16 Groovy Homes Built In The 1970s

Step back into an era when architecture broke free from restraint and homes became personal statements of wild creativity. The 1970s birthed some of America’s most daring residential designs – where conversation pits sank into shag-carpeted floors and geometric windows framed views of newly-developed suburbs.

While some dismissed these homes as passing fads, many have survived as monuments to an age when self-expression trumped resale value and conformity was the only real design sin.

1. The Elrod House, Palm Springs, CA – Built 1973

Architect John Lautner created this concrete masterpiece for interior designer Arthur Elrod with a UFO-worthy dome ceiling that hovers over a circular living room. Massive boulders from the hillside burst through glass walls, bringing desert wilderness indoors.

Featured in ‘Diamonds Are Forever,’ the house became Bond-worthy architecture with its curved banquette seating and swimming pool that seems to float over the Coachella Valley. The concrete mushroom roof creates natural air conditioning in brutal desert heat.

2. The Mushroom House, Perinton, NY – Built 1971

Architect James Johnson thumbed his nose at conventional housing with this cluster of five interconnected pods perched atop concrete stems. Locals nicknamed it the ‘Mushroom House’ for obvious reasons – the pods resembling fungi caps on slim stalks.

Inside, curved walls flow into custom furniture while psychedelic-patterned carpets line floors and ceilings. Johnson used an experimental ferrocement technique, spraying concrete over mesh to create organic shapes impossible with traditional construction. Groovy doesn’t begin to describe it.

3. The Garcia House, Los Angeles, CA – Built 1972

Suspended 60 feet above Mulholland Drive on stilts, architect John Lautner’s rainbow-shaped marvel earned its ‘Rainbow House’ nickname honestly. Stained glass windows in primary colors send kaleidoscope patterns dancing across terrazzo floors when afternoon sun strikes.

Lautner positioned the home to maximize views through 30-foot glass walls that curve along the structure’s almond shape. The floating sensation became so iconic that the house starred in ‘Lethal Weapon 2,’ where Danny Glover watched it dramatically slide down a hillside.

4. The Bubble Palace, Théoule-sur-Mer, France – Built 1979

Fashion designer Pierre Cardin commissioned architect Antti Lovag to build this terracotta fever dream of connected bubbles overlooking the Mediterranean. No straight lines exist here – doorways, windows, and even furniture curve organically like something from a Barbarella film set.

Ten interconnected dome-shaped bubbles contain different living spaces, each with circular windows framing sea views. The amphitheater seats 500 for fashion shows against an azure backdrop. Pink and orange exterior bubbles cascade down the hillside like molecules seen through a psychedelic microscope.

5. The Futuro House, Multiple Locations – Built 1972

Finnish architect Matti Suuronen designed these prefabricated flying saucer homes as weekend ski chalets. Only 100 were manufactured worldwide before the 1973 oil crisis killed production. Sixteen elliptical windows ring the fiberglass shell, while a fold-down airplane-style entrance stair completes the extraterrestrial vibe.

Inside, the open-plan space features molded seating areas in vibrant oranges and reds. Originally priced at $14,000, surviving Futuros now fetch six figures from collectors. Designed to heat from cold to toasty in 30 minutes, they embodied Space Age optimism.

6. The Sheats-Goldstein Residence, Beverly Hills, CA – Built 1972

Concrete triangles converge overhead in architect John Lautner’s masterpiece, later featured in ‘The Big Lebowski’ as pornographer Jackie Treehorn’s pad. Current owner James Goldstein spent decades perfecting the space with Lautner himself, installing leather banquettes that rise from concrete floors like geological formations.

Glass walls retract completely into the floor, erasing boundaries between living room and infinity pool. The bedroom features a ceiling with 750 drinking glasses with lights above, creating a cosmic ceiling that mimics a starry night. Concrete skylights with drinking glass inserts create dappled illumination throughout.

7. The Sunflower House, Girona, Spain – Built 1975

Architect José Antonio Coderch designed this summer home to follow the Mediterranean sun like its namesake flower. Rotating rectangular modules pivot around a central axis, allowing rooms to track daylight or turn away for evening coolness.

Cork-lined walls insulate against summer heat while terracotta tile floors absorb winter warmth. Floor-to-ceiling sliding wooden louvers replace conventional windows, filtering sunlight into striped patterns across whitewashed interiors. The modular design creates private courtyards between living spaces that capture sea breezes from the nearby Costa Brava.

8. The Nautilus House, Mexico City, Mexico – Built 1979

Architect Javier Senosiain pioneered organic architecture with this shell-shaped wonder. Rainbow-colored stained glass illuminates the central spiral staircase as it winds upward like the chambered nautilus that inspired it.

Living spaces flow without rigid room divisions – kitchen curves into dining area curves into sunken conversation pit. Furniture emerges from the structure itself, with built-in sofas and tables molded from ferrocement. The bathroom features a shower hidden behind indoor plants and rocks, creating a miniature jungle grotto.

