Architecture for birds
10 best modern houses for birds
Birds deserve some architectural style too. Or, if you simply want to dress up your garden, check out my 10 best modern houses for birds.
Yes, this is a ‘thing’. And I know it’s quite an odd one to some people, but hear me out. If you have a garden, there’s every chance that you have or have considered buying a birdhouse or a bird feeder. It’s a good thing to do and helps your feathered friends throughout the year.
So if you are buying one, why not buy one with some architectural merit? You buy for the inside of your home with a keen eye on design. So why not outside too?
Plenty of people do, and that’s perhaps why there are a number of options if you want to pick up a birdhouse with some architectural merit. They come in various designs and in varied sizes. Of course, that also means varied price points, so with that in mind, I have tried to pull together a cross-section of looks at different prices. Yes, there are a couple that demand a hefty outlay. But others are more affordable and, just as importantly, help out small makers too.
Have a look if anything catches your eye, and of course, with Christmas looming, you might find a gift idea too.
1. 1920s De Stijl birdhouse and feeder
If early 20th-century modernism is your thing, then this De Stijl birdhouse and feeder should be right up your street.
Dutch modernism in miniature, courtesy of this wooden model, complete with some lovely splashes of colour.
In winter, it can be used as a bird feeder, while in summer, it’s a nesting box. So all-year-round usefulness in your garden. A Wall bracket and screws are supplied, but the pole isn’t and if you want one, expect to pay £62.50.
Find out more at the Thorsten Van Elten website
2. Sheffield Park Hill flats birdhouse by Fledgling Designs
A small maker that does sew very interesting designs. And it is fair to say that no one does a birdhouse quite like this.
Brutalism at its best, this is a birdhouse based on the Park Hill estate, which has featured on this site in the past both as a rental and to buy.
A representation of it in miniature, handmade and made to order. But not in concrete, of course. Looks great and functional too. £65 is the price.
Find out more at the Fledgling Designs Etsy website
3. Architectural birdhouses by Koolbird
Looking for something that sits between a classic birdhouse and domestic architecture? The architectural birdhouses by Koolbird are probably for you.
It looks like a stylised version of the typical birdhouse but with a roof and a shape that hints at modern architecture too. Lots of shapes to choose from, and all are very appealing to the eye.
Prices vary, but the handmade ‘wing’ design (inspired by Dallas airport) above is around £167.
Find out more at the Koolbird Etsy website
4. Umbra modernist bird cafe
More of a meeting place than a place to live. But a very stylish one.
This international-style birdhouse is a great way to feed your feathered friends whilst also getting admiring glances from your design-loving friends and neighbours.
It has a cubical shape styled like a house with little windows, so you can easily check the seed level in the container. Simply fill the feeder with seed by removing the roof, then sit back and watch as birds perch on the wrap-around tray and feed. £36.68 for one of these.
Find out more at the Aspen of Hereford website
5. Midcentury modern birdhouse by Stephan’s Wood Shop
The maker doesn’t just do birdhouses. But he does some lovely designs when he does produce them.
A few midcentury modern pieces to choose from, with this one here being custom-made for you, with a glass wall to see the birds dwelling and a planter box that can be removed for cleaning. Painted too if you like and at no extra cost.
£95.88 for this one.
Find out more at the Stephan’s Wood Shop Etsy website
6. Pleasant Ranch midcentury modern birdhouses
These designs are stunning. Almost works of art. So they do come up a little pricier than others I have featured so far.
But it might be worth it if you have a love for the US midcentury modern architecture of the 1950s and 1960s. Which is very much where the Pleasant Ranch designs are at.
Hard to pick a favourite, so I have gone for the priciest and most elaborate, just to show what the content can produce. The Mariposa Afterparty Special Edition Birdhouse is something I would be scared to put in the garden in case anything happened to it! But it is designed to withstand the elements.
This one comes in at £527, but other designs start from around £175.
Find out more at the Pleasant Ranch Etsy website
7. Scandi house bird feeder and bath
A slight departure from the midcentury modern theme with a Scandinavian theme.
This is a bird feeder and bath, so pretty much a hotel for birds. Designed in Sweden along with ornithological experts, each one is handcrafted from wood and painted using environmentally friendly paints.
It sells for around £106.
Find out more at the Design Edit website
8. My Kokoon modern birdhouses
Lovely, handmade designs that absolutely scream modernism. Each one is a dream.
In fact, I can’t pick a favourite. Have a look for yourself, as each one is absolutely beautiful.
If I were forced to pick a favourite, I would probably opt for the mediation garden design, which is made of pine, with splashes of colour and a planter with river rocks and faux wheat grass for landscaping. That one sells for £08.
Find out more at the My Kokoon Etsy website
9. Midcentury modern motel for birds by Fledgling Designs
A second entry for this maker and a very different design from the first.
From brutalism to midcentury modern and, specifically, a motel for your feathered friends to drop into for the night or longer. It even has a mini vintage car at the front. Nice touch.
It is made from birch ply and oak, as well as being painted and finished with weather-resistant yacht varnish. Handmade to order, it sells for £85.
Find out more at the Fledgling Designs Etsy website
10. Modernist birdhouse and feeder
I’ll end with a design not dissimilar to the one I started with. Early 20th-century modernism, but a little more understated than the first one.
A strong Bauhaus vibe here, with a wooden house that can be used as a bird feeder in winter and as a nesting box in the winter. Love the windows, door, and balcony.
£62.50 gets you one.
Find out more at the Thorsten Van Elten website
And one last piece for the more affluent amongst you…
Yes, I have a number 11. It’s this amazing house from the Midcentury Woodshop.
Actually, house is doing this maker a disservice as this is just one of a range of startling midcentury modern designs for the garden. Some are quite understated and appeal on that level. But it’s the more grandiose designs that really catch the eye.
Like the Hauser Building above, which is a mini version of the original.
Features include a private side yard complete with miniature raised slated midcentury modern planter boxes, trellised mini roses and a quarter-sawn mahogany entry. A solar-powered backlit breeze block, a low slope hip roof with an orange pearl accent colour and ‘The Hauser’ font finish to the front.
Around £1,500 for this, which isn’t surprising. But other houses from the maker are much cheaper.
Find out more last the Midcentury Woodshop Etsy website
…and a late entry…
Multiholk art deco birdhouse and feeder
Nothing notably art deco in the rundown, but thanks to a reader, I now know there is one in existence,
Not a million miles away from the early modern houses I have featured above, although this one, which is described as a design in the streamline moderne style, does have a character all of its own.
A lovely company birdhouse, it can also be easily converted in the winter to become a feeder as well as a nesting birdhouse in the spring. The house also has climbing notches inside so the young birds can reach the exit hole, and it is painted using environmentally friendly paints.
€64.50 for one of these.
