Geodesic Dome Homes Are Fun, Frugal and Fascinating

Twenty-five Years Ago We Moved into Our Geodesic Home and Have Never Regretted the Decision

My wife and I moved to the Tampa Bay area from a 3,500 square foot house on a canal in Southwest Dade County, Florida. Our four children had grown, three off to college and one remaining in High School. We settled in a series of apartments and rentals, looking for a home that would meet our needs for simplicity and open space.

Searching for houses in the Tampa area was very disappointing. The homes that were available were few back in 1979 and all reminded us of our first house purchased in 1959, but at vastly inflated prices. We had examined condominiums and town houses, but in each instance, the lack of privacy was evident.

One day, Joan returned from a beauty parlor with pages torn from a magazine. An article described a dome-home in California, had interior pictures of wide open spaces and described the unique visual and practical features of a geodesic dome structure. "I could live in this", the wife said.

I called the magazine's publishers and, eventually, was put in touch with a Cathedralite Homes, a manufacturer of kits for domes in Aptos, California. That company, which is no longer in business, put us in touch with their representative in South Carolina, and we began a series of treks to see groups of dome homes, all different, but similar in that they were unique, spacious and, frankly, looked fun. We then began to search for other builder options and discovered a contractor from Sebring, Florida, who, himself, lived in a Geodesic Dome, had imagination and creativity and was willing to travel across the state to build our dream.

Then came the fun of obtaining financing. Although Dome Homes were common in parts of the country and that the concept had been approved by the federal agencies, we were told by several financial institutions that they would finance the second geodesic Dome in our area, not the first. Eventually all of this was resolved and construction began.