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You don’t have to be a Neanderthal – or Plato – to live in a cave. Humans resided in subterranean dwellings long before we invented trailer parks, condos and warehouse conversions.

Talk about green architecture! Talk about interior design! If you’ve ever prowled the American Southwest, you’ve doubtlessly observed how cool a cliff dwelling is during a scorching Arizona day. I lived in a cave on the island of Rhodes and never longed for electrical devices, heating or appliances. And now, you can buy the ultimate in cave homes just on the outskirts of Bisbee, Ariz.

Subterranean conversions feel just like home

Photo by Yahoo

This week, Yahoo reported on a 37-acre estate replete with a 2,890-square foot dwelling that includes a guest house, home office, and library. For $1.5 million you can take it all for granite.

Interior design for romantic primitives

Photo by The Seattle Times

An American photographer and her Turkish partner bought this lovely cave in Ortahisar, Turkey, and they outfitted the bedroom with a brass bed. They bought the cave for around $5,500, thereby forever avoiding Turkish window glass prices. Check out the story in the Seattle Times.

Going native

Photo by Inhabitat

Missouri is renowned for its sandstone caves. Here in Festus, Curt and Deborah Sleeper performed a mind-bending cave conversion into this 15,000-square-foot home that uses geothermal and passive solar energy. You won’t find a heater or air conditioner in the place!

Man-cave inside a cave

Photo by Underground Homes

If you love man caves, you’ll marvel at what the owner has done with this place in Coober Pedy, South Australia. Coober Pedy calls itself the “Opal Capital of the World” and more than half its residents live in underground homes.

Pass the SPF 5.

I know you won’t love every unique home in this year-end ditty, but at least one should catch your fancy. I surfed high and low to round up some of the more off-kilter designs, including a conversion I bet you’ve never seen. Let’s end a rather tattered 2011 on a whimsical note. I wish you and your family a new year filled with peace and laughter.

Set sail in the Schwimmhausboot

Photo by We Are Super Famous

German designers Flo Florian and Sascha Akkermann not only dreamed up this unique and ecologically green floating house, they went ahead and built it. These designers may work for a firm that calls itself “Confused Direction”, but there’s nothing confused about the re-use of 250-year-old salvaged larch wood. View more photos of the project at The Contemporist.

Silo artist

Photo by Accidental Mysteries

Gigaplex Architects built this 1,800-square-foot silo conversion on the banks of the Provo River in Woodland, Utah. Actually, it’s made from two silos joined at the hip. Southern exposure creates passive solar heat gain in the winter, while a digital thermostat activated by computer controls the propane heating stove.

Life on Earth

Photo by Design Home Online

This earthen home community in Dietikon, Switzerland is reminiscent of the childhood home of Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. Nine homes circle around a human-made lake and use recycled glass and other materials. If you dribbled wet sand on the beach to create futuristic homes as a child, you’d love living here. Well-insulated by design, these homes reduce the number of doors and windows, while skylights let in welcome sunlight to rooms beneath the ground.

Home in the nurbs

Photo by Ruiz-Geli

That’s right, I said nurbs, not burbs. Spanish designer Enric Ruiz-Geli originally created this bug-like “Villa Nurbs” home of joined pods as a work of art. Located along Spain’s elegant Costa Brava, Villa Nurbs features built-in ceramic protection from the ravages of hot summer sun. There’s a great story on Villa Nurbs and Ruiz-Geli in The New York Times.

Now let’s pop the cork on 2012!