People Living in Caves!

In the earliest days of mankind, caves were a necessary protection and available no matter where man was trekking across the continents, but eventually man sat still to practice agriculture and built homes from the local resources. The missing element from living in caves is the temperate climate within. Some smart builders have decided to retreat back into the protection of the cave to create homes that are missing nothing in charm or comforts from traditional homes. Let's have a look at some beauties - 

Chulo Canyon Cave House 
Bisbee, AZ 

This cave home in the hills in Bisbee, Arizona is almost 3000 square feet. It comes complete with rough-hewn stone walls as would be expected. No modern amenities are spared. It is at 5300 feet elevation which creates a great climate and a constant one (low 70s) inside the home. It sits on 37 acres including springs and ponds. One could settle in here and be content year round. There are also outbuildings on the property. 

Caveland
Festus, Missouri  

Living in a 17,000 square foot cave sounds daunting, but when you see what was done to smooth out the stone walls, you can be nothing short of powerfully impressed. What once was a mine, became a bigger treasure; it became a home.

There was once a roller rink inside one carved out area, now utilized for storage. Others in the past grew mushrooms inside, as well. The home also has a natural spring pool within. 

The family bought the cave on ebay and proceeded to renovate it into a home, setting up tents within to stay out of the dust as they worked. 

"House of Stone"
Portugal

This unusual home built between four enormous boulders in Northern Portugal is fascinating. It even has a swimming pool carved out of one of the boulders. It has been so beautifully integrated into a natural setting as to become part of it and inspiring to architecture students. 

Sustainable Hobbit Cave Home
Switzerland

These nine cave-like homes were built by architect Peter Vetsch. They were built into the earth with it banked around them. The architect has built many of these across Switzerland. They hobbit holes conform to natural curves of the landscape, provide insulation and a sense of shared community. 

Beckham Creek Cave Lodge 
Ozarks - Arkansas

This lodge actually rents out four bedrooms for the night ($1600). It is 6000 square feet of cave interior. 

Cave Palace Ranch 
Utah  

Imagine in the desert heat and blinding sunlight, how precious it would be to retreat into a cave with a view? Add solar panels and generator and more and you have a true refuge in an unsure world. With 110 acres and several niches built into a rock face, this is quite the palace. Oh, and don't forget fresh water from an underground well!

Malator ("Teletubby Cave")
Druidstone, Wales

Unlike many subterranean homes, this one built into two hillsides offers a central core of bright light and views. A British firm called Future Systems came up with this gorgeous baby and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn't want to call this home! There are even lovely portholes to get the breezes going. 

- Here's some more inspiring stone homes -

And, in China, millions of people still live in caves. In fact, they say that six times more people live in caves in China today than all those who lived in them during the Stone Age (LINK).

**Tomorrow's post "Mysterious Cave Vibrations Before Spelunker Goes Missing!"**