Homes that disappear: no smoke, all mirrors

Homes that disappear: no smoke, all mirrors
A desert house. Click a photo for a slideshow.
A desert house. Click a photo for a slideshow.

Mirrored homes are all the rage these days.

One, at Joshua Tree National Park in California, looks like a desert mirage thanks to its alternating panels of mirrored glass and wood; one looks like a fancy treehouse camouflaged in the woods (and another actually is a treehouse); and one, clad with a reflective top floor and opaque second floor, appears to literally float off the ground. (Click here or on a photo for a slideshow.)

"The world is currently awash in mirrored buildings that claim to 'disappear,'" Curbed writes.

While all that smoke and mirrors may make them seem a little gimmicky, the mirrored house actually makes a lot of sense in the right environment.

Typically, these homes are clad with reflective glass, which allows residents wide views from inside without allowing passersby the same views of those residents. The mirrored homes work best when there's something to look at, and something worth reflecting—mountains, lakes and forests—where residents may want to go about their business without having to pull the shades for privacy.

A second benefit: Because they are reflective, these homes are often better at blending into their natural surroundings than building made of more natural materials that hope to mimic their settings. (And a short PSA: Many of the houses have a UV coating that prevents birds from crashing into them, so there's that.)

Finally, they just plain look cool.

Click here to check them out for yourself in our slideshow.

Also on Yahoo Homes:

Hawaii cliff-top mansion now about 70 percent off (51 photos)
Abandoned behemoth with 46 bedrooms -- or 'more like 70' -- is for sale in Texas, where else? (41 photos)
Concrete reservoir once held 500,000 gallons of water, now holds $3.7M home (34 photos)