6 charming homes for the whimsical
Featuring a 1924 factory-turned-loft in San Francisco and a home with custom murals in Yucca Valley
Wake Forest, North Carolina
One of the cupolas on this eclectic five-bedroom farmhouse resembles a silver-topped silo. Inside, the home has corrugated-metal feature walls, log posts, carved and painted cabinetry, a multipaned window corner, an irregular stacked-stone fireplace, and pebble-tile accents; art chandeliers and furniture are negotiable.
The 5.5-acre lot, amid woodlands and near an estuary, has a pool with a slide, outdoor fireplace, gardens, and fields; Durham is 25 minutes' drive. $2,950,000. Frank Gombatz, Fonville Morisey Realty, a Long & Foster Co./Luxury Portfolio International, (919) 696-4249.
San Francisco, California
Lighthouse Lofts was converted from a 1924 SoMa factory. This creators' compound spanning three live-work units has 13-foot-high ceilings and steel-framed windows, a two-bedroom double loft featuring a chef's kitchen and a great room with epoxy floors and a basketball hoop, a one-bedroom single loft with a chef's kitchen and bamboo floors, and a music loft with a cushioned porthole to a fourth bedroom.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Amenities include roof deck access and parking. $3,200,000. Chris Lim and Michelle Balog, Christie's International Real Estate, (415) 577-3770.
Greensboro, North Carolina
Ayrshire, a Tudor Revival with storybook details, was crafted by architect Sanford Ayers in 1935. The four-bedroom house features a round tower, arched doors, butterfly-pegged floors, paneled walls, coffered ceilings, diamond-paned and stained-glass windows, carved fireplaces, decorative ironwork, a wall fountain, a spiral staircase, and formal rooms.
The 5.5-acre lot, set on the first hole of the Sedgefield golf course, has a stone terrace, yards, and mature trees. $3,000,000. Smedes Lindner, Allen Tate Realtors–High Point/Luxury Portfolio International, (336) 210-8001.
Friendship, Maine
Seaside Farm, built in 1990, is splashed throughout with color and natural imagery. The updated six-bedroom main house features a living room with persimmon-hued fireplace and honeycomb art, dining room with botanical wallpaper and undulating chandelier, and cherry-red kitchen opening to a deck.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The 19.8-acre waterfront property, 30 minutes from Rockport, includes two cottages (one with oars as loft railings), plus a yurt, studio, barn, lawns, gardens, pool, tennis court, and beach. $7,975,000. Joseph Sortwell, LandVest, (207) 706-6294.
Bradenton, Florida
The two fully renovated, furnished 1925 houses on this lot are marked by European style and eye-catching details. The three-bedroom main house has a curved wall with a raised geometric pattern and striking accent colors; the two-bedroom guesthouse has a bronze-tiled kitchen and double-height living room with a playful chandelier.
Outside are a xeriscaped garden, outdoor kitchen, firepit, volleyball net, and room for a pool; shopping, dining, a school, and the beach are nearby. $669,000. Jennifer Garrabrant, Premier Sotheby's International Realty, (941) 228-3554.
Yucca Valley, California
This updated 1980 two-bedroom is decorated throughout with custom murals. The concrete-floored living room showcases a desert sunrise, the kitchen has a painted rug, Joshua trees at dusk adorn the dining room, and the game room depicts the cosmos.
A muralled fence surrounds the half-acre lot's bocce court, firepit, hot tub, cowboy tub, and desert plantings; the Seussical scenes of Joshua Tree National Park are 10 minutes' drive. $379,000. Cody Hancock, Desert Sotheby's International Realty, (760) 574-2390.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
Broadway actors and musicians are on the brink of a strike
The explainer The show, it turns out, may not go on
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Cyrano de Bergerac: a ‘huge-hearted’ production
The Week Recommends This ‘playful’ and ‘poignant’ rendition brings new life to the ‘gilet-sporting, verse-spouting’ titular soldier
-
I Swear: a ‘warm-hearted’ comedy-drama
The Week Recommends While ‘inescapably hilarious’, the drama also lifts the lid on John Davidson’s experiences with Tourette syndrome
-
Victoria Beckham Netflix documentary feels like an ‘advert’
Talking Point Carefully controlled three-part show fails to answer the interesting questions it raises
-
What to read by Nobel Prize in Literature winner László Krasznahorkai
In the Spotlight The Hungarian writer’s melodic prose is ‘quite unlike anyone else’s’
-
Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelations
Feature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What We Can Do About It’ and ‘It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin’
Feature How big tech is betraying its users and how Jane Birkin’s allure led her to struggle with her own self-worth
-
The delightful, smutty world of Jilly Cooper
In the Spotlight Millions mourn the ‘Mrs Kipling of sex’
-
Lee Miller at the Tate: a ‘sexy yet devastating’ show
The Week Recommends The ‘revelatory’ exhibition tells the photographer’s story ‘through her own impeccable eye’