Now, many lighthouses have fallen into disrepair and the lights staffed throughout American history by the Coast Guard are crumbling into the sea. In 2000, Congress enacted the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, putting some 200 American lighthouses up for adoption.

Lighthouse conversions are still a romantic notion, but the need to repair or retrofit many of the unique buildings in disuse has limited the transfer so far to only 76 of the lights. Most are made into residential conversions.

Lighthouse conversion, make offer

Photo-by-Daily-Caller

The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse is a great buy for those who love doing laundry naturally and for its winding staircase. It comes with a great vista of Lake Michigan. You may want to order a new set of storm windows.

Amazing house exteriors on Lake Superior

Photo by Michigan Light House

Built in 1896, the Big Bay Light Point, a seven-bedroom complex on 33 acres in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was turned into a bed and breakfast in the 1980s. It originally cost $25,000 to construct the light and compound. While not part of the Coast Guard surplus, it is for private sale now with a $999k asking price. Pretty sweet spot, isn’t it?

Light housekeeping required

Photo by NJ Star Ledger

For those who prefer the Jersey Shore, the Romer Shoal Light Station is located just north of Sandy Hook. Be warned: it needs some work. The tower is said to be rusting and the windows are broken. You should fit the place with thermal windows before you move in. Under  the Coast Guard terms, the lighthouse is “made available at no cost to eligible entities defined as Federal agencies, state and local agencies, non-profit corporations, educational agencies, or community development organizations for educational, park, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes.“ Read more about it at Lighthouse Friends.

And honey, I’ll leave a light on for you.

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!

What is it about Victorian architecture, anyway? Well-kept or restored Vicks are a delight. There’s one overlooking the sea where I live that always takes my breath away. And it’s green, too, with well-matched energy efficient replacement windows and a new copper roof.  Nonetheless, an unkempt old house is enough to scare the pants off of me to this day.

How to terrify, Pt. 1

Photo by Austin Home Restorations

According to the folks at Austin Home Restorations, a scary house has to be old and large, have neglected house exteriors and a spooky background story.

Salem architecture

Photo by The Mirror Up to Nature

Not all spooky homes are Victorians. I’ve never been to Massachusetts, but I can see that some parts of Salem are haunted to this day. The exteriors of this place recall the Amityville home where those gruesome murders took place. Come on, people! Painting an old house isn’t all that difficult.

Bewitchingly apt

Photo by Andrew's Blog

This New Jersey home in Freehold was used for the exteriors in the production of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Add a dark night with clouds streaming across the face of the moon, mix with a dash of moaning hounds, and finish it off with a wind-blown creaking gate. Brrr!

Green center of horror

Photo by The Green ABC's Blog

Indiana’s April Brewster Smythe posted this blog photo to promote the Green Center Haunted School House. Just a few miles from Churubusco, Green Center is located at the intersection of CR 300S and CR 300E in Noble County, just in case you want to walk by some creepy evening.

Las Vegas prices have dropped 15 percent from Oct. 2010 to Sept. 2011 and Forbes predicts another five percent tumble this coming year. The other warm weather cities are Fresno, Calif.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz. Don’t let the idea of desert living put you off. Look at these tasty designs.

For the unique desert nomad

Photo by Zillow

Three box shapes stand above the desert floor on concrete footings at this Dessert Nomad House in Tuscon. The price has dropped $100,000 since February.

Desert house exteriors that sizzle

Photo by TrenDir

The glowing cube of this Chen + Suchart Studio house in Tempe features energy efficient industrial glass that keeps you cool inside. All you need to do is maintain your central air conditioning.

Wings and things

Photo by Home Design Home

In Scottsdale, The Desert Wing House uses Arizona copper and rammed-earth walls made from local soils to keep you cool. The 8,000 square-foot home overlooks a golf course. Brent Kendle, architect, wanted to create a see-through home that still provided an element of privacy. See more photos of the place at Kendle Design.

Find yourself in Fresno

Photo by In Phoenix

Fresno, in Central California, saw home prices sag by 11 percent this past year and Forbes predicts a free fall of nearly 10 percent more in 2012. California desert homes borrow from Spanish Colonial architecture, a style that keeps residents cool in hot summer weather. Buy yourself stylish awning windows for mild spring days and Indian summers.

Want to buy? Go West!

