BIRDHOUSES WITH BRAINPOWER: 15 Unusual Bird Houses

Birdhouses are simple and functional and adds charisma and color to your garden by providing homes for feathered friends off all shapes, sizes and colors. I searched the web for some unusual bird houses and found some that is well worth mentioning. Whether hand made or industrial, modern or traditional, sleek or whimsical, plain or detailed; these bird houses pass with flying colors if it comes to originality and personality.

1. Billbirdhouses



These unique designer birdhouses are the creation of the Dutch design studio Bomdesign in Rotterdam. Old billboards are used to built the homes, making each one unique. These colorful 'billbirdhomes' are a breath of fresh air in any garden.

2. The Birds, Bats and Bees



London based designer, Tomoko Azumi 's design for eco-friendly bird dwellings design not only looked good on paper but are also made from paper. He used old paper, catalogues and magazines to create these unique bird homes that where designed for a charity auction called Adventure Ecology. The lucky birds that gets to live in these cosy homes can certainly turn a new page.

3. Book Birdhouses


Designer Dave Vissat is certainly in everyone's good books because of his clever 'book' birdhouses. He stumbled upon this idea when he was making a birdhouse for his mother. He ran out of wood, so he resorted to using an old book as a roof. Then he began incorporating interesting text and illustrations as well. Vissat searches and scavenges flea markets and libraries for discarded and vintage books, then he scans the cover, makes a print and affixes it to the exterior of the house. These homes can literally be judged by their covers and are an open book to anyone interested in purchasing one.

Read more:
www.uncommongoods.com

4. Ryan S Ballard's Funky Birdhouses





Ryan S Ballard's No Place Like NOLA series consists of 14 intricately detailed and colorful birdhouses were built to celebrate the unique architecture, history, and culture of New Orleans. They can all be seen in the New Orleans Botanical Gardens and each one represents a different district in New Orleans. Some of the birdhouses are modeled off of specific historic structures in the city, while others are composites based on local architectural styles. Each birdhouse is more than just a work of art each one has a solar-powered porch light that comes on at night using an electronic light sensor.

Read more:
www.funkybirdhouse.com

5. Cute Themed Birdhouses





These adorable wooden bird houses are all available from the Gift Warehouse. Each one is a barrel of fun, however they all have a certain nostalgic touch. Any twitter-mouth with a steady nest egg can happily retire in one of these whimsical homes. The beach bangalo, lighthouse, yacht club or Noah's ark is ideal for birds that wants to test the water, whereas birds with a big appetite will be most at home in the wagon wheel restaurant; the train station will be the perfect home for birds that likes to travel.

6. Unique Rustic Earth-Friendly Birdhouses



These birdhouses, except for the use of the occasional screw, nut, bolt and washer, are all made of previously used wood, porcelain, glass, rusty metal and old farm implements; making each home a tough and unique nut to crack. The old fence and barn wood colors come from natural weathering or previously applied paints and stains. Each birdhouse nesting compartment is also constructed to open without the use of tools for ease of cleaning and inspection.

Read more:
www.fowlplaces.com


7. The Evasolo Bird Box




This birdhouse enables any bird to live a modern lifestyle. One can choose what specie of bird you want to nest in it, by adjusting the exchangable entrance holes to match different size birds. The house is also fitted with an internal ladder that enables the babies to reach the top whenever they are ready to spread their wings, leaving their parents behind with empty nest syndrome. Just like the feathers makes the bird, the finishings makes the house; the white-glazed terracotta and black plastic protects the nest from the elements, it also reflects heat, preventing the chicks from over-heating in the summer.

Read more:
www.evasolo.com

8. Fire Hydrant Birdhouse



Any bird family will get on like a house on fire in this bird house. The fire hydrant is an important icon in American culture and firefighters and gardeners alike will appreciate this whimsical hanging birdhouse.

Read more:
www.home-n-gifts.com

9. Cowboy Rooster Birdhouse



A bird house that is a bird, not very unique, I know. However, this Cowboy Rooster birdhouse cannot be ignored, whether it is cheesy or not. The cowboy attire and free-swinging boots that dances to the beat of the wind, makes this fellow a classic. Any bird family that calls this rooster their home will be dancing on air. It can also be a suitable venue for hen’s party.

Read more:
www.home-n-gifts.com

10. Pisa Birdhouse and Feeder



It looks like birds are moving up in the world. They started with nests made from sticks, then they moved to wooden birdhouses and now they live in miniature historic towers!

