This stunning San Francisco floating home was constructed for $500,000 - see inside

Mary Meisenzahl

Jan 20, 2020, 19:10 IST

This stunning San Francisco floating home was constructed for $500,000 - see inside

Matthew Millman Photography

San Francisco is famously one of the most expensive housing markets in the US.
Some residents are getting creative with their living situations.
This floating home in San Francisco's Mission Creek shows how luxurious alternatives to typical housing can be.
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San Francisco has one of the most notoriously expensing housing markets in the US, propelled by tech companies attracting employees the area, and the lack of new housing.

Even sites for houseboats and floating homes are becoming more difficult to find. Sausalito is the traditional site of the Bay Area's houseboats, and its colorful waterfront has been extensively covered.

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This home is instead located in San Francisco's Mission Creek, a canal with other floating homes in an area that was once surrounded by industrial lots. Today, according to architect Robert Nebolon, the apartments that have sprung up around the canal are primarily home to employees of major tech companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Facebook.

Robert Nebolon, of Robert Nebolon Architects in San Francisco, worked with one couple to design their dream floating home. He told Business Insider that his design inspiration came from the old industrial buildings that once dotted the area.

If home prices continue to rise in San Francisco, maybe more people will choose alternatives housing, like tiny homes or floating homes.

The 2,030-square-foot home took about six months and $500,000 to build.

According to architect Robert Nebolon, about 90% of the construction was done at a dry dock, before the home was towed to the canal.

The balcony and kitchen give the home a top-heavy look, which Nebolon says was done to add extra space, and also to protect the front door from weather.

The structure is noticeably more modern-looking than many of its neighbors. The side resembles shipping containers, and Nebolon chose an industrial metal siding would be less prone to fading, so the owners wouldn't have to paint it.

"There was a lot of pressure to use every nook and cranny for storage on boats and floating houses," Nebolon told Business Insider. One solution he found was raising beds for plenty of storage underneath.

The dining room table also has a built-in window seat, with storage.

The open tread staircase lets light in from the upper levels to the lowest level, which is below the waterline and has no windows. It's also lighter for the floating barge.

High ceilings also make the space feel larger.

To complement the rest of the modern design, the kitchen and living room are part of an open floor plan.

The "sawtooth" design of the ceiling, which Nebolon says was inspired by the industrial buildings in the surrounding areas, divides the open living area into different zones.

Nebolon was tasked with letting in as much natural light as possible, which he does with plenty of windows.

Even the bathroom is modern and full of light, and it doesn't lack space despite being part of a floating home.

The structure is different from a houseboat because while it floats, it will stay in the same place.

The three-level house sits on a concrete box, with about half of the lower level inside the concrete.

The weight of the concrete keeps the house upright.

The floating homes on the canal look especially stunning at night.

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