Offbeat Style - Touring Houseboats

Corinne and her daughter Sloane recently toured 16 fun and funky houseboats in Sausalito, California in a community of some 500 floating homes. There were a lot of hippie type homes mixed throughout, which seemed to fit with the Sausalito vibe.

Apparently, this all started after World War II when people started making homes from anything they could salvage. The gardens each home had out lining the dock were great - enthusiastic container gardeners, all!

It was quite a collection of styles. Two homes earned their stamp of approval: Home A and Home B. The living room of Home A is pictured below, featuring the homeowner and her stylish, cozy fireplace.

The owners named it "Inn Deep". It was 1,200 square feet and featured a hot tub on the deck, plus a roof top deck cleverly bordered with lavender planted in containers for an aromatic wind break, pictured below left. The bedroom was fitted with an extravagant (for a houseboat) canopy with overhead lighting, below right.

Home A's tasteful bath. Very soothing.

Replete with a piece of large art. 

Home B, shown below, was one of the newest floating homes at the newest dock. The owner designed it herself, with 756 square feet and one bedroom. In the bedroom pictured, you can see the water only one foot below out of normal casement windows! She had a cat house, as well. Almost all 16 houseboats toured had cats.

Home B's kitchen, below. The green cabinets created a fresh feel.

Corinne and Sloane watched people use communal shopping carts to wheel items down to their homes, and each dock had a little mail center for its inhabitants, with a lending library - clever and tidy. See below.

A pretty day in Sausalito, the girls finished the tour with a stop at the restaurant FISH. Known for its crab rolls, it did not disappoint.