Read more:
www.thegreenhead.com

11. Peek-a-Boo Birdhouse



A living bird house museum, it sticks right to your window where you can view nesting birds from from up close. The dark green color blends with surroundings and attracts cavity nesting birds. Each unit is UV protected for years of enjoyment. You can paint or decorate as a fun project. It is made in the USA out of 100% recycled plastic.

11. Cuckoo Clock Birdhouse



Nathan Wierink designed this clever birdhouse that is in the shape of a cuckoo clock. He also made a cuckoo clock that is shaped like a birdhouse.

Read more:
ontwerpduo

12. Holy Homes



Holland based artist Frederik Roije designed this modern birdhouses from coloured porcelaine. The are in the chape of a chapel and a cathedral.

Read more:
www.roije.com

13. Egg Birdhouses



These colourful egg-shaped birdhouses will attract chickadees, wrens, and smaller birds, keeping house sparrows out. I love the colours they are available in.

14. Piepchau Birdhouse




This wooden birdhouse will impress any guest whether feathered or not, what is even more impressive is the fact that this birdhouse can be assebledand taken in just a few minutes. This mobile birdhouse comes packaged in a convenient A4 box.

15. Super Kingdom





These really interesting bird mansions, is part of London Fieldworks 2008 Super Kingdom intevention. London Fieldworks projects engage with the notion of ecology as a complex inter-working of social, natural, and technological worldsThe first one resembles Stalin’s Palace od Culture and Science in Warsaw, the second Mussolini’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, and Ceausescu’s Palace of Parliament. The intervention focus interest on the parallel story of changing habitat and shifting animal populations in King’s Wood. King’s Wood is an environment surrounded by encroaching urban development.

HAMSTER REAL ESTATE: 8 High-Class Hamster Homes

Since I am on the topic of doghouses and fish tanks, its only logical that the next step is cages. However, to make it a bit more interesting I decided to post 8 of the most remarkable hamster cages that I found.

1. Gucci and Prada’s online home




I found this little diamond while surfing the web as usual. It is a Mac turned into a quite unique and modern hamster home. The creators of the MacHome, has a blog documenting everything from the making of the home, to the daily activities of their hamsters, Gucci and Prada that lives in this unique 'online' home. Throughout the months, the creators has changed and arranged their living space to keep it interesting for their little furry friends and their fans.

Visit their blog at:
gucciandprada.blogspot.com

2. Ferplast Tube Line Flipper



This home looks a bit like a pin ball machine to me. Besides the usual home furnishings, such as the wheel, drinker and feeder, this fancy house comes with different exchangable double-sided backgrounds. It may look like a fun home for your hamster, but beware, their are some concerns that really hits home. By the looks of things, it cannot be easy to clean and some people claim that because of the different levels, hamsters might become territorial and fight.

Official Site:
www.ferplast.com

3. FOP Hamsterland Cage



A hamster's home is its castle even if its made out of plastic. There is not much information about this home, however I think the picture says it all. With all the twist, tubes, hide-outs and space, any hammie will feel right at home.

Official Site:
www.fop.it

4. Rotastak Creepy Castle Hamster Cage

There's no place like home. The creepy castle is the ideal home for your energetic furball. The glow in the dark feature will allow you to watch your pet even in the dead of night (I'm sure everyone likes to stay up and watch their hamsters). A 'home & away' unit is attached to the cage that is perfect to contain your pet while you clean their home or for visits to the vet. The home comes with a main living area, upstairs living area and 2 lofts, o yes, it also includes the boring stuff like the wheel and water bottle. One can decorate the house with the free glow-in-the-dark stickers that is also included.

via: www.seapets.co.uk

5. Rotastak Themed Hamster Cages

Other quite unique themed hamster cages, also from Rotastak, are the jungle and pirate themed hamster homes. Both are a bit quirky but they stay equally appealing and I'm sure they guarantee lots of fun for your hamsters.

via: www.seapets.co.uk

6. Rotastak Pink Hamster Maze

This home is perfect if pink is your hamster's favourite colour. It's not just the colour that makes this cage stand out. It looks very Futurama-like with all the tunnels and the streamlined shapes. An ideal name for this cage could be "Space Crawl". I must admit I get a little bit jealous on my little friends, how cool will it be if my house looked like that? However you know what they say about hamsters who live in glass (or plastic) homes?

via: www.seapets.co.uk

7. Super Pet CritterTrail Off 2 School

The perfect home away from home. This multi-purpose hamster travel bus has real rolling wheels for playtime after a long day of class. When parked, the bus connects directly to any CritterTrail home (sold separately) providing critters with extra living space.

via: www.superpetusa.com

7. Hamster Powered Paper Shredder

This eco and environmental effiecient hamster cage is a unique concept from the artist Tom Ballhatchet.

