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mushroom house
Photograph: Lori Farr

You can rent this wacky mushroom house in the woods upstate

Naturally, this trippy residence was designed in the '70s.

Collier Sutter
Written by
Collier Sutter
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One of the funkiest houses in the world is up for rent.

If you’re a fan of unique architecture, this hobbit-esque residence, resembling giant mushrooms, is rooted deep in a woodsy pocket of upstate New York. The home’s concrete mushroom pods, each weighing 80-tons, are built partially into the side of a hill, with rolling greenery for miles. The house is actually five separate pods on stems ranging from 14- to 20-feet-tall. Each mushroom pod serves as an essential room in the house.

If you pictured where a real-life Smurf might reside, it would resemble this fairytale estate.

interior home
Photograph: Lori Farr

A mahogany entry doors lead you inside the 4,200-square-foot, three-bedroom interior, which is just as eclectic as its exterior skeleton. Because of the home’s unusual contours, there are many quirks—including no right angles. Most furnishings are built into the structure. 

Great detail went into every limb of the masterpiece, including an artistic tunnel filled with tile mosaics that pay homage to Spanish-based architect Antoni Gaudi’s work.

tile floor
Photograph: Lori Farr

To no one's surprise, the retro-modern place was built in the '70s. Local architect James H. Johnson actually fashioned the place after a stem of Queen Anne's Lace, in tandem with the homeowners, Marguerite Antell (a ceramic artist) and her husband Robert Antell.

Though the structure wasn't meant to look like mushrooms exactly, Marguerite did want a home that was both groovy and unconventional, and thus the white orb-like structures were built. Since the '70s, over a dozen commissioned artists have added on finishing touches. In 1989, the one-of-a-kind home was designated as a town landmark in Perinton.

Take a closer look around this whimsical home:

front door
Photograph: Lori Farr
kitchen
Photograph: Lori Farr
mushroom house
Photograph: Lori Farr
ceiling design
Photograph: Lori Farr
patio
Photograph: Lori Farr
mushroom house
Photograph: Lori Farr

And if you're sold, the Mushroom House is currently on the market to rent for $5,500 a month—a small price to live inside a piece of art. 

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