Once important industrial hubs for grinding grain, pumping water, or generating electricity, windmills have slowly become obsolete. But savvy real estate fans are snapping them up to create striking, one-of-a-kind homes with plenty of character. Located around the world, we've brought together the best windmill conversions out there that show exactly why these historic buildings are worth rescuing. Click or scroll on for more...
This unique home can be found alongside Hall’s Creek and the Nantucket Sound in the town of Centerville, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1946, likely as the local flour mill, the property was fully updated and expanded in 2003, transforming the industrial interior into a stunning family home with plenty of Cape Cod charm.
The historic home spans 2,348 square feet and offers striking living spaces with large windows, statement ceilings, hardwood floors and plenty of nautical touches. There’s a custom kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, a dining area with a fireplace and a bright living room with sliding doors that open onto an external deck.
Of course, thanks to its location, the waterfront property enjoys stunning views from every room, especially the three bedrooms. The stunning master suite boasts a soaring timber-clad ceiling, a mezzanine loft level, an ensuite bathroom and a private balcony with jaw-dropping views.
The exterior deck is one of the home's biggest selling points. The perfect place to soak up some rays, it's also the ideal spot for bird watching or whiling away the hours in the afternoon sun. The idyllic property hit the real estate market back in March 2021 and sold 62 days later for $1.7 million (£1.3m).
A romantic rural hideaway, the Old Smock Windmill is steeped in history. Positioned in the quaint English village of Benenden in Kent, the former industrial property dates back to the early 1800s. The first smock mill was constructed in England back in 1650, and after that more cropped up across the country, since their design was perfect for pumping and redistributing water.
The property's iconic smock windmill design, with its tapered façade and weatherboarded cladding, gives it plenty of kerb appeal, while inside you'll find light, bright and spacious rooms spread across four levels. The ground floor is home to the garden hideaway, a self-contained studio space, while the upper three floors boast a large kitchen, a living room, a king-sized bedroom and a beautiful bathroom, complete with a walk-in shower and soaking tub.
Every single space is decorated with rustic beams, sloping walls, natural timber floors and exposed brickwork. The master bedroom is perhaps the finest room in the house, thanks to its soaring ceiling, hand-crafted spiral staircase and exposed windmill machinery, which includes the original upright shaft, giant spur wheel and sack hoist.
Head outside and the exterior spaces are just as enchanting. The windmill's deck spans the circumference of the building and is the perfect place to soak up the scenery with a coffee in hand. As far as remote luxury homes go, this one is up there with the best of them!
Anemomilos can be found in the village of Volimes, on Zakynthos Island in Greece. Enclosed by mountains and positioned facing the ocean, the former windmill was once used to grind wheat and produce flour. As beautiful as it is unusual, this one-of-a-kind conversion is really a sight to be seen.
While the home's exterior boasts rough stone walls and pretty fabric sails, the interior is characterful, bright and filled with gorgeous architectural touches. From its exposed and rotund stone walls to its sweeping handmade staircases and cosy nooks that have been utilised as living spaces, it's hard not to fall in love.
Set over three levels, the wonderful windmill has a tiny kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms, one on the first floor and one on the top floor. The master suite is an absolute show-stopper, thanks to its decorative beamed ceiling, ample windows and natural stone walls. Of course, the space also provides unobstructed, 360-degree island views.
Outside, there's a backyard pavilion where lucky guests of this holiday home can sip a cocktail, enjoy an evening meal or simply recline with a book, all while taking in endless ocean vistas, plus the mountain ranges in this part of the island. Bliss!
As well as being one of the coolest home conversions we've seen, this pocket-sized windmill is also one of the smallest (and cutest!). Located in the Old Village neighbourhood of Chatham, Massachusetts, the historic cottage was designed and built by a famous naval architect and the structure epitomises the beautiful, maritime style he was known for.
