Ever wanted to live in a truly unique, one-of-a-kind dwelling? Join the club... There's no question about it, this year offered up a plethora of intriguing, wow-factor properties to add to our wish lists. From a multi-coloured mansion to a treehouse in the wilderness and even a house built into a viaduct, these exceptional homes of 2018 are just a little bit out of the ordinary...

Built in and around a 19th-century railway viaduct and infill plot in Kennington, South London, this distinctive contemporary home definitely stands out from the real estate crowd.

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The property was designed by Undercurrent Architects as an industrial work-come-living space. Built from Corten steel cladding, the home wraps around the railway's viaduct archways, making for a truly unique aesthetic, both inside and out.

The interior benefits from unique curves, cleverly designed in a balloon-like shape with extensive windows to encourage the travel of natural light inside.

Covering 1,600 square feet over three floors, the family home utilises a simple colour palette, with light wooden flooring, reflective glass balustrades and crisp white paintwork.

The two-bedroom property was recently sold for almost £1.1 million ($1.4m), proving that sought-after real estate need not follow the rules of tradition.

Located in the Fitzroy neighbourhood of Melbourne, Australia, this unique property was once a 19th-century terrace house and dilapidated horse stable.

Known as King Bill, the home has a distinctive curved aesthetic, built from corrugated zinc-aluminium composite panels. Designed by Austin Maynard Architects, the original building was converted and extended using natural materials, including wood, metal and brick.

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Inside, the dwelling is extremely bespoke, boasting an amazing netted platform suspended over the first floor. Open-plan with designer furniture, the home also offers hidden alcoves, perfect for relaxing. Curved walls and windows, a muted colour scheme and a minimalist finish add to the home's inspiring design.

The forever home covers two storeys and also features a rippled glass passageway, linking the old horse stable with the new and improved main house.

The winner of numerous awards, including the Victorian Architecture Awards 2018, a prestigious prize presented by the Australian Institute of Architects, King Bill was also a finalist in the World House of the Year awards.

This dwelling certainly isn't a shrinking violet. Painted in 52 different colours, Bioscleave House is an architectural rainbow nestled in New York's East Hampton.

Designed by poet Madeline Gins and her husband, conceptual artist Arakawa, the bold property hit the market this year with a hefty price tag of $2.5 million (£1.9m).

Delve inside and it's a playground for the senses – uneven floors, a loud colour palette and crazy textures. The otherworldly interior is designed to make residents use their bodies in unexpected ways and, according its architects, stimulate the immune system.

Totaling 2,700 square feet, the idea behind the quirky structure is to ensure homeowners are constantly engaged with the space they inhabit. The dwelling's designers say that the stimulation offered by the interior's unconventional surfaces could keep the next occupants in peak health. We'll throw out that gym membership now then?

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Still on the market with Brown Harris Stevens, this unusual property includes four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a study, living room and sunken kitchen.

Taking more than 10 years to bring to life, this unusual contemporary self build epitomises the current trend for architectural grand designs.

Angular and dramatic, the bespoke pad was designed by architects Sarah Griffiths and Amin Taha and recently made the longlist for House of the Year 2018, RIBA’s exclusive architecture accolade.

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The newly built home is located in sought-after Henley-on-Thames and sits in a south-facing position close to the river. Covering an internal area of 575 square metres, the home features an outdoor reflecting pool and was constructed from an S-shape of concrete, which sits above a wall of glass on the ground floor.

When designing the property, the architects envisioned a country villas for the 21st century. Inside, the family home is light-filled and bespoke, with designer features, raw materials and extensive glazing, allowing for incredible landscape views.

Measuring 247 square metres, this architectural work of art features a funnel roof, clad with strips of eye-catching copper. The site was originally home to a rundown 60s bungalow before architect Gianni Botsford took the plot under his wing. 

Following eight years of planning and construction work, Botsford and his team finally completed the ultra-contemporary dwelling this year. Situated across three floors, two of them underground, the unique roof design was chosen to help channel light into the living spaces.

Copper accents run throughout the interior too, with the kitchen featuring cabinets, a splash back and tap faucets in the warm metal. Mined from the earth, the architects opted for copper because it reflected the subterranean nature of the home, which takes shape beneath the ground.

Greenery-filled lightwells ensure the underground levels still benefit from plenty of natural sunlight. Carefully designed sun tunnels illuminate the master bedroom suite and the 10-metre luxury swimming pool in the lower basement. 

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The genius of this dwelling lies in the clever interplay of light and dark. "Reacting to the light like a tree, the ground floor pavilion-like structure floats above the ground creating distant views through gaps in the city and to the sky", Gianni Botsford Architects explains.

Named Turama, this intricately-crafted property was a 2018 Home of Year finalist in New Zealand. Its unique design is steeped in heritage, deeply rooted in concepts of Maori identity, along with the local communities in Rotorua.

Situated in one of Rotorua's poorest suburbs, architects RTA Studio say the dwelling is intended to be a beacon for the local community. The home's oxidized steel form is described as a cloke of protection for those who reside there.

Angular, gabled windows allow natural sunlight to flood the home, creating a bright and spacious open-plan living area. Built on land owned by the same family for 16 generations, the property is designed to offer a comforting space for current and future residents.

Inside, the contemporary interior celebrates the home's fascinating angles. A cosy window seat is nestled inside the structure's thick walls – the perfect place to curl up on a cold winter's day.

The distinctive timber posts that wrap around the structure reflect the tree trunks of the surrounding forest, softening the modernist structure into the natural landscape. 

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Designed by Monoarchi architectural studio, this striking cabin is certainly worthy of a doubletake or two. Measuring eight metres high and crafted from wood, its freeform roof looks almost as though it's been draped over the walls.

This one-of-a-kind property is located on the banks of a stream in the mountain village of Zhongcun, in China's Zhejiang Province. Angular steel stilts raise the dwelling above ground level, providing incredible views of the bamboo-covered hills that flank the site on either side.

The pared-back interior is carefully designed, situating personal spaces like the bedroom against the inner edge of the home's spiral structure for added privacy.

From above, this quirky dwelling forms a series of interlocking circles, moving from the deck to the main house, and then to the inset roof terrace situated on the top floor.

With its dramatic pointed roofs, this unique home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, truly is the jewel of the desert. Built from rammed earth and exposed concrete, Dancing Light House is a space of striking shapes and textures.

Designed by Kendle Design Collaborative, the property blurs the boundaries between its structure and the surrounding landscape. A floating roof canopy ushers the outside in, creating a versatile and stylish outdoor living space.

The dwelling's architects were inspired by the geology of the desert, incorporating indigenous materials and harnessing swathes of natural light. Layered walls of earth, metal, concrete and glass delineate the home's fluid layout, creating a flexible structure.

Situated at the heart of the property, an atrium houses the sleek kitchen which features industrial-style exposed concrete walls. Sliding glass doors offer a channel for sunlight, and the option to open up dinner time to the great outdoors. 

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