Mushroom Dome Cabin (Aptos/ California)

Located in a quiet yet convenient location the Mushroom Dome Cabin is the perfect destination for both San Francisco Bay area residents and travelers.
Centrally located on the Monterey Bay, it's only 10 minutes from the beach (Rio Del Mar and Seacliff State Beach) and 20 minutes to downtown Santa Cruz. The 10,000 acre Nisene Marks State Park is ideal for hiking or dirt biking in the Redwoods and along Aptos creek.

The cozy and clean semi-rustic cabin has a loft under a geodesic dome (the "mushroom cap"). The interior ceiling has recently been lined with 144 plywood triangles. The loft has a double bed and downstairs you'll find a little kitchen, seating area with fold out table, and bathroom with shower.

Mosaic Stairs (San Francisco/ California)

The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps are one of San Francisco's hidden art gems located on Moraga Street between 15th & 16th Ave.
Apart from some amazing views of the city, you'll get to appreciate a beautiful mosaic running up 163 steps. Irish ceramist Aileen Barr and mosaic artist Colette Crutcher joined forces, working with over 300 community volunteers for over 2 1/2 years until they unveiled the project in August 2005.
The sweeping sea-to-sky design features over 2,000 handmade tiles and 75,000 fragments of tile, mirror and stained glass.

House of Nekko - Cat Villa (Goleta/ California)

Inspired by Bob Walker's 1996 book The Cats' House, Peter Cohen turned his home into a cat paradise. It features 46 metres of tunnels, staircases and skywalks custom-made for his many rescue cats.
As a co-owner of Trillium Enterprise Custom Builders, he was able to access the required team and materials to create his dream. The skywalks alone cost more than $40,000.
The house has 25 security cameras to watch the cats (Installing home surveillance equipment is a sideline business of Peter’s.). There's 24 litter boxes, some of which have fans to eliminate odour, while mobile vacuum cleaners keep loose fur at a minimum.

Vandenberg Tracking Station (Vandenberg/ California)

What looks like a giant alien egg that crashed to earth is actually the Radome at the Vandenberg Tracking Station Air Force base. A Radome is a kind of shell/umbrella that protects the satellite tracking equipment from the elements.
This Radome was constructed in 1999 but these photos from 2008-2010 suggest it's abandoned an no longer used by the Air Force.

The Cliff House (San Francisco/ California)

The Cliff House has always been one of the true San Francisco icons. It went through several major incarnations since its humble beginnings in 1858 when Samuel Brannan built the first version out of the lumber salvaged from a ship that broke down on the basalt cliffs below.

The 7 story Victorian Chateau pictured in this post was built in 1896 by Adolph Sutro. It survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage, but burned to the ground in less than 2 hours on September 7, 1907, after existing for only 11 years. Luckily at the time of the fire the hotel had no guests as it was undergoing renovations.

Today's version of the cliff house is much simpler and serves as a restaurant.

Al Struckus House (L.A./ California)

Perched atop a steep hill, the Al Struckus House looks over the San Fernando Valley.
Renowned Modern architect Bruce Goff designed the house for engineer, woodworker, and art collector Al Struckus, but sadly Goff died just a few months after construction began in spring 1982 so Bart Prince oversaw the completion of the design.

It has a four-story-high central cylinder surrounded by five smaller connected cylinders clad in natural redwood, glass tiles, and undulating stucco.
The house embodies Goff’s philosophy of organic architecture, stating that each design should be as unique as its owner, reflecting and enhancing their style of living.

Honey Sphere Treehouse (L.A./ California)

This steel & cedar wood Honey Sphere belongs to Doors guitarist Robby Krieger who uses it as a song-writing retreat at his Beverley Hills home. Crafted by O2 Treehouse, the structure is suspended by steel cables attached to the tree’s upper branches, while a portion rests on the ground to alleviate some of the stress on the live oak.

