Bored and Brilliant: The Winning Dream Houses

We're pretty sure Bored and Brilliant week culminated in... brilliance.

To recap: Because research shows getting bored and daydreaming can boost creative thinking, we gave you an assignment. Artist Nina Katchadourian asked you to stare into a pot of water as it came to a boil. Then, thoroughly bored, she instructed you to create a dream house out of the contents of your wallet. 

We know there's no objective way to measure wallet house wonderfulness, but, hey, it's a dream house-eat-dream-house world out there, and Nina has chosen her favorites.

Click the audio player below to listen along to hear her announce the photos in this post. 

Once the audio is playing, scroll through the winners below:

Honorable mentions:

Coolest Currency

"I've never seen money from Kuwait, and it was very beautiful."

(Beach Cliff on the Seaside by Ahmed Albahar)

Loveliest Description

"I want to give special mention to Vanessa for her very lovely rumination on watching water boil... even though her dog was very bored watching her find boiling water awesome..."

(Dream House in Wisconsin by Vanessa Herald)

Beach Houses (A Crowded Category!)

"I was certainly struck by the conspicuous number of beach houses, which is not surprising if you consider the time of year."

(Piano-Shackolada in Maya's Riviara by Elizabeth Lutz)

"I was also amused by the number of people who drafted their houseplants into service here... I know it's sort of cheating because I said 'only use things in your wallet.'"

(Scotch on the Rocks by Anya Gurdon-Raskin)

Notable Rule-Breaker

A diorama, not a dream house, called "Admiral Washington readies the Andrew Jackson clone F-14 pilots on the deck of the U.S.S. Clinton before the Battle of Bull Run"

(Battlefield Diorama by Pete from Texas)

Points for Photography

"This is what I call getting a lot of bang for your buck."

(Columned house with rolling hills, next to Philip Johnson's Glass House by Adrian J. Hopkins)

Best Multi-Purpose House

"The 'Animal Rescue and Development Caverns'... sounds like a new federal bureau of some kind."

(Animal Rescue and Development Caverns in Alaska by Andrew Kubat)

 

Credit for 'Couldn't Stop Thinking About It'

"I appreciated that the house-builder Jane Fine went back and added some features even after she posted the first version... that's good, that meant she couldn't stop thinking about it."

(Huge Painting Studio in New Orleans by Jane Fine)

 

Terrific Tiny Houses

"My favorite category of houses were some of these really beautiful tiny houses..."

(Sunnybanks River House on the Allegheny River, NY by Annie Meredith)

 

"The Simplicity Cottage has a lovely orange roof."

(Simplicity Cottage in the Woods by Cristin Jacoby)

 

Set in Atlanta's sky.

(Modern Art Oasis in Atlanta by Cheryl Wilson)

 

"Very, very elegant."

(Japanese House + Tea House, on a hill with a breeze by Elizabeth Ellsworth)

 

AND THE WINNER

"I stepped away from the computer. I waited to see what picture I just couldn't stop returning to in my mind. And I have to say: The one I couldn't stop thinking about was the...

"I know it's cheating to use plants... But when creative pressure forces you to break the rules and it turns out as good as that... it's a good argument for thinking outside the box."

(Unplugged in Playa Santana by Karima Hassan)

 

You can see all of the Dream Houses here (and if you haven't made one yet? Go boil some water and send it in!)