Jim, a Maine vet, dreamed of creating an enchanting & nurturing world for his family, turning (with his son Dustin's help) 600 acres of wilderness into a unique homestead: bridges, underground 🛖, & 1 mile-long zipline✨Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/veter...) & YT (youtu.be/qGfZFbf36Jg?...)

Dave used to build underground homes by burying reinforced Quonset huts. Now he's improved his approach with a prefab Hobbit-house kit for anyone to self-build a cozy, earth-sheltered home (easily, safely, & on a budget). Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/he-cr...) & YT (youtu.be/F1i-qWU1pPY)

On an empty Spokane lot, Blockhouse built prefab homes around a walkable community rather than cars, saving old-growth trees for a pocket neighborhood feeling (while leaving parking spaces at the property’s edge). 🌱🏡 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/wante...) & YT (youtu.be/xuQ7voTJDHI?...)

They left the 9-to-5 behind… & found a ghost town ready for a 2nd chance. 🌄 Shaniko, OR, once “Wool Capital of the World,” now has 33 residents building a new kind of rural life. Old homes & people self-organizing. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/start...) & YT (youtu.be/sJu7lacSjVA)

Sometimes it’s about finding a place worth working on. In Italy’s Orco Valley, Enrico spent 5 years turning a neglected stone stable into a warm home—hand-built walls, furniture, cellar—while keeping its soul intact. Video vi *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/spent...) & YT ( youtu.be/wmxMWzHmP7g?...)

At 63°N, winter on a Finnish island means frozen lakes, root cellars & saunas. In part II, Klaus & Johanna show how off-grid life is a slow, grounded process—cold-prepping, ice skating, & growing food in short season. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/young...) & YT (youtu.be/XA8tG3Woaoo?...)

Here's a timeless, nature-friendly project: Julio Garcia built his Savannah studio from two 40-ft containers without cutting a single tree. Tranquil, airy & inspiring, it proves affordable design can be beautiful. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/artis...) & YT (youtu.be/9QNPB9naZQg?...)

Klaus & Johanna got an island in Finland (42 years abandoned, one collapsing cabin) 🌲 Now it's a hand-built, thriving homestead 🪵🏡 A life in rhythm with nature. Resilience, patience & vision can turn silence into home. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/coupl...) & YT (youtu.be/is6d5prhcMQ)

An abandoned stone barn in Spain became “Villa Slow”—a home where architect Laura Álvarez & her partner rediscovered life’s rhythms: chopping wood, cooking outdoors, watching clouds over the Cantabrian peaks. 🏚️➝🏡 🌄 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/forsa...) & YT (youtu.be/i6c0Pvei3F4?...)

From tech to fire country… In 2019, John Mills left SF for a 170-acre off-grid homestead. One month later, a wildfire hit next door—so he built Watch Duty, hands down the best fire prevention resource, used in 22 states 🔥💧Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/he-le...) & YT (youtu.be/ANJNdk0Zzx0)

Whole villages under one roof? In Norway, families once lived in log-&-turf farms with barns, saunas & raised storehouses. At Oslo’s Folk Museum, these centuries-old homes show how thriving can come from collaboration. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/how-h...) & YT (youtu.be/isaEQfMsRIY?...)

At 68, Jeannette left the city to build her dream homestead in rural Idaho. With no experience—just YouTube & neighbors—she raised 2 arched cabins, a workshop & a chicken coop. She calls it: “the home YouTube built.” 🌄🐓 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/left-...) & YT (youtu.be/DTyFkB8URZc)

Kjetil Ingvar Berge bought an old kit home in Norway’s Arctic. Instead of modernizing it, he built a small tower next door, connected by an outdoor bridge, where he walks outside. “It forces you to notice,” he says. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/artis...) & YT (youtu.be/bwFdMqz0w8k?...)

Would you live underground in a giant Cold War missile silo? In rural WA, engineer David McIntyre turned a decommissioned Atlas E site into a 2-bedroom underground home—complete with elevator + blast doors. 🚀-->🏠✨! Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/turni...) & YT (youtu.be/Br0Il37t5Uk)

Over 7 years, Tim Seggerman transformed a rundown shack in rural NJ into a Japanese/Scandinavian-inspired cabin. Built with wood from an old lumberyard, the untreated home shifts colors with the seasons. A labor of 💚 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/build...) & YT (youtu.be/H0Y664c4ECo?...)

35 years underground: Dan Price lives simply in an OR meadow “hobbit hole.” Saplings he planted are now trees, his home stays 50°F all year, electric bill is $40/month. Walking, drawing, surfing… finding joy in “enough.” Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/35-ye...) & YT (youtu.be/Gb7BQ75E5Fc)

Could you switch from a conventional lifestyle to countryside life, fixing a ruin & finding passive income? Maurizio & Paola rebuilt a ruin in a 3-person ghost village—teaching via workshops. Not easy, but can be done. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/famil...) & YT (youtu.be/NB3e8xwu_Do?...)

