Back in 2011, Steve Areen was visiting his friend, Hajjar Gibran, in northeast Thailand. This is when he came up with the idea to build his very own dream home. The only issue was that he needed to find $9,000 and a plot of land to build it. That’s when Hajjar and his wife offered Steve a spot on their mango farm. Steve decided to take Hajjar up on the offer, and Hajjar was kind enough to offer some guidance along with design ideas. Luckily for Steve, his son-in-law, Tao, had some amazing masonry skills, so he was able to do the complete build and design within just six short weeks. Check this out:
Below is a picture of the piece of land that was given to Steve by his friend Hajjar and his wife.
He used some of the skills of his son-in-law for the masonry.
The entire build only took about 6 weeks to complete.
And they were able to complete the entire building for just about $6,000. That wouldn’t cover the furnishings for inside the home.
It’s good to keep in mind that building materials are much cheaper in Thailand. But with very careful planning, they were able to complete it in a short amount of time and for the cost of a small, used car.
Now that the outside was complete, they needed to work on the furnishings for inside the home.
They were able to furnish the entire home for just about $3,000.
The home offers a relaxing pond that you can view from the back of the property.
Because of all the amenities around the home and mango farm, Steve doesn’t have to leave the comfort of his home very often.
You can often find Steve relaxing in his home looking out back towards the pond.
The bedroom is small but offers large windows on both sides of the room, giving it a nice breeze keeping it cool.
He also built a very relaxing hammock on top where he can take in his surroundings. Look at the amazing view!
Even in the bathrooms, he paid a lot of attention to detail. Look at this shower.
Just look at the beautiful attention he gave to the bathroom sink. I love that he used natural resources to complete this build.
And it looks just as awesome from the outside.
Steve said, “As much as I love my dome home, I probably would not have built it if it was a long process. The low-cost and time-efficiency of using blocks is what enticed me into building. Because suitable compressed earth blocks were not available at the time, cement blocks and clay bricks were used.”
More Info: Steve Areen
Would you live in a dome home like this? I definitely think I would if I could find one where my family could live comfortably. Steve and his friend actually hold workshops that teach people how to build these exact dome homes.