This Cave Is So Stunning, You Could Charge $350 For A Night's Stay
This may look like an ordinary cave from the outside, but the inside is so stunning, you would feel like you were in some sort of luxury hotel.
Former businessman Angelo Mastropietro, age 37, decided to return to underground living by building his dream home - you guessed it - in a cave. He spent eight months and £100,000 transforming the 800-year old hobbit hole in the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire into a 21st century man cave. Although his new space is underground, Mastropietro did add some modern conveniences including running water, underfloor heating and even wi-fi.
At the young age of 29 the father of two was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and quickly realized that his stressful job as a recruitment boss and unhealthy lifestyle were large factors in his diagnosis. "MS was triggered by health and lifestyle and that was the catalyst I needed to remind me that I needed to be mindful of my health and be respectful of my lifestyle." says Mastropietro. Determined to turn his situation around, he purchased the cave with the intention of making it his new stress-free home.
Click through the images to learn more about Mastropietro's journey and see the incredible transformation from an 800 year old cave to a modern dwelling!
Outside View Before Rennovations
Mastropietro first came across the cave in 1999, when he and some friends were caught in a rainstorm while biking and forced to take shelter. He bought the cave more than 10 years later for 62,000 GBP after coming across an advertisement in the local property supplement.
Living Room
After purchasing the property, and with a budget of just 100,000 GBP, Mastropieto began the tireless work of excavating the cave. He did not need planing permission and had no guidance outside of his own imagination of how to convert the space.
The space was dark and dingy and needed to be completely renovated, a job that involved thousands of man hours scrapping through the stone.
Bedroom
The process was a gruelling one, and the constant threat of his own illness made the manual labor a huge consideration.
"If I think about it, I do get scared," he once told the Channel 4 show. "I have literally been paralysed before and it does put the fear of God into you really."
Before the project was completed, Mastropieto would have single handily excavated 70 tonnes of stone over eight months.
Dining Room
In less than a year, what started out as an abandoned cave became a 21st century luxury bolthole. Mastropietro did not enlist the help of designers or contractors and instead let his own imagination and determination guide his project.
Although this cave was already in a four room configuration, Mastropietro still had to excavate 70 tons of stone by hand in order to create his dream home. This is the finished dining room.
Kitchen
It was rainy weather that lead Mastropietro to find this cave in the first place, and luck that he found it 10 years later for sale in a newspaper. Considering the coincidence fate, he did not hesitate to purchase the property.
Bathroom
Although Mastropietro built this home to be a relaxing getaway from his previous high stress life, he still managed to include some modern day luxuries including running water and electricity.
Deck
The cave was last lived in several decades ago and has been in its current 4 bedroom form for 300 years. Falling into disrepair ever since being abandoned in the late 1940s, the cave is a part of a row of caves considered the oldest inhabited rock houses in the whole of Europe, perhaps around in its earliest form for nearly 800 years.
Outside View After Rennovations
The completed home features a huge terrace, intimate rooms and walls to brighten the inside up.
"It's in a beautiful location, it's uplifting it makes you feel good, it's very relaxing. While you are a mile from the nearest pub or supermarket, you're a thousand miles back in history."
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