Historical house at hysterical prices

Photo by New York Times

You want Colonial Revival, we have your Colonial Revival right here in North Druid Hills outside Atlanta. This home of an Iranian-American residential developer has been downsized from 16,500-square-feet to a mere 12,000 to encourage sale. So far, no takers at $4,250,000. Read the details at The New York Times.

Almost unique, and it can be yours

Photo by WUSA

Virginia’s WUSA reports another White House replica is for sale in McLean, not far from the original you-know-what. The six bedroom, 2.5 bath home was designed by an anonymous Vietnamese engineer to reflect his love for the country that took him in as a war refugee. Asking price is $4.6 million, a steal since you won’t have to pay for Secret Service protection.

Hybrid homestead

Photo by Gisela Gilbert,Long & Foster Real Estate

Yahoo reports that this Maryland home in Charles County is also ready for sale. Renovations have grafted the familiar columns to a 1905 home. The interior has well-matched finish carpentry to suit the era, but the home hasn’t moved in 18 months, listed at $995,000.

Sized for immediate sale

Photo by Woman's Day

Can’t cough up the dough for a full-sized replica? You can always plunk down $499 for the White House Dog House found on EBAY.

The official resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in February 2013 will be in the doghouse anyway.

Not all the new homes and commercial buildings are boiler-plated, functional post-Mao boxes. Have a look at what’s going on in unique Chinese architecture.

Green designs for 45 million passengers

Photo by Arup

Shaped like an airliner, the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport Terminal 3 was designed to cut traditional energy costs by a fourth. It will be the first National Green Building Star Label certified airport terminal in China, according to sustainable architect-engineering firm Arup.

Unique house at heaven’s door

Photo by Dornob

Lixiaodong Atelier designed this reflection-pond home that sits at foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain in southwestern China. The house has a breath-taking traditional simplicity about it. Every room is oriented to view the mountain. Read more about it at Dornob.

He said, she said

Photo by Inman

Designs for the $125 million Comics and Animation Museum planned for 111 miles southwest of Shanghai incorporate playful interlocking “word balloons” in keeping with the comic theme.  The designer is MVRDV of the Netherlands. You can view an animation of the proposed structure at You Bent My Wookie.

They’re playing our song

Photo by Inman

The Piano House completed in 2007 in Anhui province has gotten a lot of press, but deserves another look. The Huainan Fangkai Decoration Project worked with Hefey University of Technology to build the black piano and clear violin that rests against it. The house serves as a practice facility and doubles as a concert hall. See additional photos at the Homedit blog.

This week, Forbes Magazine listed the nation’s cities with the filthiest air quality and, no surprise, seven of the ten worst are  in California. Here’s what lung cancer looks like:

Exray by Prep for MD

Forbes writer Christopher Helman crunched data from The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2011 report to find that Bakersfield has 60 days a year of air ten times worse than the lowest acceptable levels of polluted, breathable air.

Bakersfield, America’s Mordor

Photo by Forbes

Just north of Los Angeles in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Bakersfield is home to 800,000 residents who inhale the worst year-round particulate pollution level in the nation and second-worst ozone pollution levels. Simply disgusting.

Consistently grotesque

Photo by Furman University

Just over the hills from Bakersfield lies the greater Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside metropolitan area, ranked second-worst in the nation for year-round particulate pollution and tops in ozone pollution. Why 17.8 million people continue to live there is a mystery to me. Many Angelinos flocked south to the beach-side communities in San Diego for relief, but now that metro area ranks 9^th on the Forbes list.

Pass the oxygen mask

Photo by Eco Trees

Visalia-Porterville, Calif. ranks third on the top-20 list, treating its 430,000 residents to the third-worst ozone pollution levels in the country. The City of Visalia touts the place as the “Crown Jewel of the San Joaquin Valley” and a place that “draws visitors from metropolitan areas with its picturesque communities and stunning landscapes against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.” Good luck seeing them.

An ugly, far-from-green environment

Photo by SF Gate

Fresno’s 1.1 million residents choke down the fourth-worst air in the nation, according to Forbes, where the skies combine traffic pollution with agricultural waste products that are leeching into the atmosphere from America’s Breadbasket. The San Francisco Chronicle reminds us that when Congress passed Clean Air Act Amendments 20 years ago, it promised to deliver across the nation Federal mandated levels for ozone pollution by November 2010. How’s that going, by the way?