8. Harrisons Furry Friends Westminster Hamster Cage



This is two-homes-in-one it has three floors on both sides. This hamster mansion is the ideal home that enables your hamster to indulge in rich and sumptuous living .

via: www.dabners.co.uk

AQUARIUMS THAT FISH FOR COMPLIMENTS: 15 Unique Fish Tanks

There are plenty of fish in the sea but only a few fish tanks that are a catch. The web is full of sites that claims to offer unique custom-made fish tanks, but althought they are pretty to look at, only some really stood out to me. Besides the attractive and clever designed home aquariums, there is also the unusual ones that are equally worth mentioning. From small to large to huge, from outdoor to indoors, they are all here.

1. The Spacearium


spacearium

spacearium

spacearium

spacearium

One can say that the Spacearium made the cut for the most part on its aesthetic appeal. Besides features such as the hidden adoptable filter for either salt or fresh water fish and the super clear premium quality glass; it is the overall elegance of the Spacearium that intrigued me. The tank is designed without any awkward edges, and can be viewed from any area in a room. The tank comes without a stand and can be mounted anywhere in a house, office or restaurant, without taking up unnecessary floor space. This sleek fish tank will impress any guests and would definately not be a fish out of water in any room.

2. The Duplex Aquarium Cage




This Tweety-meets-Nemo design called Duplex by french designer Constance Guisset is a clever and aestetically pleasing combination of a fish tank and a bird cage, allowing the animals to interact with one another.

The bowl-shaped aquarium is placed on top of the bird cage. The design in totality is simplistic and uncomplicated, and can be displayed anywhere in a room. I must say that I am afraid that every time your bird looks up, he might think that something fishy is going on.

3. The AZOO Eco-Desk Lifestyle Aquarium





Aquarium tables are not so unique as you might think. They differ in sizes and shapes and are freely available over the net for purchase. However the latest Eco-Desk Lifestyle Aquarium by AZOO is one of the least tacky ones I found and it happens to be the world’s first miniature ecosystem with a self-contained water cleaning system. The Eco-Desk is more than just another aquarium-table combination, it is also a work of art, but the best part by far is that it doesn't need cleaning for more than a year.

4. Designer Fish Bowls

A fish bowl is hardly worthy of mentioning, especially if this post is about fish tanks, however, some fish bowls are in fact quite interesting. By adding clever elements to the traditional fish bowl, they are able to transform into unique designer objects.

Betta Treasures Collection Fish Bowls
The Betta Treasures Collection has captured my interest because of their mysticality. Your goldfish can now life in their own fantacy-world.




The bowls comes complete with a hand blown, crystal clear, beveled glass sphere and a battery operated brilliant LED lighting system and sparkling "jewel" substrate. The bowl stands are bronze sculptures resembling a mystical undersea world.

Michal Shabtiali's Portable Fish Bowl




Finally, I always wanted to walk my fish, now I can...
Michal Shabtiali's portable fish bowl, a student project, is aimed at kids with divorced parents. It allows them to "walk" or transport their fish, despite the fact that fish don't have legs.

He might have designed this bowl for easy transport, but wouldn't is also be perfect for kids that are allergic to dogs, and always wanted a pet they can take for a walk?

5. Star Wars R2-D2 Fish Tank Aquarium



This tank, besides being a replica of R2-D2 has other functions that is 'out of this world'. His head rotates as he replies with “bleeps” from the Star Wars movies. And there is more; his radar eye houses a built-in periscope, so you can watch your fish doing fish stuff, like swim. Awesome, I know! This is enough to make any Star Wars fan rush to the shops (or the internet). To conclude, since you are the legal owner of the R2-D2 Fish Tank, I guess it gives you the right to say "I am your father".

Read more:
www.trendhunter.com

6. The Ocean Aloha Tiki Aquarium



This is one of the more playful aquariums I stumbled upon. There is not much more I need to say about this Polynesian Tiki shaped model. It is designed to look authentic, by giving it a detailed hand crafted appearance.The aquarium includes all necessary components to immediately establish a salt-water environment. Some believe that the Tiki is strongly associated with the origin of the procreative act, if this is true your fish will probably mostly be busy doing the funkey monkey.

Read more:
aquarium.withsense.com

7. Head Shaped Fish Tanks




This is a fish tank indeed, it's not just in your head. This is a limited edition fish tank created by the artist known as Nicola L. If you ask me I think she is a real head case, however the tanks where unique enough to catch my attention. The lucky fish that will inhabit this tank, will definately have a head start in life (okay I'll stop).

