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Ensculptic House – The Home That Looks Like A Mushroom

<div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;inline et&lowbar;social&lowbar;mobile&lowbar;on et&lowbar;social&lowbar;inline&lowbar;top">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networks et&lowbar;social&lowbar;4col et&lowbar;social&lowbar;slide et&lowbar;social&lowbar;rounded et&lowbar;social&lowbar;left et&lowbar;social&lowbar;no&lowbar;animation et&lowbar;social&lowbar;withnetworknames et&lowbar;social&lowbar;outer&lowbar;dark">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<ul class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icons&lowbar;container"><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;facebook">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;facebook&period;com&sol;sharer&period;php&quest;u&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fhouseandhistory&period;com&percnt;2Fensculptic-house&percnt;2F&&num;038&semi;t&equals;Ensculptic&percnt;20House&percnt;20&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;93&percnt;20The&percnt;20Home&percnt;20That&percnt;20Looks&percnt;20Like&percnt;20A&percnt;20Mushroom" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"facebook" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"1255" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;facebook"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Facebook<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;twitter">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;share&quest;text&equals;Ensculptic&percnt;20House&percnt;20&percnt;E2&percnt;80&percnt;93&percnt;20The&percnt;20Home&percnt;20That&percnt;20Looks&percnt;20Like&percnt;20A&percnt;20Mushroom&&num;038&semi;url&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fhouseandhistory&period;com&percnt;2Fensculptic-house&percnt;2F" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"twitter" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"1255" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;twitter"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Twitter<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;pinterest">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"&num;" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share&lowbar;pinterest" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"pinterest" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"1255" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"share" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;pinterest"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Pinterest<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><li class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;like">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<a href&equals;"" class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;share" rel&equals;"nofollow" data-social&lowbar;name&equals;"like" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"1255" data-social&lowbar;type&equals;"like" data-location&equals;"inline">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<i class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon et&lowbar;social&lowbar;icon&lowbar;like"><&sol;i><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;network&lowbar;label"><div class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;networkname">Like<&sol;div><&sol;div><span class&equals;"et&lowbar;social&lowbar;overlay"><&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;a>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;li><&sol;ul>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>The Ensculptic House&comma; commonly known as &&num;8216&semi;Mushroom House&&num;8217&semi; is a quirky looking home located near Lake Minnetonka&comma; Minnesota&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1259" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Ensculptic-House-1024x687&period;jpg" alt&equals;"&lbrack;title&lowbar;mod title&lowbar;name&equals;&quot&semi;THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE&quot&semi; title&lowbar;background&lowbar;color&equals;&quot&semi;&num;fc64aa&quot&semi; title&lowbar;color&equals;&quot&semi;&num;ffffff&quot&semi;&rsqb;" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"537" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Defying architectural style pigeonholing&comma; the house uses very little traditional building material&period; Much of the property is made from polyurethane spray-foam over burlap on a metal skeleton and has very few windows or straight walls&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">THE HISTORY OF ENSCULPTIC HOUSE<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Built in the summer of 1969&comma; Ensculptic house was the brainchild of Winslow Wedin&period; <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ensculptic&period;blogspot&period;com&sol;2013&sol;02&sol;winslow-elliot-wedin-september-29th&period;html">Winslow<&sol;a>&comma; a local architect&comma; brought seven architecture students from Auburn University in Texas and camped out all summer while building the home&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1268" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Construction-1-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Construction" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;1262" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-1262" class&equals;"wp-image-1262" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Ensculptic-House-Construction-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ensculptic House Construction" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-1262" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Construction of Ensculptic House during the summer of 1969&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Located on a rural road in the country&comma; it is often described as a &&num;8220&semi;hobbit house&&num;8221&semi;&comma; &&num;8220&semi;marshmallow house&&num;8221&semi; or &&num;8220&semi;mushroom house&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The house features flowing lines&comma; rounded archways&comma; and deep recessed nooks and crannies that give the home a 1960s-style futuristic look&period; Something you would expect to see an alien from Star Trek or Star Wars living in&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Inside the property&comma; it very much feels like a cave and a light fluffy cloud all rolled into one&period; The 4&comma;080-square foot property features 2 bedrooms&comma; 2&period;5 bathrooms&comma; and sits on 8&period;4 acres of land&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;1266" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-1266" class&equals;"wp-image-1266" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Interior-of-Ensculptic-House-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Interior of Ensculptic House" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-1266" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">The property as it looked in the 1970s&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1277" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;1970S-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"1970s" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;92 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px 