Unhappy Hipsters

Opting for the twin bed? A self-fulfilling prophecy.

(Photo: Nicolas Grospierre; Dwell)

The utopia of urban flight came with a price.

(Photo:Ira Lippke; New York Times)

Hiring her unemployed Phishhead brother to design and build their first home turned out to be an incredibly expensive shortcut.

(Photo: Chris Mueller; Dwell)

One obstacle he hadn’t considered during construction: How difficult it would be to convince a one-night-stand he wasn’t plotting to kidnap and kill.

(Photo: Uncredited; Wallpaper magazine)

Even with his back to the bordello lampshade, he felt dirty inside.

(Photo: Emily Andrews; Urbis magazine)

Like an oyster hiding a pearl, the simple shingled exterior offered no hint of the plywood palace contained within—which made his self-imposed exile all the more delicious.

(Celine Clanet; Dwell, February 2010)

Homeschooling seemed preferable to spending 193 days rolling her eyes at the snot-nosed kids down the block, waiting for summer, but her parents’ idea of “integrated learning” was far more depressing.

(Photo: Hertha Hernaus; Dwell)

From her plywood perch she surveyed the new, clean world she’d created for herself. And it was perfect.

(Photo: Yoshichika Takagi, via Dezeen magazine)

Drink in hand, he settled into the numb nothingness of his self-imposed isolation.

(Photo: Daniel Hennessy; Dwell, November 2006)