Seaside Stunners: 14 Cliff-Clinging Houses with Crazy Views

Cliff-Top Vacation House Feels Like it’s Floating

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Two rustic cabins by Alvaro Ramirez are joined by a wooden deck, the cliff placement making it feel as if this outdoor space drops off into the sea. One of the cabins features the public spaces of the vacation home in the mountains of Chile, while the other contains the bedrooms.

Picasso-Inspired Cliff House

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The unconventional lines of House Holman by Durbach Block Jaggers Architects in Sydney, Australia got their inspiration from a rather unexpected place: a Picasso painting. The designers took the sinuous shapes of The Bathers and translated them into curving lines with minimally defined boundaries from one interior space to the next.

Castle Rock House, New Zealand

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Seemingly disconnected volumes tumble down a coastal hillside in New Zealand at Castle Rock House by Herbst Architects, a vacation retreat wherein the open-plan kitchen extends to outdoor rooms and the sleeping quarters are tucked into the earth.

Ultramodern & All-White in Spain

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House on a Cliff by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos takes visual inspiration from traditional architecture of Spain’s Alicante region while adapting it for the modern era, sharpening its angles and dividing its planes so it stands out from the rocky setting. The monolithic concrete exterior makes no attempt to blend into the landscape, standing out while remaining minimalist and free of fuss.

Green-Roofed British Columbia Cliff House

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A moss-covered, oddly-shaped roof forms part of the groundwater routing system at the Tula House by Patkau Architects, routing it into a pond in the courtyard. Set into a cliffside 44 feet above the Pacific in British Columbia, the home takes visual inspiration from the irregularities of the rocky landscape.