Read more:
gadgetsinc.wordpress.com

8. The Moody Aqaurium Sink and Bathtub




Sink your fish into this. Manufactured by Open Kristalluxin in Italy, the Moody Aqaurium Sink and Bathtub is yet another two, two in one combo's: a aquarium/sink and a aquarium/bathtub.

Both comes with a powerhead to ensure water circulation, oxygenation and filtration. The tub has two openings, one on each side of the basin, closed by soap dishes to access the crystal top for cleaning purposes or changing arrangement. The washbasin is mounted on a chrome finish brass stand with a front towel rail.





The free-standing bathtub enables you to swim with the fish, so to speak. The fish are contained inside a clear panel in front of the tub which makes it look like you’re swimming in the same aqua world as your finned companions. It is made from glass and temperate wood. Although you might be clean afterwards, it does not mean that the tanks are clean as well. Although there is little information about the cleaning of the tanks I'll say that they will need regular cleaning unless you want your bathroom to smell like dead fish.

Read more:
www.homeclick.com www.kristallux.it/ www.giant.co.uk

While your at it, why not purchase a Fish and Flush toilet.

9. The Fish and Flush Toilet



Flushing Nemo... Your toilet can now be turned into a lively aquarium. Why not? These acrylic fish tanks fitted for a king, are fully functional, impact resistant and strong. They are completely separate from the toilet tank and are designed to fit directly against the companion tank reservoir. Both fresh water and salt water can be added. Once again I'll say that regular maintenance is needed if you want to avoid your bathroom from smelling fishy. Luckily fish can't smell...

Read more:
www.fishnflush.com

10. The Fish Highway






What is a fish highway you might ask.

The Fish Highway is a very unique installation. Imagine a means for fish to swim out the top of your aquarium, up to the ceiling, across the room and then down into another tank. That’s a fish highway. It can be implemented in your own home or business and allows fish to swim from one part of the room to another.

I guess watching fish swim can be therapeutic, now you can constantly watch your fish swim back and forth, from one tank to another. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

To find out all the nitty gritty things like how the tank work, visit their site.
www.fishighway.com

11. Urban Escapism





Benoit Deseille and Benedetto Bufalino transformed an old telephone booth into an aquarium as part of the Lyon Light Festival in France. Phone booths have become something of the past, only to be seen in movies, therefor they came up with the clever idea of reusing an old redundant phone booth, by turning it into a colourful aquarium.

Phone booths never worked anyway, at least as aquariums they serve a purpose. If you ask me, I'd say put some lobsters in them.

Read more:
www.lumieres.lyon.fr

12. The Golden Nugget Shark Tank






A super-slide runs through it.

Starring sharks, a swimming pool and a super-slide, Las Vegas Golden Nugget's shark tank is quite unique. The shark infected tank is surrounded by the swimming pool and has a three story water slide that runs through it.

The secure waterslide leads you through the center of the shark tank. Those who are less adventurous can peacefully enjoy the sight of some of the world's most fin-tastic sea life.

Read more:
www.goldennugget.com

13. The Largest Fish Tank in the World



The AquaDom in Berlin, Germany, is a 25 meter tall cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium, the tallest in the world, with built-in transparent elevator. It is located at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Berlin-Mitte and the work of U.S. company Reynolds Polymer Technology.

The Aquadom is the largest acrylic glass cylinder in the world, with a diameter of over 11 meters, built on a 9 meters tall concrete foundation. Filled with about 900,000 liters of seawater, it contains some 2600 fish of 56 species. The feeding of the fish and the cleaning of the fish tank is performed daily by a pair of full-time divers.

Read more:
amansworldonline.com

14. Qua Bottle Lounge






QUA Bottle Lounge, a cocktail lounge in the heart of Austin, Texas' upscale warehouse district has a unique aquarium. A 19000 gallon shark tank exhibit doubles as a dancefloor. The fish tank has four 3 inch clear custom built acrylic panels on top and each weighs over a ton. There is approximately a 9 inch gap between the water surface and acrylic surface. It's physically impossible to disturb the water's surface from above the tank.

The aquarium has 12 coral reef sharks and at least three different kinds of stingrays. This is definately not a case of a big fish in a small pond, however PETA has been a bit of a party-pooper, since they are argueing that the tank is not suitable for the sharks, since they have very sensitive hearing and may be disturbed by the loud music. Maybe they actually enjoy the music?

15. Car Aquariums

A car turned into a fish tank is no doubt a unique sight, however there are a few master minds in the world that had the same idea.



It’s amazing. Have you seen fish swimming in a car? It is found at the Siam Ocean World in Siam Paragon center in Bangkok, Thailand. Yes, this gigantic fish tank made out of a car and the fish are feed through the sun roof.