Ugly houses

I once lived next to a home that was somehow half-brick, half-siding, painted in a palette reminiscent of an Easter egg gone rancid. That day, I realized the world is no stranger to ugly houses, and some folks truly find beauty in designs the rest of us can only stare at with wide-eyed bewilderment. If you’re intrigued by questionable aesthetics, you’re about to feel better about your own abode.

This collection features 28 snapshots capturing the many ways architects—or maybe well-intentioned amateurs—have turned their grand vision into a spectacle of design failures. Each image spotlights a unique flavor of bizarre style choices, from window placements that make zero practical sense to bold color combos that would intimidate even the most adventurous interior decorator. Some revolve around big architectural fails, where the entire house looks like it was cobbled together from leftover building materials. Others highlight the questionable additions that owners believed would elevate their property, but only serve to perplex onlookers. As you browse, you’ll see that some of these ugly houses provoke amazement that they still stand, while others are just, well, aesthetically baffling. The weirdest part is how, beneath the comedic confusion, there’s often evidence of genuine pride: clearly, someone behind each creation was committed to their unorthodox vision. And you have to hand it to them—for better or worse, they crafted a living space that commands attention. So let these photos reassure you that your own place, no matter how unremarkable, might be a hidden gem by comparison.

After viewing this bizarre parade of structural oddities, you likely felt a mixture of incredulity and relief. Each house presented a fresh set of design mysteries, pushing the boundaries of typical home standards. By the time you reached the end, you were probably thanking your lucky stars for plain walls and symmetrical windows.

If these architectural curiosities spoke to your sense of wonder, you might also find joy in meme galleries devoted to home renovation misfires, bizarre interior décor, or epic fail compilations from the design world. Because, let’s face it, the line between “visionary” and “misguided experiment” can be dangerously thin.