0 0px 0&semi;text-align&colon;center&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1278" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Interior-1970s-1024x814&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Interior 1970s" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"636" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1279" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Dining-1970s-1024x816&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Dining 1970s" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"637" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Unfortunately&comma; the hardened foam house concept never caught on and over the years the house passed from family to family before being abandoned&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 2010 the house went on the market for &dollar;237&comma;000&comma; before being knocked down to &dollar;210&comma;000&period; Despite many viewings&comma; nobody seemed interested in purchasing the house&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Dayna Murray of Keller Williams Realty&comma; who put the property on the market at the time stated&colon; &&num;8220&semi;you buy the land&comma; you get the house&&num;8221&semi;&period; The price was what the land was valued at&comma; the house was just an added bonus&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;1272" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-1272" class&equals;"wp-image-1272" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Ensculptic-House-Foyer-1024x768&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ensculptic House Foyer" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"600" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-1272" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Enscultoic House as it looked around 2010&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;1270" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-1270" class&equals;"wp-image-1270" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Kitchen-1-1024x768&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Kitchen" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"600" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-1270" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">The kitchen&comma; possibly not to everybody&&num;8217&semi;s taste&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>This&comma; of course&comma; meant the house could have been bulldozed&period; However&comma; in 2011 the house finally sold to a couple for &dollar;170&comma;000&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ronald Hietala and his wife&comma; Janis&comma; were living in Virginia and bought the house unseen&period; Apart from the photos that appeared with the online real-estate listing&period; The couple&comma; originally from Minnesota&comma; had been searching for a getaway home&period; Ronald bought the house as he estimated the land was worth that alone&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;1273" style&equals;"width&colon; 810px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-1273" class&equals;"wp-image-1273" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Ronald-Hietala-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ronald Hietala" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"534" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-1273" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Ronald Hietala&comma; who purchased the property in 2011&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I thought&comma; &OpenCurlyQuote;We can’t lose&comma;’&ThinSpace;” he said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We would probably tear it down and build new or sell it when land values went up&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; when he stepped inside the home before closing the deal&comma; he knew he had made the right decision&period; Ensculptic house would not be torn down&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;">THE HOUSE TODAY<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>After purchasing the home&comma; Hietala invested &dollar;50&comma;000 to fix the geothermal heat pump&comma; install new windows&comma; wiring&comma; and plumbing and add a layer of polyurethane foam over the leaky fiberglass roof&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1264" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Front-Entrance-1-1024x687&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Front Entrance" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"537" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1265" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Inside-Ensculptic-House-1024x674&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Inside Ensculptic House" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"526" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1280" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Living-Area-1-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Living Area" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"534" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1269" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;The-Dining-Area-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ensculptic House Dining Area" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"534" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1281" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;The-Kitchen-1024x682&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ensculptic House Kitchen" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As for living in an offbeat home&comma; simple tasks such as positioning furniture&comma; installing closet doors&comma; and hanging artwork are a challenge because of the curved design&period; But with seating sculpted out of the walls&comma; such as inside a cozy sunken fireplace room&comma; little furniture is required&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hietala often settles in front of a 28-foot wall of glass facing the backyard&comma; where he watches wild turkeys and other wildlife&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;At night it’s very quiet&comma;” he said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Now and then&comma; I hear a coyote or raccoon run across the roof&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1275" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;houseandhistory&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2019&sol;11&sol;Bedroom-2-1024x683&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Ensculptic House Bedroom" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"533" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hietala and Bren&comma; who still live in Virginia but visit regularly&comma; are glad they preserved the experimental sprayed-on polyurethane home&comma; although they aren’t sure what its future holds&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It’s a remarkable piece of architecture&comma; and it’s still standing after 40-plus years&comma;” said Hietala&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;But innovation is always difficult&period; There’s still the possibility that unexpected things will happen&period;”&NewLine;

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