10 Boat House Designs To Inspire Your Next Adventure

Larger boat houses can be quite expensive; that’s why many owners opt for a tiny house boat. But a tiny home doesn’t mean inconvenient. Here, it all comes down to smart storage and careful planning. Use every surface and corner to create a home of your dreams.

This is a perfect option for someone who can’t choose between countryside life and life on the water. You can still have your white-painted porch complete with a swing to spend evenings on, but instead of leading you into a front yard, the stairs take you right to the waterfront. You can opt for a regular cottage roof or turn it into an open deck accessible by another staircase from the porch. 

Your house may be floating on the water, but you still have plenty of opportunities to decorate it. Surround yourself with your favorite art, bring fancy coffee mugs into the kitchen, or mount a shelf in the living room to display your collectibles. Your boat house can be as much of a comfortable place to relax in as a house on land.

If you own a toolbox and aren’t afraid to use it, you have the opportunity to save some money when buying a boat house. Buy an older boat on a budget and keep its retro exterior intact. But you can design the interior to your taste and make it as modern as you like. Take advantage of the layout and fine-tune it to your needs.

If you have decided to move to a boat house permanently and want to splurge a bit on the purchase, consider investing in a two-story house boat. This luxurious floating home will offer you the same amount of privacy and comfort as a regular modern design house. You can cover the upper floor fully, give it some floor-to-ceiling glass windows, or leave it partially open for a balcony. 

If you’ve chosen to live in a floating home, you might as well enjoy all its advantages. Turn the roof of your house into a top deck that can serve multiple purposes. You can lay out a contemporary garden or set up a lounge spot. It’s also a great space to welcome and entertain guests. Boat party, anyone?

If you’re a modern house design fan, nothing stops you from making your boat house look like one. They might be pricier than more common floating house designs, but they combine the best of both worlds. Living on a modern houseboat, you have all the amenities and looks of a city home but get gorgeous water views from your bedroom window every morning.

There’s something incredibly appealing about living on a boat. No wonder so many filmmakers choose a house on a boat as one of the major characters’ abodes. From Johnny Depp in Chocolat to Sandra Bullock in Murder by Numbers and probably the most famous movie house boat Tom Hanks lived on with his son in Sleepless in Seattle, take your inspiration from any of them and recreate the look on your own boat house.

If you’re looking for an authentic boat experience, it might be a good idea to let your boat house look like an old-timey vessel both inside and outside. Turn each room into a real-life cabin and keep as much of the wooden exterior intact as possible. If your boat’s bridge is large enough, you can even install a decorative steering wheel to create a feeling of total immersion. 

Also known as Kettuvallam, these boats were once used not only as a means of transportation but also for residential purposes by royalty. Fully equipped and furnished, Kettuvallams are now primarily used for sightseeing along the picturesque shores of Kerala. When designing your boat house, infuse it with the traditional charm of Kettuvallams by incorporating cool wood carvings, lively colors, and funky patterns inspired by Kerala’s rich cultural vibes.