2022 Weird Homes Tour Earth Bag House

How It Works

Watch For Your Tour Map

About 48 hours before Tour Day, watch your email for a printable PDF map, as well as links to a dynamic online map if you prefer to navigate that way.

Enjoy The Tour!

Travel at your own pace as you visit the homes in any order you wish between 10 AM and 4 PM* on Tour Day

Check Out The Tour Stops

The Bloomhouse

Built in the hills of West Austin, the Bloomhouse represents the symbiotic interaction of man and nature. Its organic shape, rising from the earth, mimics the flow of the air, the curve of the wind, and the gentle rise and fall of nature’s melody. Its curvilinear design is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

Dave & Susan Claunch purchased the property in 2017 and undertook an extensive 2-year renovation to return the Bloomhouse to its original glory.

Neighborhood: Westlake Highlands
Image: Scott Van Osdol

Bloomhouse 2022 Weird Homes Tour

Moringwood

What do ancient cars,  ancient beads, doll parts, pulp erotica, and forgotten esoterica have in common? Well, it all collides and coalesces at Carl’s house- A place he cheekily calls Morningwood, in reference to the way the sun peeks through his trees at daybreak.
 
The house showcases Carl’s collection of works by the mid-century faculty artists from the University of Texas Department of fine art. In the garage is 7 foot tower of flat files overflowing with art, and ancient and tribal beads from all corners of the globe. A few feet away, Walter, a 1931 Ford Model A, patiently awaits another road-borne adventure.
 
But it’s in the backyard, where true weirdness blooms. “Jerusalem,” a tiny jewel-like Cornell box structure, contains everything from a chunk of the Berlin wall, to a powerful Shipibo shaman’s talisman and adornments. It’s an eclectic utopia, where Carl, a museum curator, and cultural historian, can exhibit the 10,000 little bibelots that fascinate him. 
 
The recent occupants of Jerusalem, include 1000 or so odd, retired  Dolls,  and doll-like entities, that have taken up residence. They form a slightly disturbing portion of the melange. 
 
Come see. You won’t forget it. 

Neighborhood: Wooten
Image: ThaninPhoto.com

Morningwood 2022 Austin Weird Homes Tour

The Keep

The Keep stands as an artistically fortified high-end refuge for experimental artist, D. Warden. Warden has not only filled the home with his work but he has transformed every surface of the space. He has personally sculpted, plastered, acid-stained and epoxied everything from the translucent bullet-resistant front door to the medieval-themed backyard moat and drawbridge.

The Keep also primarily uses upcycled materials. Tons of recycled glass come from Garden-Ville. Over a hundred gallons of paint and materials came from Austin’s Recycle and Reuse Drop off Center. And to top it all off, Warded acquired hundreds of tons of boulder and rocks free on craigslist.

Come take a picture in the special effects studio in the professional blue-screen concave infinity cove. And don’t miss the two-story design workshop and art shack where the magic happens.

Neighborhood: Dawson

The Keep 2022 Weird Homes Tour

A Mermaid's Oasis of Color

A Mermaid’s Oasis of Color is filled with art and color. The outside includes: A Rock Star Rock Garden, an Ocean Wave Drive-way, assorted yard art covering various areas of the yard and walls, a painted and highly decorated breezeway (be sure and look up) and a painted undersea theme fence in the back yard. Mermania will also be on the scene. It is an everyday driver art-car which was a winner of awards both in Houston and in Trinidad, Colorado.

There is a studio in the back which is often used as an Airbnb. It is filled with color and art everywhere you look including a cloud painted ceiling.

Inside the house, there are numerous organized collections. They include salt and pepper shakers, tiny shoes, Rolling Stones novelties, tea pots, match books, cookbooks, and sunglasses. The kitchen counter is a mosaic of cards and items collected over time and arranged by Lois the owner.

There are more than 29 bold colors both inside and out adorning the walls and ceilings of the home. The tiny bathroom has its own special light show. There are eleven different colors on the walls/cabinets with 109 dichroic glass tiles decorating the tub enclosure.

Neighborhood: Zilker
Image: ThaninPhoto.com

Mermaids Oasis 2022 Austin Weird Homes Tour

Community Inn

The Community Inn offers an eclectic and humble overnight experience. We invite you to browse our unique variety of vacation rental spaces. Whether you are looking for a night in a distinctive tiny home, a trendy Airstream travel trailer, an authentic tipi, or a show-stopping yurt, we guarantee you will be able find something that fits your style and tees up the perfect getaway!

Located in the heart of Central Texas, just on the outskirts of northeast Austin, the Community Inn offers so much more than just a room for a night. Along with your escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, you’ll also be introduced to one of America’s most unique neighborhoods – Community First! Village – where a revolution in goodness is taking place.

It’s time to relax in one of the coziest and coolest tiny home vacation rentals you’ve ever seen.

Through the design of our Community Inn, and in our daily operations, we strive to provide a carefully curated experience. Our hope is that every guest leaves with a newfound desire to know and serve the homeless in their local communities. Our Community Inn units feature art and other handcrafted products made by our formerly homeless artisans and makers who live in Community First! Village.

Neighborhood: Community First Village

Community Inn 2022 weird homes tour

The Music Home

Come visit the music memorabilia home, featuring over 30 guitars, over 8,000 vinyl records, and tons of visual art, all owned by long time, award-winning art festival producer. The visual art collection includes Peref Max, Arcadio Boyer, Alonso Rey Sanchez, Michael Cano, and more.

Neighborhood: Texas Oaks South
Image: ThaninPhoto.com

The Musi CC House 2022 Austin Weird Homes Tour

The Earth Bag House

The house is an earthbag house, made by filling sandbag tubes with cement fortified soil. The structure consists of 8 different domes, woven together and interconnected. The building technique is similar to constructing a clay pot with coils of clay. The walls are 2 feet thick. The two main domes have skylights at the top. 

Neighborhood: Guadelupe
Image: Thea Bryant

Lars Homestead 2022 ATX Weird Homes Tour