Modern houseboats are the new dream houses

TThere is definitely something in the water here when the desire to live on lakes, channels and rivers, everything can be done. In fact, the search for houseboats has only increased by 60 percent this year. According to Google Trends – a growing number of potential buyers who may be inspired by the Bohemian Lifestyle, romanticized in films like how Anchor and Hope And tide.

It would also be thought to ignore the influence that productive enclaves on the water like the lakes of Yoo in the Cotswolds could have, the community, filled, which offers desirable real estate in 11 lakes, one of which is dedicated exclusively to sailing and other Waterborne activities. “Many of our homeowners have their own boats,” John Hitchcox, the founder of the The development explains: “Access to the water is therefore an important draw for you.”

And then there is the particularly impressive houseboat, which the artist Cyril de Commarque based in London launched last year for a whopping £ 1,688 square meters on the market and 3.69 m high ceilings. It cannot be denied that the converted Dutch grain band of the 1950s is desirable.

• As it is to live on a narrow boat

And in the next spring, silverlake-one environmental amplifier will go into a step further in Dorset-ENE than everyone if he introduces the first collection of luxury houses in Great Britain. There are already four designs that have already made waves with potential buyers-two of the design studio Koto and two from the floating apartment specialist Waterpod-with characteristics that include adaptable living spaces, space-high windows, roofing with uninterrupted views, whirlpools, outdoor lights and seams. The prices start at 220,000 GBP, including the clipper. Although buyers have to pay a stamp tax (in contrast to most houseboats), investors can earn up to 44,000 GBP per year.

It was not a difficult sale: a third of the houseboats was offered within a week after the start in June. “We get a variety of different buyers, but one of the common strands we see are people who have an appetite for adventures, while there were also a few investors and creative people,” says Red Paxton, Managing Director of Habitat First Group, who runs Silverlake. He adds: “Traditional steel boats fight with condensation and cold, while their gulls are sitting directly on the water, but our houseboats avoid this by floating 60 cm above the surface while they are completely isolated and air -conditioned to keep them warm in winter and comfortably cool in summer.”

In London, Julian Pollitt and Monica Parker commissioned their own unique ship in Limehouse Marina. The couple used the help of Waterspace Living, which specializes in the design of luxurious living boats, and recognized their vision of Southern Belle: a 73 -foot long tree boat. It has two bedrooms, an open galley and a bathroom with a clawfoot bath and separate shower as well as two spacious outside decks.

“The greatest challenges were to align the practical aspects of commercial houseboat construction with the requirements of customers,” says Chris Hill, the founder of Waterspace Living. “Julian had a very clear idea of ​​what he wanted to achieve and we had to do it.

“Do not treat the design of your boat any other way than a home,” he adds. “In view of the surfaces and equipment that you would otherwise do. Why would you not have a wonderful piece of marble as a worktop? But it is a careful balance, he warns.

“You also have to decide whether you want to involve functions that you live on the fact that you live on a water -related property instead of just reproducing a traditional apartment or a traditional house, such as pretty ball windows or duck doors so that you can feed the birds out of the kitchen,” says Hill.

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Further tricks of his trade are the insertion of a combination of tailor -made carpentry for well -organized storage and free -standing pieces of furniture for a feeling of space. Inclusion of several maids and different aspects to increase the amount of natural light; And really think about how you want to use and enjoy space.

“Julian and Monica wanted to make doors out of their main bedroom directly to the bow so that they could sit in bed and listen to the water and watch the stars while they have shown outdoor spaces for their morning coffee and evening sons.”

Other clever designs are the floating converted shipping container of Max McMurdo -the designer, author and television -who was released in George Clarkes TV show Amazing rooms; And the two colorful narrow boat designs by The Style Counsel, an online interior architecture service, both of which were nominated by the online platform UFARISH.com at the latest Home Awards 2025.

Ultimately, however, there is no single perfect design – it is everything your boat swims.