What do you get when you cross a sailboat with a ping pong ball and throw in a rocking sound system for good measure?

According to Tom Chudleigh of British Columbia, you’re looking at the next wave of high-tech, alternative housing. Tom is the proud owner of Free Spirit Spheres, a company that makes large (the first was 9’ by 9’), hollowballs that hang from trees and are filled in all of the comforts of home. Peering into one of Chudleigh’s creations, expect to see a flat floor, numerous windows, beds, desks, stereo system, and even a kitchen area, complete with microwave and running water. The surfaces are sleek and efficiently decorated, heavy on canvas and gleaming wooden trim. Clearly,Free Spirit Sphere living is a far cry from “roughing it” in a tent. Chudleigh reports that accoutrements for a functional bathroom are still awork in progress. Currently, inhabitants of the spheres still have to toddle down a spiral staircase to use a neighbor’s loo.

The high-flying homes take approximately three pairs of helping hands and one full day of work to “install”. They are suspended by three tethers in three different trees, making for secure positioning with minimal wobble.(Chudleigh does warn, however, that drastic movement by someone inside the dome will cause equally drastic wobble in the whole structure.) In the event that one of the support ropes is broken, the sphere hangs safely from the two remaining ropes. The spheres are constructed to be light, with a durable shell, much like the aforementioned ping pong ball. While the structures can be suspended as high as desired, inhabitants report that,tethered to a sequoia 150 feet above the ground, things get a little scary.

Where did Chudleigh find inspiration for his avant garde homes?
He mentions the importance of being “one with nature”, and it’s hard to imagine a more literal way to channel your inner treehugger than by living in a Free Spirit
Sphere.

Thus far, few people use the spheres as their primary residence, instead opting to use them as a short-term getaway. These Ewok-like balls are available for purchase on their website Free Spirit Spheres, but don’t expect to be free-balling for your birthday gift.

These compact bachelor pads start around $150,000 apiece.


A PimpWiz Exclusive By, Jennifer Geroge