When you work the clicktastic fantasy property beat long enough, you pick up a few things. First and foremost, the nagging question of: "What am I doing with my life?" Beyond that, you start to notice emerging audience trends. Readers love cabins. They love unique architecture. They love notable owners. And, something that tends to get lost on luxury-obsessed outlets, they love the tantalizing promise of real-world affordability.
Folks, welcome to 25655 Bass Lake Ln.—the screamingly adorable Rusk Township, Wisconsin, geodesic dome cabin that combines all of those elements. The place hit the market yesterday for $220,000, and listing agent Mike Smith of Anderson Realty doesn't anticipate it lingering there long.
"It's blowing up a little bit... People are reaching out, I'm happy about it," Smith reports. "The sellers have made a lot of incredible improvements. They had intended to stay for a long time, but as life goes, they need to move on. It is completely serene in a beautiful, wooded area; the nice, clean Yellow River has great fishing and good kayaking."
Nestled along that snaking river on almost three acres, the 584-square-foot cabin belongs to "a nationally premier architectural photographer," though Smith politely declined to name 'em. It was built in 1984 but, as you can see from the photos below, the interior has been updated with exquisite attention to detail. "The seller has access to high-level design and they've got taste, as the place shows," Smith says. Most of the boring stuff has been recently updated, including: the roof, electric heating, insulation, septic system, and well pump house.
The popularity of geodesic structures boomed throughout the '70s and '80s. Future-minded owners balanced the pros (structural strength, energy efficiency) against the cons (costly made-to-order updates, tricky interior design), according to this geodesic deep-dive from Popular Science. Take a look around your non-geodesic home and notice how the furniture, appliances, windows, doors, and HVAC all tend to conform to 90-degree angles, hence the issues with decorating and repairing dome homes.
"Part of the thing keeping the price lower is it's not on a lake, and the square footage of the building itself is quite small," Smith says, adding that the cabin has great short-term rental appeal. "But the trade off is you get all that beautiful nature, including access to recreational water. It's just a hippie special."
Wanna see for yourself? Gas up the compact SUV and head two hours northeast for Sunday's open house from noon to 2 p.m. Or simply enjoy the convenient photo tour below, courtesy of Corey Gaffer and Anderson Realty.
