You Can Rent This Florida 'UFO Home' For $150 A Night
A new rental has been listed on Airbnb for around $150 a night and is designed in the fashion of a UFO. Located in Florida, the dome-shaped home was built in 1974 by designer Joseph Yacaboni, who built a series of these homes, named the Yaca Dome, in the 1960s starting in Pittsburgh (via Realtor.com). Not only is this unique shaped property fun, but the original Realtor.com listing boasts the home's ability to withstand harsh Florida weather.
The home is no longer on the real estate market, having been sold to Florida-based real estate agent Michael DeFilippi in November of 2021 for $140,000 — $60,000 cheaper than the original listing price. The heavily discounted price likely comes from the wear and tear on the property, which sat exposed to constant humidity and heat with little to no maintenance for ten years, giving DeFilippi a pretty massive project. The unique home has been fixed up and is now an Airbnb listed as "UFO Dome," available for renting starting mid-April.
An otherworldly vacation rental in Florida
The Airbnb is located in Lake Placid, Florida, which has been deemed "America's Most Interesting Town," according to Trips to Discover. The town is incredibly small, with a reported population of 2,200, but has multiple unique attractions. Among those are the over 50 murals in the town, a clown college called Toby's Clown School, being home to the American Clown Museum, and being one of the major producers of caladiums. Both coasts are only two hours away.
The eccentricity of the UFO Dome Airbnb seemingly fits right into the unconventional town it inhabits. The vacation rental certainly does not shy away from the sci-fi potential of its exterior; the listing photos show the home lit up in green at night with cut-out aliens decorating the front lawn. Your stay need not be entirely alien-centric, though. There is also a back patio totally surrounded by gorgeous Floridian flora and set up with chairs and a fire pit, perfect for a relaxing evening fire.
Inside the repurposed Yaca Dome
The interior of the rental is just as cheeky and fun as the exterior and the surrounding town. The Florida Airbnb lists rooms for as many as six guests, with two bedrooms (three beds total) and two bathrooms. The main room is a combined living room and dining room, with the kitchen tucked behind a wall. The dome shape continues on the inside, painted white with orange stripes on the steel beams, which Michael DeFilippi told Realtor.com "gives it a really cool touch."
The home is decorated in a fun and funky futuristic style while still being classy with touches of gold metal, sleek and classic furniture silhouettes, etc. The kitchen is quite simple, with honey oak cabinets, granite countertops, and black appliances. It is on the smaller side, which is to be expected from the small home, which is listed at 1,505 square feet (via Realtor.com).
More of the space themed Airbnb
There is a carpeted spiral staircase in the living room that leads into a cabin, which is wrapped in color-changing LED lights, perfect for setting an otherworldly mood. Inside the cabin, which is called the "Galaxy Arcade loft" on Airbnb, is a game room complete with a television and gaming equipment, a Star Wars pinball machine, and Atari Tempest. The room is also domed, with the windowed edge rounded out over the living room. The windows are tinted heavily from the outside, allowing you to play in peace while still being able to see out into the living room.
There are two proper bedrooms, as well as an inflatable mattress in the living room. Both bedrooms take on a more classic modern approach, with simple wood flooring and white walls. The master bedroom has a queen-sized bed with a simple bedspread, the only space-themed item in the room being the moon phase picture above the bed. There is also a 50-inch flat-screen television across the bed. The other bedroom has two twin beds, also quite average in comparison to the eccentricities of the rest of the home. Between the two porthole windows is a wall decal of E.T. popping out of his own porthole, the theme not completely abandoned.