Underground Cottages

If you have ever seen The Hobbit movie, you will no doubt be familiar with the types of underground cottages that are inhabited by these little folk. While the villages that they live in are nothing but the imagination of a brilliant writer put on screen, there are also real underground homes out there that people live in year round. Obviously, the homes that we are talking about in this category are a good deal larger and more spacious than those occupied by the Hobbit's.

Gary Neville's Underground Cottage

You are probably wondering why anyone would ever consider burrowing into the ground to create a living space. There are all kinds of different reasons, with one of the most common being to create a much more private space.

As you might imagine, an underground cottage needs a fair bit of private land in order to be built, which means getting out of the city and away from it all when you build. An example of this can be seen in the home of former football star Gary Neville, whose underground home looks like a giant petal when viewed from above. You might not even know it was there if it were not for that overhead view.

Mr. Neville's home clocks in at a massive 8,000 square feet, yet it requires very little in the way of energy consumption. That is another reason why underground homes are popular with many. They are often designed in a way that pulls in natural light, and where eco-friendly systems can be used to deliver energy, water, and more. Those looking to get off the grid and go to a self-sustaining lifestyle see underground homes as the way in which they can effectively do that.

Yet, most underground homes are not mansions. In general, they are rather modest in comparison to many above ground houses. Some describe these subsurface dwellings as underground cottages because of their quaint size.

Now, you might imagine that an underground cottage would not have the curb appeal that many traditional homes have, but you would need to think again. There are a number of underground dwellings that have an aesthetically pleasing entrance exposed to the world, with the interior of the home set under the ground and out of site.

There are some that are built into hillsides, much like in The Hobbit, while others are constructed on the outside of caves . The latter of that pairing tends to be particularly dramatic looking both inside and out, and is actually a common location given the natural heating and cooling benefits provided by such a space.

What is truly amazing is what you see once you step inside these stunning underground abodes. If you were blindfolded and taken inside, you would have a hard time telling the interior space from that of a traditional home.

The absence of windows might be a giveaway in some, but not in those that have the sort of open front entrance that we spoke about earlier in the piece. If it's something secluded, easy to maintain, and out of the ordinary that you are looking for in your next property, we may suggest you look at an underground cottage.