6 friends, 1 lot, $10k each → homeowners in a cohousing community around a permaculture garden. In Springfield, OR (The Simpsons' one), they turned a single lot into a legal 6-plex—paying $800/mo instead of $1,400 rent. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/price...) & YT (youtu.be/fQVtRLdmg1k)

For 50 years, David Lee Hoffman built a worm-powered, solar-fed, off-grid Homestead in Marin. Water flows through ponds, moats & a 30ft well; waste is soil & food: “Water is precious, soil is sacred, shit is a resource.” 🪱 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/vermi...) & YT (youtu.be/7qN9OU9GyWk)

Vicente Nadal built a geothermal homestead (Canadian well) with 2 natural homes, a geodesic stone-dome, a stream, 2 natural ponds, plant maze, and thriving permaculture garden & orchard with over 2K plants. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/build...) & YT (youtu.be/CQnZkuAZEDI)

Before visiting Adam Kalkin, we'd never imagined a farmhouse inside a hangar—both shelter & part of the home. As Adam put it: “it’s kind of a ship in a bottle.” Here's a house holding past & future in one breath ⛵🫙= 🏡! Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/farmh...) & YT (youtu.be/KyHYjEoeD2w)

When Elena spotted an 18th-century hermit tower built into a boulder in Greece's Mani, it had "the price of a used car." Over 15 years, she transformed the foot-only site into a tranquil home rooted in history & stone. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/she-g...) & YT (youtu.be/wCjOADLbDo8?...)

“Wait… this castle isn’t actually medieval?” 🏰🤯Since we posted this video about Guédelon, many people messaged us in disbelief: how could this place not be centuries old? And they use only medieval tools/techniques. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/frien...) & YT (youtu.be/Ajqort8ldXA?...)

Roja & Johan self-built a "naturhus" (a house cocooned inside a greenhouse) in rural Sweden. Inside, it's always spring despite wind & cold outside. 🌱 Their permaculture indoor garden: fruit trees, bees, veggies, life. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/coupl...) & YT (youtu.be/jDImjqPuruY)

Johnny cleaned homes he couldn’t afford in SF. When he overheard a landlord was selling a 5-unit building, he pooled funds with friends, got a loan, & bought it whole. “No one could buy alone. Together? We got it.” Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/frien...) & YT (youtu.be/WBqdtmIskGQ?...)

Ever seen a glam room hide behind a Murphy bed? Laverne Cox turned her 634sqft (58m2) NY studio into a Boudoir Apartment with motorized walls, hidden vanity, fold-down dining & a series of on-demand collapsible spaces. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/nyc-m...) & YT (youtu.be/Mg27tMbyWo8?...)

Nicel Rotta & friends built a new type of home-on-wheels with expandable, breathable awnings that push off-grid possibilities: it's an indoor/outdoor compact dwelling capable of loop-filtering water for endless showers 🚿 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/low-c...) & YT (youtu.be/5yKpDIRVF5Q)

“We didn’t want to live on imported food in the middle of the Pacific.” Kenta & Julia left the city to grow nearly everything they eat—cacao, breadfruit, bokchoy, honey, eggs. They live simply & explore self-sufficiency 🌿🍫 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/thrif...) & YT (youtu.be/s3HV-p6VotE)

On a North Denmark island, Anna Marie & Rasmus cleaned 21,000 salvaged bricks to rebuild a home—inside a greenhouse. It’s sun-warmed, season-shaped & made of reclaimed parts: buffer against the cold, & window outside. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/coupl...) & YT (youtu.be/1O3hL6OFNhE?...)

Thirty years ago, Vici carved a small home into a rocky Greek hillside, & kept going. No budget. No blueprint. Just stone, patience, and a dream. Today, her handmade home is a model for sustainable island living 👩‍🔧🏠🌿 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/build...) & YT (youtu.be/tCo3stKAIm4?...)

In 76, Dwight Streamfellow was 21 when he bought a wild NorCal chunk for $11K. No house, no road—just a dream to live off-grid. 45 years later: 5 homes, solar water system, year of food, 0 debt. “This is wealth to me.” Video via YT (youtu.be/03jgK_9aWoM?...) & *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/oldti...)

After living in different places, this couple settled in Barcelona's Eixample neighborhood, turning a dark & narrow city apartment into their joyful, plant-filled home office, which they see as their own urban oasis 🌿🏙️ Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/flow-...) & YT (youtu.be/MUB1Gr4PZDY?...)

“We could’ve built 9 McMansions. Instead, we built 44 homes.” Maggie & John saw people priced out of coastal NH. They used their architect/contractor skills to build a pocket neighborhood of entry-level homes for locals. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/the-l...) & YT youtu.be/HI0yNaIAtDY?...

