Homes and Hues

Newly-purchased Home Reveals Deep SecretsErin Cloudy bought a flat in a 200-year-old house, presumably in the UK from the language and accents in the videos. It is a Victorian that needs a lot of repair. She was checking out the enclosed space underneath the stairs, maybe for storage, and found another set of stairs! This video contains NSFW language.

The Coffin CouchPeter Von Erickson, who has a great name for his oeuvre, sells macabre accessories and household products in his Etsy store. They’re great for the Halloween season, but also for those of us who appreciate the gothic look year-round for the decoration of our lairs and corpses.For such creatures, Von Erickson’s offerings include this luxurious couch that looks like a coffin. The velvet is available in a vampiric purple, a bloody red, and a dark-souled black. White is, of course, not an option, nor should it be.A note to cause disappointment: the pin up model is not included.-via Toxel

The Joys of a Wood Fired Hot TubHave you ever considered a wood fired hot tub? have you ever even heard of a wood fired hot tub? Stephen O’Grady saw the video above by Jonathan Kuhn and thought about investing in one. He and his wife ended up using theirs almost every day! The impetus was in making their home more like a vacation, since they didn't feel the need to leave their island dream home. The benefits of a wood burning tub is that you can put it anywhere because it doesn't need to be connected to the house for electric heat, and you don't need electricians to install it. You do need firewood, though, but O'Grady was already heating his home with wood, so they had plenty. The water you use is as flexible as the location, meaning that people have used lake water, sea water, well water, or piped-in water. Six months after purchasing a Goodland wood fired hot tub, O'Grady tells us all about it, the advantages and disadvantages, what you'll need, what to expect, and how the tub has enhanced his life. It takes a certain kind of person to benefit from this kind of hot tub, but if you are in a place with plenty of firewood and a bit of space, it can be heaven. -via Swiss Miss

Missouri Home for Sale is More Than Meets the EyeThis property in Polo, Missouri, doesn't look like much when you first approach it, but believe me, it's bigger on the inside -literally. There is 10,007 square feet of living space in the structure, all but a few feet of it underground. The walls are concrete, 2.5 feet thick, the entire structure is shielded in copper, and it has two 3,000-pound blast doors. Yes, it's a bunker with lots of room to fill with pretty much anything you can imagine except sunlight.

A Cupboard to Sleep In(Image credit: Koreller)Have you ever been tempted to sleep in a cupboard? You might try that if your chifforobe was a bit bigger. In some old homes, more so in Europe than in the US, you might find a storage box on legs or an alcove that was unusually large for a wardrobe. These aren't wardrobes, although they were often used to store linens. They are box beds, also called a closet bed or a close bed. People would climb inside and sleep, sometimes up to a half-dozen people at a time! Box beds were in use from medieval times to the 20th century.

The Puzzle of the Inaccessible LandingReal estate investor Alan Corey draws our attention to a modern suburban design feature that I've never noticed or thought about, but maybe you have. It's the "inaccessible landing," or a shelf of sorts built into a two-story room, foyer, or stairwell that you can't use, because there's no way to get to it. There's probably a reason for it, but you'd have to ask an architect. It doesn't add to one's living space. Some folks have turned theirs into a decoration opportunity. If there's a window, you could add plants, although after a few weeks of dragging out a tall ladder out to water them, you'd give up and replace them with silk plants.