"Never fool with Mother Nature," says architect Louis DesRosiers. "You'll lose every time."
Captured by Dave and Charlotte during their road trip..., once a perfectly fine home at Rodanthe in the Outer Banks of North Carolina until it fell off it's stilts during A Storm. 
And this house, used in the movie Nights in Rodanthe could be next..., click link to check it out @ Completely Coastal. One commenter (responding to a commenter who said that she couldn't believe a house would be built so close to the water) wrote, "The house wasn't built that close to the water; the hurricanes brought the water to it." Now I'm curious to know -would you buy a house on a storm-battered barrier island? I was considering Hilton Head Island. Shared with Metamorphosis Monday @ Susan's Between Naps on the Porch.
We've mused alot about the wisdom of living at or near the water's edge. It's a chance we'd take, even knowing that every storm season could wash a home away. What we'd get in exchange would be worth the risk... afterall, nothing is guaranteed anywhere & little in life lasts forever :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love the ocean but don't think I would take a chance on living quite that close to it! I'd be happy with a water view, rather than living on the edge.
ReplyDeleteJane
Hmmmmm.... not too sure about buying a house on a storm-battered island. I'd hate to have to rebuild every year!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat being said, the house on stilts in the water is totally cool!!
Kelly @ DesignTies
Well, living on the Texas Gulf Coast, I know how scary mother nature can be. So many homes close to the water before last September are gone now. Hurricane Ike hit our little island and it's forever changed.
ReplyDeleteBe a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
I had a house by Galveston, Texas. We were about 4 blocks from the waters edge and had a view of the ocean from our top deck. It was a lovely second home, one that we cherished for 29 years. Hurricane IKE took it and just about everything else in its path. Some small communities were completely wiped out, in fact it is still very difficult to find your land because most of the landmarks have been washed away. Things are slowly recovering, we still have our land, but rebuilding is doubtful.
ReplyDeleteAmazing....that is a little close for me.
ReplyDeleteBarb
I'm happy to let someone else own coastal property. It's such a tough environment with the storms. I'm happy to pay a premium to stay in one for a rare vacation.
ReplyDeleteHey, I live in So. Cal, so I'm a dare devil! At any moment the ground could start moving and a wall could split wide open, so a little water doesn't scare me! ;)
ReplyDeletem ^..^
Fantastic post... No... I'm more of a living on a boat ON the water person. I would be devastated to lose my home. But I love staying at places on the beach... I guess thats as far as I would go as a financial investment.
ReplyDeleteUH OH
ReplyDeleteI though about Rodanthe when I saw the first pic
Actually there has been a lot of damage to our waterfront suburbs here. The poor millionares are screaming at the council to do something before they lose their homes. You can have money... but you STILL have to fight the council... great images x Julie
Man, that is scary !!! Fun pics though, but scary !
ReplyDeleteKammy
I thought that house looked familiar. I started watching that movie once...but it bored me to tears. Would I buy such a house? No way - I'd be too scared that exact thing would happen!
ReplyDeleteThe water looked really close to the house in "Nights in Rodanthe"--apparently it's even closer now! Scary. I guess it's just as well I can't afford one and don't have to worry about things like this myself. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaving survived several hurricanes in Florida including Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Wilma and Katrina - we moved to VA. There is nothing more nerve wracking that boarding up your beloved home and evacuating, not knowing if it will be there when you return. Not to mention the super expensive homeowner's insurance. I love the ocean and have had the privelege of living beachfront for several years but in my opinion, it's not worth it. I will rent a beach house now and enjoy a relaxing vacation in the OBX.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible.. My daughter and grandson just came back from there. My daughter loves anything beachy. She had emailed me a picture she took of the house in "Nights of Rodanthe". I'll be forwarding your blog onto her so she can enjoy it as much as I have.. hugs ~lynne~
ReplyDeleteWow! I love the ocean but I don't think I could live like that! I wouldn't be able to sleep at night!
ReplyDeleteWe love the beach so much and maybe one day we will live there. Renting of course and furnished with garage sale finds.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Words were not needed for these photos for sure. I would be a nervous wreck. Cool photos though. Thanks for sharing. I JUST LOVE THE BEACH!
ReplyDeleteI just got back from the Outer Banks and it is my dream to make the Carolina coast my home. thanks for the wonderful pics! (Lynne's daughter Cate)
ReplyDeletemight be a "be careful what you ask for"
ReplyDeletesituation here..haha!
We are expecting a tropical storm here in Hawaii and I am very happy I live on the mountain and not right on the beach. There are benefits to both I guess.
ReplyDeleteI know I've told you before, but I love your blog !! I really like the 'bloggers' craft post. On my blog, I wrote about the tons of BIG shells I found over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI mean LOTS AND LOTS.
I don't know what to do with them all.
I think I should have a blog giveaway....
But I will definitley craft with some !!
Not me! As much as I love the water...and dreamily imagine myself in a beach house with the windows open listening to the waves at night, somehow in reality I "just can't go there quite." I think I'll stick to my little pond and fountains. They won't topple my house.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
House + stilts + coastline = disaster! It is incredible that they lasted at all (or, that they were allowed to be built in the first place!). I'm happy to be able to walk to the beach...from dry land. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could buy a home that close to the water, too scary if you ask me. I love the idea of having a house by the sea, but at a distance where there is safely.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, it makes me nervous to look at the house that close to the water. I probably wouldn't buy one, just because I'd always be worrying.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I visited Honeymoon Island...a FL state park on a living barrier island near my home. It has been a year since I truly walked the beach here...and there is a lot less beach due to several storms. The north side of the island, though, has extended into the gulf by several yards. Beaches are constantly shifting and "man" cannot stop this. No amount of sand can defeat this natural occurance. Old residents of the coast know this and build accordingly. Since the fifties, and the "beach boom", hotels and residences have been built on live barrier islands, way too close to the shoreline. Appropriate pilings were not always used and these places are in danger of disappearing into the surf. (Remember the book "Hurricane"?) The same goes for beaches all along the coast. If you notice the homes that usually survive hurricanes, they are built behind the natural sand dunes, well away from the water. And they have strong steel foundations. This is not to say that one day, the BIG one will devastate the whole coast and all the dwellings. But for those of us who live on the coast, that's a chance we'll take...
ReplyDeleteJane (Artfully Graced)
There's something to be said for building on the sand or the rock - there's a story talking about that in the Bible in Matthew chapter 7 :)...one sure does weather better than the other in the storms!
ReplyDeleteKeryn