The book "Life-Changing Homes" is for anyone rethinking what “home” means—after loss, burnout, or big dreams. Here's a best-of recap + debate about healing, personal growth, & starting over (& relation to shelter). Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/life-...) & YT (youtu.be/iGI8ziHfDRs?...)

Just got featured in Field Mag discussing our journey of documenting unconventional living & the stories behind them, as featured in our new book Life Changing Homes (& how personal spaces reflect deeper life philosophies). 🔗 Full interview: www.fieldmag.com/articles/kir...

I didn’t want to build on the land—I wanted to build with it." George Sinas carved his home into a remote seacliff using dry stone (no mortar or concrete). It's naturally protected from 2 local threats: wind & fire. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/he-ex...) & YT (youtu.be/bms3ZulJSYc?...)

RIP photographer Sebastião Salgado, you re-enchanted the world. If you haven’t watched Wim Wenders’ Salt of the Earth yet, that’s a task that will enrich you.

Jenna & David met in the wild—he in a hand-built cabin, she in a treehouse across the creek. Together, they built a homestead in Alaska: log by log, season by season. Their lives aren't escape, but reconnection 🏕️🪵❄️🫐 Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/hand-...) & YT (youtu.be/hJq44GVNvxQ?...)

On Hawai’i’s Big Island, the La’akea Community lives off-grid—sharing meals & a thriving food forest. Most don’t need full-time jobs. Some work just one month/year. A family-style village rooted in land, not schedules. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/famil...) & YT (youtu.be/YOe4QBG4pNs?...)

Catholic priest Johannes Schwarz left his parish to “withdraw for a few years” in the Italian Alps. Bought an old "rustico" (stone farm) for 20K euros & transformed it into his mountaintop hermitage. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/young...) & YT (youtu.be/MF1jJy1F-8I?...)

Henk Rogers brought Tetris to the masses. Now he's building a collapse-proof family village, tinkering with off-grid technologies, planting food + storing seeds, & powering mobility with hydrogen made out of extra solar. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/tetri...) & YT (youtu.be/iz0iSxks-Dw)

She left as a girl. Returned as a granny. 🏡🇬🇷 At 91, Rebecca came back to her ghost village in the Mani peninsula to rebuild her family’s café into a peaceful home. A story of memory, place, and quiet resilience. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/greek...) & YT (youtu.be/F1PBDlKyRI0)

He left NYC after a health crisis, landing in rural Tennessee with no plan—just a garden & love of pickles. A bumper crop led to kraut & fermentation. Now, via books/talks, Sandor Katz is the go-to fermented food guru. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/left-...) & YT (youtu.be/7VaTHYt7Ezc?...)

In 1984, Ivo Zdarsky escaped communist Czechoslovakia in a homemade aircraft, landing beside a Boeing at Vienna's airport. Now he lives solo in a Utah ghost town selling propellers to aficionados (also to NASA & SpaceX). Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/he-es...) & YT (youtu.be/HL4t-r-NnsE)

Bobby Furst left LA for the silence of the desert to build a home/art venue at once. He created his place out of 4 Quonset huts, 3 Airstreams & a shipping container—one structure at a time. “No blueprint. Just action.” Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/4x-qu...) & YT (youtu.be/hgQlvJ2cNBo?...)

Amid olive-grove rolling hills, Tilemachos Andrianopoulos had just 9 meters to build a home, so he carved it into the hillside. Part ancient, part futuristic, its planted roof disappears into wild herbs & mountain echoes. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/under...) & YT (youtu.be/7Niz25CfzwI)

As a child in a WWII internment camp, George Suyama had almost nothing. Decades later, he built a home shaped by that memory: 18ft wide, amid trees, no detail wasted. “Simplicity isn’t less. It’s only what matters.” Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/seatt...) & YT (youtu.be/LTN6jzEHICQ?...)

160 friends bought a steel factory in Denmark. No landlords. No debt. Just a dream of shared ownership & life on their terms. They use the factory to build their homes next to where Grobund, their village, will sit. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/frien...) & YT (youtu.be/JFVstZqOUKw?...)

Lewis & Laura left the city for a temporary stay at Villa Slow, Laura’s renovated home in the mountains of Cantabria, Spain. When the shift became permanent, they built a small workshop & small home annex nearby. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/villa...) & YT (youtu.be/ajteNd1fDjs?...)

Giannis grew up in a tiny stone home by the sea on a Greek island (1 of 5 kids, joy echoing through the streets). Now in his 70s, he’s back with his wife to restore it, honoring a life rich in simplicity & sea air. Video via *FC (faircompanies.com/videos/how-f...) & YT (youtu.be/XFzwl2fYgt0?...)