storey floating house has panoramic windows that look out over the water. Strip lighting highlights the A-frame ceiling and the open-plan layout is decorated with Scandi-style furniture. Wood has been used throughout the home – in fact, there's even a wooden sink and tub in the bathroom!

Nestled in the heart of Petra Island, Massaro House is a 15-minute helicopter ride from civilisation. Positioned 50 miles north of New York City, the house, which sits on the edge of the heart-shaped island, is based on a design from 1949, by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Conceived by Wright as Chahroudi House, its name was changed to that of its current owner, Joseph Massaro, who finally built the structure back in 2006. Massaro used the iconic architect's original plans, creating a truly unusual property that juts out over the water. Massaro put the house up for sale in 2012, which an asking price of £15 million ($19.6m).

Inside, the house has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms across its 6,000-square-foot interior, with much of the house carved directly from the rock face. The living area has been finished off with 18-foot high ceilings and triangular skylights. Outside, you'll also find a helipad, which makes the remote luxury house slightly more accessible for those with the means!

Marloth Park is a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa, where humans have co-existed with wild animals for decades. Prohibited from building walls around their homes, the only thing that stops the inhabitants from being eaten by the wild roaming crocodiles and lions is a 1.2-metre fence, designed with the sole purpose of protecting the wildlife.

Located on the southern border of Kruger National Park, the picturesque area sits on the banks of Crocodile River and is awash with buffalo, rhino, lion and zebra, to name a few. This stunning three-bedroom home enjoys panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and features plenty of raw materials that reflect its wild locality.

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, this really is a palm-shaped island. Developed in 2011, the Dubai-based artificial island is host to a number of luxury residential properties, including a rather exceptional beachfront home...

Set inside a private gated community on the quirky Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, this luxury beach palace boasts a number of truly exceptional features. The 11-bedroom property is set over a total space of 46,000 square feet and is equipped with all of the necessary requirements for luxury living, including a 16-seat cinema, an indoor swimming pool and a separate quarters just for staff.

Ideal for entertaining guests, the luxury home boasts its very own private beach and a 200-person nightclub, which is located on a private yacht. What more could any VIP possibly need?

The house is constructed from separate pods designed by Baumraum and is accessed by an outdoor staircase, which wraps around two oak trees. The exterior of the pod is clad in oak wood to help it blend into the surroundings, while zinc sheeting covers the roof. 

Inside, the egg-shaped pod has an open-plan layout and elliptical windows that overlook the woodland. Outside, there are two terraces – the perfect place to relax and unwind amongst the canopy of trees.

If this isn't an unusual location for a house, we don't know what is. Nestled among the rocky terrain of Joshua Tree National Park, California, the High Desert House blends subtly into its surroundings. Made up of a cluster of concrete slabs, which were designed to cover the interior like the leaves of a tree, this highly camouflaged house is hidden from the world.

Finished in the early 2000s, it took over a decade to construct this ambitious home, with every element carefully curated. Even the fence that surrounds the property was thoughtfully designed; made with spiky iron elements that look like fishbones.

Inside, the house is just as unusual, thanks to its textured, wave-like walls and ceiling. There's a parasol installed in the centre of the dining room, which was made from 800 pieces of sandblasted glass, as well as plenty of eclectic furnishings that add to the home's surreal aesthetic.

An intrepid family – called the Hjertefølgers, or 'heartfollowers' – built their home within a geodesic dome in Norway’s Arctic Circle. The beautiful and remote location means they experience some of the most extreme weather conditions in the world. 

Luckily the house has been designed to thrive in these rugged conditions. The glass dome protects the main wooden house from the elements and uses the sun’s heat to warm the interior, while still allowing the residents to enjoy the incredible views and the Northern Lights above them. 

Built for sustainability, the house has its own water recycling system, solar power and vegetable gardens, so the Hjertefølgers have everything they need if the roads become impassable: it's designed so they can survive and thrive in their incredible life in the Arctic. 

Located in the remote heights of the Italian Alps, this mountain home is balanced on a small ledge in the Morion Ridge in Valle d'Aosta. Known as the Luca Pasqualetti Bivouac, the off-grid building was designed by Italian architects, Roberto Dini and Stefano Girodo. 

The hut's interior can cater for up to eight people at once, with kitchen and dining facilities, eight separate beds and equipment storage facilities. Located 3,280 metres above sea level, the cabin frames breathtaking views across the mountain range.

Hidden inside the wall of a cave, The Rockhouse Retreat in Worcestershire, UK, was created by hand-sculpting an 800-year-old sandstone escarpment. Over 70 tonnes of rock was excavated to complete the construction of this amazing cave home, which needed a lot of manpower.

Featured on the British homebuilding TV show, Grand Designs, this quirky dwelling was completed in 2015 and is positioned on three acres of unspoilt land. Blending contemporary style and comfort with natural structures, the interior features a number of extra upgrades that you wouldn't expect to find in a cave...

The owner Angelo Mastropietro spent £179,000 ($234k) on the renovation but it was well worth it. The bedroom features a king-size bed, and the shower and dressing room has luxurious underfloor heating for the colder months.

The Volcano House sits atop a 150-foot tall cinder cone from an extinct volcano, in the western Mojave Desert, California. The flying-saucer-shaped home measures 2,500 square feet and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. 

The mid-century modern dome is surrounded by a moat, which is five feet wide and two feet deep. At the peak of the home is an observation deck that provides 360-degree views of the mountains and surrounding desert. The home also boasts a four-acres lake in its garden.

This amazing wilderness home is built for survival. Originally commissioned by inventor Vard Wallace, The Volcano House was completed and designed in 1968 by Harold J Bissner. It was later owned by Huell Howser, who eventually donated the house to Chapman University. 

This mysterious house, built on top of a rock in the middle of the River Drina in Serbia, has become somewhat of a local legend. The property draws huge crowds to the stunning Tara National Park, where keen tourists attempt to capture this weird and wonderful abode.

Story has it that the first incarnation of the house was built by a young group of swimmers in the 1960s. The initiative was led by Yugoslav teenager Milija Mandić, who brought wooden planks to the rock in order to have somewhere to rest. The swimmers added a shelter from the hot sun and continued to row out materials to add to the house during 1969. 

Over the years, the property has needed to be rebuilt several times, thanks to river levels rising and damaging the structure. Only accessible by boat, the house remains on its precarious rocky plinth to this day, and is now the centre of the Drina Regatta, which is held here every year. 

Built in 1994, Falcon Nest was designed by the award-winning Phoenix architect, Sukumar Pal. Defined by steel and glass, the abode benefits from walls of windows, allowing for unobstructed views stretching over 120 miles in every direction.

Falcon Nest is also equipped with solar panels and features alternative power, heating and cooling sources, making this home both remarkable and highly eco-friendly. The property features three bedrooms, four bathrooms and several observation desks, from which stunning landscape views can be enjoyed.

The home's central level offers a 2,000-square-foot solarium with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a great room. Incredible glass ceilings make night time stargazing a breeze, while a hydraulic elevator provides access from the ground floor the to sixth, with stair connecting the remaining levels.

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