The Forestiere Underground Gardens (Fresno/ California)

"The Underground Gardens are the life-long devotion and hobby of Baldassare Forestiere (1879-1946), a Sicilian immigrant who came to America in 1901 to escape the iron rule of his wealthy father and pursue his own dreams.
The Gardens are a subterranean complex of patios, grottos, and garden courts interconnecting with passageways that encircle the living quarters of the self- taught artist and builder who sought to escape the brutal heat of Fresno summers."

Lucid Stead (Joshua Tree National Park/ California)

"Lucid Stead" is a light based project by artist Phillip K Smith III. It's composed of mirror, LED lighting, custom built electronic equipment and Arduino programming amalgamated with a preexisting structure.

The structure transforms as the day goes by. In daylight the 70 year old homesteader shack, that serves as the armature of the piece, reflects and refracts the surrounding terrain like a mirage or an hallucination. As the sun starts to set, geometric color fields emerge until they hover in the desolate darkness.

The Neverwas Haul (Vallejo/ California)

The Neverwas Haul is a 3-storey Victorian House on wheels, built in 2006 by Major Catastrophe (Shannon O’Hare) and a crew of 12, made from 75% recycled materials. “After building the Clocktower in ’05, we were sitting in camp at Burning Man talking about our adventure so far. I thought how much we looked like some explorer’s club from some Victorian sci-fi, then I went further and drew the first Neverwas Haul concept sketch of an explorer’s club that really explores. I also got inspired by the book Snowcrash – there is a brief note about a Victorian house on tank treads in it.”

Every year for the Burning Man Festival the Neverhaul leaves the San Francisco Bay Area on a trailer for Black Rock City, Nevada. Once out on the desert lake bed which locals call the “playa,” the Neverwas Haul roams freely, a steampunk masterpiece brought to life with a diesel engine and a wooden ship’s wheel.

Glass Beach (Fort Bragg/ California)

Once used as a rubbish dump this place finally got a clean up in 1967 however the millions of tiny glass shards were too difficult to pick up and therefore left to the unrelenting ocean waves to deal with in their own way, turning the sand into a sparkling, multicolored bed of smooth glass stones now known as Glass Beach. The beach is now an unofficial tourist attraction incorporated into surrounding MacKerricher State Park.

Barbie House (L.A./ California)

This is the house of Ruth Handler creator of Barbie in Santa Monica, L.A. California.

Jayne Mansfield's Pink Palace (L.A./ California)

In November 1957 Jayne bought a 40-room Mediterranean-style mansion and had it painted pink, with cupids surrounded by pink fluorescent lights, pink furs in the bathrooms, a pink heart-shaped bathtub, and a fountain spurting pink champagne. Her husband built a heart-shaped swimming pool. After 1967 other owners included: Rita Greenland, Ringo Starr, Mamma Cass Elliot, and Engelbert Humperdink. The house was then sold to developers and demolished in 2002.

Skateboard House (Malibu/ California)

The Skateboard House is a unique space designed to be a modern home and a collection of skateboard-ready surfaces both indoor and outdoor. Built for Pierre Andre Senizergues, a former World champion, the Skateboard House encompasses all the owner’s interests.
Upon completion this customized home will be placed at the top of the Malibu hills.

Flintstones home (Malibu/ California)

Legendary TV host Dick Clark and his wife are selling their Flintstones-inspired house. Based on the classic 60's cartoon, the specially-designed residence features a cave-like atmosphere with high ceilings.

The Watsu School (Middletown/ California)

The spherical buildings of Watsu School at Harbin Hot Springs are desiged by Eugene Tsui. It is a special school of massage that is performed in water.

Dita von Teese's Home (L.A./ California)

Dita von Teese's love of vintage glamour is appearent in her
shows as well as in her exuberantly decorated Los Angeles home.

Lacma Residence (L. A./ California)

Granny's Empire of Art (San Francisco/ California)

"Granny’s Grannyboot is located somewhere between San Francisco’s Potrero Hill and your fanciest imaginations. Explore the many marvelous nooks and crannies, designed and assembled by her enchanted Grandchildren."

The Madonna Inn (San Luis Obispo/ California)

The Madonna Inn is a kitchy motel located in the town of San Luis Obispo, CA.
It is famous for its themed rooms and over-the-top decor.