These photos got me to thinking about homeowner’s insurance and coverage for nature’s angry outbursts. Thanks to Pamela Stevens of TopTen Reviews, I have the skinny for you.

Ugly outcome when the earth roars

Photo by USGS

In 1971, a magnitude 6.7 quake threw me out of bed, across the room, and dropped a bookcase on me. We were luckier than many in the San Fernando Valley. Stevens writes that if you have private homeowner’s insurance, you can add earthquake endorsements. If you live in California, the California Earthquake Authority offers coverage.

Twister assister

Photo by Richmond Times-Dispatch

Even if you live where this is a common sight, you can buy tornado coverage as part of your homeowner’s policy. Make sure you get repair coverage for hail, which typically shows up at the same time to hammer dings into even the best vinyl siding.

Surf’s up

Photo by Freak Waves

Don’t assume your homeowner’s insurance will cover damage from flooding. Stevens says you must secure a policy purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Crispy creamed

Photo by Premier Choice Restoration

You can get fire damage endorsements throughout the country – unless you live in a high-risk area or a long way from the nearest fire station. Stevens says insurance companies can refuse you coverage. To find out if you live in a high-risk zone, check with The National Interagency Fire Center.

DOH!

Photo by Indy Media

Sad to say, most insurers will not offer coverage for radiation damage if you live near a nuclear power plant. Perhaps you should consider using lead when evaluating replacement windows.

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.

Powered by bonehead

Photo from No Solo Gadgets

According to Weird News, 27 people have died over the last decade by testing batteries on their tongue. A suggestion: Put the battery INTO the appliance and see if it powers up that way.

Window on folly

Photo from Book of Odds

Left to their own, Christmas trees do not start fires. More than two dozen people have died since 1997 trying to water a Christmas tree draped with electric lights. Nothing like adding a little sizzle to dull home interiors. The thing about Christmas fires is that they burn hot and spread like, well, wildfire. I don’t know if you’ve checked out new window prices and drywall installation costs, but I’m sure you’d rather spend your money on X-Box accessories.

Having a holiday blowout

Photo from Michaels & Smolak

You probably would not be surprised at the number of people who throw safety to the wind. The odds of hurrying to the ER as a result of a Christmas gun accident, Weird News says, is one in 12,610. Please unwrap new firearms outdoors while aiming the muzzle away from Aunt Veronica.

Pin it on the donkey

Photo from Gordana Zikic

OK, I only pass on what I read on the Web. Apparently, more than 200 featherbrains are admitted to ERs after failing to remove all the pins before trying on gift shirts. I tell you, it’s a conspiracy of devil haberdashery.

Happiest holidays, dear readers!

Is this ugly, or is it me?

Photo by Ugly House Photos

My favorite blog of the disagreeable and dreadful, Ugly House Photos, hosts this monstrosity. Are these truly window accessories, re-purposed shower curtains, or torture aids used by the intelligence service?

Bed, bath, and the great beyond

Photo by Ugly House Photos

I hope I never get to see these window treatments in the flesh. Window replacement costs being what they are, why would you cover your light on the world with coffin liners?

This decorating goes to eleven

Photo by Work Room Intelligence

Certainly rich and ebullient, this monumental valence is a tad busy. I think my sweetheart of the rodeo wore this to Woodstock.

Valence with a vengeance

Photo by You Paid More Than Me

If you’re into the dingle-ball era of home exteriors, this valence may be the right choice to grace your period sitting room. Taken as a whole, I can’t take it at all: there are no curtains or drapes to complete the look. On one hand, it appears that the vampire bat has made it through the window. With its brevity, it lends the overall affect that you’ve been pantsed.

Liberty Valance

Photo by Weird Wild Realm

If your window treatments are terrorizing your home, you need to take them out and shoot them.

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!

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.

Beam me down

Photo by Palais Bulles

Seen through a porthole of an adjoining room, the palais house exteriors seem an invention of a 1950s Sci-Fi movie colorist. You’ve got to visit the Palais Bulles home page and wander around…virtually.

Bubble dress architecture

Photo by Dornob

And why wouldn’t the couterier to the stars who first designed the 1950’s bubble dress want anything less than fizzy pop for these interiors? It’s a pretty dreamy bedroom, don’t you think? Dornob has a good selection of Bubble Palace photos.

Room for all your trendy companions

Photo by Izismile

I found this room with a view at Izismile. The Bubble Palace has 28 round bedrooms, all cushioned by wall-to-wall fluff and lights that change the mood of the room as the world turns. The villa overlooks a 500-seat cliffside amphitheater that leans out over the Mediterranean.

Passage to plush

Photo by Izismile

The creator of Maxim’s loved circular shapes. The hallway resembles a passageway for the visionary race of Krel from Forbidden Planet.

Looking for your next place to “take a meeting”? Try this dandy of a room at the Palais.

Photo by Beautiful Life

Woozy yet?

Green fly zone

I love the flying extensions on this unusually green home in Java. You’d think corrugated walls would look clunky, but these containers extend the living area with splashes of color. Have a look at the exterior shots at Home Luxury Ideas.

Be the first one on your blocks

The SG Blocks Container House recycles rainwater and runs on solar power. The glassy façade lends a spacious feel. Made of five recycled containers, this pre-fab home can be assembled in as little as five hours. Check it out at FresHome. Shucks, it’s taken me longer to put up a camping tent.

When only a Port-a-Bach will do

Photo by MSN

New Zealand architecture specialists have come up with fresh designs for their Port-a-Bach home, employing bunk beds, composting toilet, stainless-steel kitchen, and interior fabric screen that allows you to customize the interior space to make new room configurations on the fly. It sleeps two adults and two children with ease and costs around $55,000. When you go away, it folds completely into a safe, secure shell.

Off the grid and green

Photo by MSN

Want to really get away? Consider The Ecopod, a re-use container that features a floor made entirely of recycled car tires, a wall of double-paned insulating glass, and an electric winch that raises or lowers the deck door. Oh, and the walls include closed-cell soya foam insulation covered with stylish birch wood paneling. Lovely!