9. The Conversation Pit Paradise, New Canaan, CT – Built 1974

Architect Landis Gores, one of the Harvard Five, created this woodland retreat where everything centers around a legendary 20-foot-diameter conversation pit. Upholstered in burnt orange velvet, the circular seating area sinks three feet below the surrounding terrazzo floor.

A massive central fireplace rises like a copper-clad spaceship above the pit. Floor-to-ceiling windows surround the living space on all sides, while cedar paneling wraps interior walls. The kitchen features original harvest gold appliances and a peninsula bar with swiveling stools upholstered in chocolate brown vinyl.

10. The Dune House, Atlantic Beach, NY – Built 1975

Architect Andrew Geller created this cedar-shingled A-frame that seems to emerge from coastal dunes like a geometric sand castle. Triangular windows punctuate every facade, some stretching from floor to peak, others appearing as unexpected diamonds and trapezoids.

Inside, knotty pine paneling wraps every surface while built-in furniture maximizes the compact footprint. The loft bedroom hovers above the living area, accessible by ladder-like stairs. Original macramé hanging planters still dangle from exposed beams, while built-in shelving displays the owners’ collection of driftwood and sea glass.

11. The Circular Splendor, Oakland, CA – Built 1976

Architect Daniel Liebermann, apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, designed this redwood-clad circular home that spirals around a central hot tub atrium. Every room curves along the circle’s edge, eliminating hallways entirely while maximizing views of San Francisco Bay through floor-to-ceiling windows.

The kitchen features original avocado appliances arranged in a semi-circle with custom curved cabinetry. Bedrooms branch from the main circle like petals, each with its own deck. The conical roof rises to a central skylight above the atrium, where steam from the sunken hot tub creates perpetual indoor fog among tropical plants.

12. The Spaceship Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, CA – Built 1978

Architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg designed this split-level masterpiece where curved concrete roof segments overlap like UFO discs ready for takeoff. Copper has aged to verdigris on exterior accents, creating a cosmic patina above the natural sandstone walls.

The sunken living room features a circular firepit surrounded by built-in seating that seems carved from the earth itself. Skylights pepper the overlapping roof segments, sending light shafts dancing across interior stone walls. The kitchen’s original copper hood hovers above a central island like a hovering metallic cloud.

13. The Geodesic Dream, Boulder, CO – Built 1977

Following Buckminster Fuller’s principles, this three-story geodesic dome home perches on a mountainside with triangular windows that frame Rocky Mountain panoramas. Original owners were professional musicians who designed the central living space for optimal acoustics during home concerts.

A spiral staircase winds through the dome’s core, connecting multiple levels. The master bedroom occupies the dome’s apex, where triangular skylights create a geometric star pattern overhead. The kitchen’s hexagonal island features the original butcher block top, now beautifully aged from decades of use.

14. The Terrazzo Temple, Miami, FL – Built 1970

Architect Alfred Browning Parker created this tropical modernist gem where terrazzo floors flow seamlessly from indoors to poolside. Walls of jalousie windows open completely, transforming the home into an open-air pavilion when Miami weather permits.

The central atrium features a massive ficus tree growing through an opening in the roof, while built-in planters blur boundaries between architecture and landscape. The kitchen’s original turquoise appliances remain pristine, complementing the terrazzo’s embedded mother-of-pearl fragments. Sliding wooden screens can reconfigure spaces for privacy or openness.

15. The Copper Crown, Sedona, AZ – Built 1979

Architect Bart Prince designed this home to mirror the red rock formations surrounding it. Copper-clad roof segments rise like geological uplifts, while massive stone pillars anchor the structure to its desert site.

Floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame views of Cathedral Rock, with clerestory windows capturing additional light.

The sunken living room centers around a fireplace built from local stones collected during excavation. Original Southwest-patterned upholstery in turquoise and terra cotta adorns built-in seating that flows organically from stone walls.

16. The Sound Wave, Nashville, TN – Built 1975

Architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen designed this musical hideaway for a country music producer. The undulating cedar-shingled roof mimics sound waves, rising and falling above the linear brick structure.

Recording studio-grade acoustic treatments hide behind walnut paneling in the living room, where original quadraphonic speakers remain built into the walls. The kitchen’s peninsula bar served as an impromptu writing space where multiple hit songs were reportedly composed. Shag carpeting in burnt orange still covers the split-level den.

17. The Pyramid House, Malibu, CA – Built 1972

Architect Harry Gesner created this beachfront pyramid where windows angle upward to frame Pacific sunsets. The open-plan interior centers around a massive stone fireplace that rises through all three levels to the pyramid’s apex.

The kitchen features original copper-front cabinets and a hanging globe light fixture in amber glass. Hexagonal redwood hot tub occupies one corner of the main floor, while a spiral staircase with leather-wrapped treads connects all levels. Owner Jimi Hendrix reportedly crashed here during recording sessions, sleeping in the pyramid’s point.