Ever fancied living in an egg? If so, then perhaps Eco Hab houses are for you. Small, but cheap with a starting price of £17,000, you could probably fit one in your back garden, or in the corner of a plot you intended to build on.

Currently I think they’re a bit too titchy to actually live in for any length of time, not if you actually want to retain your sanity. The Eco Hab 4 (it’s not clear what happened to Eco Habs 1 to 3) is just 4m in diameter, and 5.3m tall, giving a total of 12 m sq on each level. From the website:

The ground floor comprises of a kitchen diner / living room and a separate bathroom. The first floor is the sleeping and living quarters that is also styled to double as a study, and has a Perspex disc (1 metre dia x 25mm thick) covered in toughened glass set into the floor to let light permeate the building.

The transparent domed roof light allows for an abundance of natural lighting and can be shaded as required.

The upcoming Eco Hab 6 (clearly odd numbers are out of fashion these days) will be much bigger, with enough room to house a family of four long term.

The design is very compact, as the virtual tour shows, without an inch of wasted space. It reminds me very much of the caravans we used to go on holiday in when I was a kid, except circular. Space is at a premium in a caravan, so there was storage under every chair and most seats - and certainly the table - turned into beds. That’s fine for a couple of weeks in Cornwall, but less practical for living in.

What’s more interesting about the Eco Hab is that they can be constructed off grid, i.e. unconnected to mains power, water or sewerage, depending instead on wind and solar power, with a dry toilet and rainwater collection and filtering.

Could be perfect if you need a spare room in a hurry!