Escape the Concrete Jungle With This Off-Grid Floating Home in the Middle of Nowhere

The love for the ocean made Charlie retire from his forest industry job after 30 years and start constructing his dream house. The place he has built can only be reached by boat (of which he has no less than three) or aircraft and has easy access to the ocean.

He milled most of the wood that went into building this amazing off-grid home and the firewood has been “fished” from around the house. Charlie also built a workstation, in which we can find a Hydraulic Splitter. Here, the wood is dried and split into smaller pieces, so they can get it whenever needed.

The floating home is set up into two levels and measures 900 sq feet (83,6 sq meters). Both the bedroom and a living room with a dining area are situated downstairs. Most of the furniture found here is the DYI work of Charlie using driftwood from the beaches around the place.

The color scheme of their home is a very natural combination. The sea-inspired blue cozily blends into the warm brown color of the wood used throughout. Because they live so far away from everything, they also had to build a large pantry where they can store food that they buy from a shop when they go to the mainland. The couple says that the food storage is enough to last them about six weeks. However, they could avoid the shopping trips for even longer if they ask the people around to bring them groceries.

This house might be off-grid and on water, but it comes equipped with whatever you would desire in a more conventional one. Albeit, the washing machine and dryer here work on propane.

Moving upstairs there are two bedrooms and a storage room that also have furniture hand-made by Charlie and share a similar color scheme to their ground-level (or should I say water level) counterparts.

For when they want to spend some time outside without floating in a boat, they built a 12-feet deck (3,65 m) on which they arranged an al-fresco dining area. The couple enjoys spending their evenings and talking about their day here.

Charlie made the support under the cabin of Styrofoam, but he admits that if he has to do it again, a stronger plastic that wraps around the Styrofoam would be the better choice. Diving under the house we find an amazing sea creature population that hides from predators.

Soon after the house was built, Charlie also made a boathouse that hosts and protects his two open boats. Next to the boathouse, a 1978 CHB cabin trawler called “The Lee Hotel” is docked. The aging vessel temporarily becomes their home during bad weather due to being a lot more stable than a floating home. This vessel helps them travel when the weather is not so friendly.

Ellen is very happy about her greenhouse from which most of their vegetables come in the summertime. Here she has been growing many varieties of them, such as garlic, cucumber, kale, and carrots, along with herbs for cooking. Since we are at the seaside, Charlie also got himself a crab trap to catch fresh crabs that surely go well with the vegetables from the greenhouse.

The entire home is powered up by the 2000-watt solar system most of the time. They also got a generator that can come in handy sometimes, especially in the winter when there is not much sun and when they use more powerful tools, such as the Hydraulic splitter. The water comes from a creek that streams down from a lake located behind and above the cabin. Of course, it passes through several filters before being used. The couple has enough water from this place, but they have come close to running out in the past.

A lot of us have dreamt about living off the grid and getting rid of the stress of big cities. But Charlie and Ellen have actually done it and enjoyed a lot of peaceful years before their age forced them to buy a home on land and only go to their floating retreat when the weather is fine.