Simply Capitol!

Photo by Sacramento Environmental Solutions

Sacramento rounds out California cities in the top-ten. It’s a state-house community where 2.4 million people wheeze away as their elected officials gaze out their windows at the nation’s 5th-worst levels of ozone pollution. Don’t forget sunscreen and a hat when you go calling!

Looky-look architecture

Photo by William Morgan Architects

Gazing out like the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg in The Great Gatsby, the twin windows of the Dune Home peer out to the shore.  The unique enclosure keeps the interiors at a lovely 70 degrees around the year. Morgan received honors from the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his lifelong research into architectural creativity. You can view his dazzling portfolio at William Morgan Architects.

Designs that get out of the way

Photo by Yahoo Real Estate

You have to love the unobstructed view of the sea from the home, currently rented out as twin 750-square-foot apartments, each with a two-story living area, single bedroom and bath. Morgan wants to get out of having to find suitable renters, so he’s selling the place. Yahoo Real Estate rounds up the details.

Splendor in the dunes

Photo by Yahoo Real Estate

Atlantic Beach comprises the northernmost line of unspoiled beaches heading out from Jacksonville. The Dutton Island Preserve offers residents a fishing pier, wending threads of hiking trails, and a floating dock for kayaks and canoes. The last U.S. Census reported that the community has 25,398 residents, with more women than men, and a higher level of post-secondary education than the national average.

If Mr. Morgan would like to donate the property for development of a very small writers’ colony, he can contact me here at the blog.

Tools of destruction

Photo by CPSC

Some 304,000 units of the Chinese-made Chefmate® six-blade blender were sold at Target stores for $14 between September 2007 and February 2011. Read up on the recall at the CPSC. If you bought this blender (look for model #BL-10), contact Target Guest Relations at (800) 440-0680 for recall information, or visit www.target.com.

Lawn troubles? Oh, Deere

Photo by CPSC

September was a terrible month for John Deere. The CPSC announced recalls of 5,200 units of Deere’s  D100 Lawn Tractor. Flaws in the connections of the brake assembly to the transmission housing can cause brake failure and loss of control. Not a good thing. Read the CPSC report on the tractor that identifies specific model numbers in the recall.

Double Deere ya’

Photo by CPSC

On September 14, 2011, the same date at the D100 recall announcement, the CPSC reported that John Deere was recalling 15,000 tractors with Model numbers D100, D110, D120, and D130 — all with a 42-inch Edge™ Cutting System amid reports of laceration hazards. Consumers should contact Deere & Company at (800) 537-8233 for details or visit the John Deere website.

Midnight rider

Photo by CPSC

Completing the tri-fecta for lawn mower recalls in early September are Kubota Riding Mowers said to be prone to fire risks. Some 6,100 mowers were sold in the United States, April 2010 – April 2011 for between $3,600 and $11,500. Visit the CPSC for model numbers in the voluntary recall.

Pardon me if I let the grass grow out this winter!

Allan Island was purchased by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (no relation), who bought the island in 1992. Allen, currently 57th on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list, is letting the spread go, along with its 2,400 foot airstrip and boat dock, as well as the acreage approved for up to 44 subdivisions.

Native environment, rustic architecture, and Free Willy

Photo by Realtor.com

With two miles of waterfront and seven beaches, you can stroll along without the painful intrusion of neighbors, or paddle your kayak with a resident pod of killer whales. The Seattle Times says Allen never improved the land beyond building the caretaker’s cottage that still remains. Instead, Allen but eventually settled on nearby Lopez Island as a location for his summer getaway.

Flights of fancy

Photo by Windemere

Realtor.com offers this cormorant’s view of the airstrip and island layout.  Your groceries and guests can come by float plane, boat, or helicopter. You could re-sell the lots at $1 million each. But first you have to spend $3 million to bring in electricity. The caretaker’s cabin is powered by a generator.

Temporarily yours with a simple design

The A-frame caretaker’s cabin will suffice while you rough it and build your dream house. It has views overlooking the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Rosario Strait, and the towering, snow-capped Olympic mountains. And you’ll find ways to make do with the miles of dirt jeep trails that traverse the island. Get the goods on the sale at Yahoo.