It’s a form of consensual voyeurism.
That’s one way to explain Airbnb’s popularity.
Staying in someone’s home — even one that’s exclusively a rental — gives you a peek at the owner’s taste in books, design and, if you’re lucky, wine or beer. (Keep those welcome packages coming, hosts!)
Renting a place designed by a top architect takes this notion to extraordinary heights.
How often have you seen an artfully conceived home and wondered what it would be like to live there, if even for a night?
Here are 10 such dwellings available for rent on Airbnb where you can do just that.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Schwartz House, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
In 1938, Life magazine commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design an “American dream house” perfectly calibrated for modern family living.
Wright took this to mean an affordable structure with floor-to-ceiling windows, his signature flat roof and a great room to encourage family bonding.
Also known as “Still Bend,” the four-bedroom house on a riverbank in eastern Wisconsin is one of the few Wright homes where you can stay the night (and then brag about it to your design nerd friends).
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Schwartz House, $395/night (min. stay: 2 nights), 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, accommodates 8 guests
The Temple House, Miami
Dreamed up by art deco rock star L. Murray Dixon, this South Beach stunner was built as a private home in 1933 and later expanded into a Jewish temple.
Today, it’s one of the most exclusive rental properties in the world, a favorite of celebrities for its party-ready, 6,000-square-foot living room and private staff.
Snaring a reservation is tough, but if you manage to pull it off, consider yourself a true boss.
The Temple House, $6,500/night (min. stay: 3 nights), 4 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, accommodates 10 guests
Aqua tower apartment, Chicago
Gazing up at Jeanne Gang’s mixed-use tower, you’re apt to get seasick.
Irregularly shaped concrete slabs jut from its exterior, giving the building its distinctive rippled quality.
Not to worry: You’ll get your land legs back when you step into your one-bedroom flat, which has views of downtown, a full kitchen, modern décor and a 60-inch 3-D TV.
Guests get access to the building’s gym, outdoor pool and billiards room.
Aqua tower apartment, $289/night; 1 bedroom (plus den with bed); 2 bathrooms, accommodates 4 guests
New York by Gehry studio, New York City
When not designing wild geometric museums (Guggenheim Bilbao) and performance spaces (Walt Disney Concert Hall), Frank Gehry has been known to sketch out a relatively tame skyscraper here and there.
His lower Manhattan tower contains, among other things, shops, a school and 904 luxury residential units, including this sweet little studio.
If you want to pretend you live in the building, we won’t tell anyone.
New York by Gehry studio, $279/night, 1 bed, 1 bathroom, accommodates 3 guests
Off-grid itHouse, Pioneertown, California
L.A. firm Taalman Koch has won rave reviews for this solar-powered structure in high desert country two hours west of Tinseltown.
No Wi-Fi or television here, just industrial aesthetics in a backdrop ideal for vision-questing or realigning your chakras (healing crystals not included).
Off-grid itHouse, $360/night, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, accommodates 4 guests
The Historic Florsheim Mansion, Chicago
The Florsheim began life as two separate Gold Coast residences designed in 1938 by Andrew Rebori.
Years later, architect Bertrand Goldberg schemed up a plan to connect the structures via a second-floor galley kitchen.
The resulting modernist townhouse is just blocks from Michigan Avenue.
You can kick back in the garden or one of its many artfully rendered interior spaces, then sleep well knowing that part of your payment is allocated for local philanthropies.
The Historic Florsheim Mansion, $1,255/night, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, accommodates 11 guests
Monkeypod Tree House, Hawaii
On the Big Island, you’ll find the well named monkeypod trees.
Standing among the sweeping canopies of three such trees is a boxy, contemporary home courtesy of Hawaii architect Craig Steely.
Dwell magazine liked it so much it gave it the feature treatment a few years back.
And, really, what’s not to like about a tropical abode with a secluded screen porch?
Monkeypod Tree House, $185/night, 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, accommodates 4 guests
Eagle’s Nest, Los Angeles
L.A. architect Tom Marble named this 600-square-foot custom steel studio for its hilltop setting in the hipper-than-thou Silver Lake neighborhood.
There isn’t a right angle in the place, which instead consists of triangles and sliding glass doors.
The views are ridiculous, the natural light amazing and the vibe 100% SoCal chill.
Eagle’s Nest, $200/night, 1 bed, 1 bath, accommodates 2 guests
Fox Island Home, Fox Island, Washington
Another Dwell favorite, this island home near Tacoma comes courtesy of San Francisco-based Anderson Anderson Architects.
It’s the ultimate update on the Northwest cabin — exposed wood, huge steel beams and Instagram-ready décor.
Fox Island Home, $185/night, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, accommodates 6 guests
Shipping Container Home, Livingston, Montana
We’re cheating with this last one, which technically wasn’t designed by a pro.
Rather, a damned clever DIY’er had the idea to cloak an old shipping container in plywood, fill it with mod furnishings and set it in the middle of a rolling prairie east of Bozeman.
There’s a patio, breath-snatching views of the snow-capped Absaroka Mountains and enough quiet to help you (and one lucky guest) recharge.
Shipping Container Home, $140/night, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, accommodates 2 guests