If you go to Rockport someday, in Massachusetts, the United States, take some time to drive down Pigeon Hill Street and look out for a sign that says “Paper House”. Park your car near the sidewalk and go visit this unique, one story red house that looks like an ordinary log cabin, but is actually made of paper.

The paper house began in 1922 when Elis Stenman, a mechanical engineer, began building a small summer home. It started out like any other home, with a timber frame, shingle roof and floors, but when it came to the walls, Stenman had different ideas. The walls of the Paper House is made up of layers upon layers of old newspapers, glued together until they are about an inch thick, then finished off with a nice coat of varnish. Everything inside the paper house is also made of paper. Stenman built chairs, tables, bookshelves and even curtains and a clock out of newspaper and magazine pages. Only the piano is made of wood and covered with paper to maintain uniformity, and the fireplace is made of bricks, for obvious reason.

Photo credit: Danielle Walquist Lynch/Flickr