This house has been sitting on a rock in Serbia for over 45 years. Though it may not be an ideal location to live in, it’s a perfect resting spot for swimmers of the lake who need a place to rest comfortably. It was first conceptualized in 1968 by a group of young swimmers and finally erected the following year as a one-room home. It’s remarkable to think that it has managed to balance itself in place all these years, surviving gusting winds and the potential dangers of water damage.

Photographer Simon Dale spent £3,000 (about $5,200) to turn a plot of land in the woods into a home that looks a lot like something out of a Lord of the Rings shire for him and his family. The woodland eco-home was constructed in a matter of 4 months with the help of his father-in-law. It boasts a number of eco-friendly attributes, which include: scrap wood for flooring, lime plaster (instead of cement) for the walls, bales of straw on dry-stone walling, a compost toilet, solar panels for power, and a supply of water acquired through a nearby spring.

After 6 weeks of tireless work on a $9,000 budget, Steve Areen built himself this dream home on Thailand. The basic structure of the home cost two-thirds of the total and the remaining $3,000 was spent on extra details and furnishings. The house includes a lounging space, a hammock, a personal pond, and just about everything inside the dome is made of all-natural materials.

Tiny House is a cozy home built by architect Macy Miller. At 196 square feet, the compact residence is the result of two years of hard work and clever DIY efforts. She initially embarked on this ambitious architectural project because she was fed up with hefty mortgage payments. Like other micro-homebuilders, Miller was concerned with her budget and looked for loopholes around the system. The solution wound up being this tiny house, which she continues to improve upon.

Costing roughly $500 in total to construct, this unique cabin was built by photographer Nick Olson and designer Lilah Horwitz. The two spent several months salvaging discarded windows and assembling them together to create a home away from home in the mountains of West Virginia.

Four 40-foot shipping containers are repurposed into a home known as El Tiemblo House in the province of Ávila in Spain. Designed by studio James & Mau Arquitectura and built by Infiniski, the 2,045-square-foot house took approximately six months to construct for a budget of 140,000 euros.

The frame of a 1965 Boeing 727 has been incorporated into a home’s design in Costa Rica. Though its initial purpose was to transport people from South Africa to Columbia, it was salvaged and repurposed into a 2-bedroom suite. Its fuselage serves as a long interior lined with small windows to view the surrounding gardens and ocean. The old airplane was bought for $2,000 from a San Jose airport resting place, moved for $4,000 and renovated for $24,000.

Californian designer Gegory Kloehn turned a dumpster in Brooklyn into his home. Like a studio apartment, the 42-year-old’s renovated home includes everything in a compact space. There’s a tiny kitchen in one corner with a microwave and mini-stove and a small sleeping area with storage space underneath. There is also a tiny toilet and outdoor shower whose water is supplied by a 6-gallon rainwater tank on the roof of the dumpster/home. It has all the amenities of a normal apartment, albeit smaller, and Kloehn says, “If you don’t like your neighbors, you can push it a block over.”

The caboose of a train (Great Northern Railway X215) has been transformed into an accommodating living space in Essex, Montana. The historic rail car was renovated to include everything from a personal kitchen and bathroom to a master bedroom and even a gas fireplace.

This mobile log cabin by Hans Liberg is located in Hilversum, Netherlands. It is easily hidden amongst the surrounding forest when the windows are closed, seeming like a large pile of logs. Once inside, though, the space presents a minimalist, manmade design that counters the coarse, rustic aesthetic of nature.

Using locally sourced materials, kayaking instructor and boatbuilder Brian Schulz has created his own oasis in the woods of Cape Falcon, Oregon that he refers to as the Japanese Forest House. The home, which was constructed within a year for a mere $11,000, brings the aesthetic of a Japanese house to an American forest.

This 160-square-foot micro home on wheels is designed to look like something from the past or perhaps a work of fiction. Its unique style is the result of hard labor and expert salvaging. The entire compact home is created through recycled and reclaimed materials. Even the furniture and appliances inside the mobile home are all found and reused objects.

This home in Festus, Missouri is embedded into a sandstone cave. Originally, Curt Sleeper found an eBay auction for the cave, which sat just 30 miles from where he and his wife Deborah resided. The Sleepers soon decided to acquire the property and transform it into a living space. Taking nearly 5 months to finalize their purchase and an additional 4+ years of construction, they finally had their dream home. The indoor temperatures are mild and the cave home offers a natural feel for the family without ever having to step outside.

This micro-home called Nido is a two-story structure that is less than 96 square feet. The reason for its tiny size, other being cost-effective, is that the Robin Falck (Finnish designer behind the architectural project) decided to build himself a getaway that would allow him to forego the need for building permits. It is secure enough to privately house him and even includes a tiny deck for taking in the natural scenery. The entire home was built with locally sourced materials in about two weeks.