The Windmill Cottage was picked up and moved, before being rebuilt on this picturesque site back in the 1940s, but since then it has undergone a complete restoration, bringing it into the 21st century, while retaining its character. Step inside and you'll find cosy and quirky rooms showcasing incredible craftsmanship, with large exposed beams, custom-made built-ins and crossbuck walls. There's even a narrow timber staircase that leads up to the first floor.
Across the home's three tiny floors you'll find a snug living room, a small but beautiful kitchen, a dining zone, one bathroom and two bedrooms. Despite the property's age, every single space is light-filled and inviting, thanks to the crisp colour palette, generous ceilings, ample windows, cottagecore furnishings and unique nautical-inspired features. This is a fairytale home if ever we saw one!
Upstairs there’s a queen-sized bedroom, while on the top floor loft you’ll find the master suite, accessible by rather steep and narrow steps that follow the contours of the slanted walls. Once in the loft, you’ll find the intricate mechanics of the windshaft and gears that turn with the property’s historic wind sails. It's no wonder this house remains one of Chatham's crown jewels! Luckily, you don't have to look at this property from afar, because this adorable holiday home is available to rent via Airbnb.
No country is more famous for windmills than the Netherlands, which makes this converted project even more enticing. Positioned in the town of Abcoude, about 20 minutes from Amsterdam by car, the iconic building stands proud in the middle of rolling fields and still boasts its original working sails.
The romantic windmill dates back to 1874 but was lovingly transformed into an incredible home later down the line. There are three floors, offering three beautiful bedrooms, a kitchen, a lounge, two toilets and a family bathroom.
Despite having been renovated and converted into a residence, the former windmill still retains much of its original character. From its sloping, timber walls – seen most spectacularly in the bedrooms – to the exposed stone accents in the kitchen, it isn’t hard to imagine how the property looked back when it was used for commercial purposes.
Easily accommodating six people, the home's bedrooms are snug and beautiful, all thanks to that rustic original woodwork. Outside, guests of the windmill can enjoy the splendid countryside and even kayak on the meandering Gein river that lies right outside the front door.
This remarkable estate, known as The Clayton Windmills, can be found in rural West Sussex, England, and comes complete with a Grade II*-listed 19th-century windmill, an attached roundhouse, a converted granary, a 20th-century mill house and more than an acre of landscaped grounds. The granary and mill house alone offer over 4,600 square feet of inside space and seven bedrooms, so this is one sprawling property.
The mill house was originally built in 1963 and was designed by Brighton-based architect, Peter Farley. Modernist in style, it maintains the traditional black-and-white vernacular of classic Sussex mills, but the structure has been boldly updated with a punched aluminium extension that boasts a seed-scatter pattern – a nod to the property’s agricultural history. Inside, the house is light, bright and beautiful, with mid-century modern-inspired furnishings, large picture windows and rich parquet floors.
The home offers a large kitchen, an open-plan living area and numerous bathrooms. Suspended log burners and a substantial amount of glazing make for modern and inviting spaces. There are plenty of older spaces though that still retain their original charms. This lofted area in one of the original windmills is ripe for restoration. In fact, one of the windmills, known as Jill, remains functional and is actually open to the public on Sundays for part of the year.
The home's one-and-a-half-acre garden has formal flower beds, a vegetable patch, a stone-walled dining space, a wood-burning pizza oven and a fruit orchard, not to mention the beautiful windmills that still stand on the grounds. The conversion project was completed in 2016 to a design by award-winning architect Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young, and later went on to receive two RIBA Awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2017.
When you're a wealthy Hollywood star, you have plenty of cash going spare to spend on amazing homes, and that’s exactly what Robert Downey Jr. did when he snapped up this dreamy historic property in East Hampton, New York. The working windmill was originally built as a playhouse back in 1885, but it's now one of the coolest celebrity home transformations in the world.
The historic building spreads out over 8,500 square feet and has no end of beautiful original features and vintage charm. The perfect family home for the Iron Man actor and his wife, Susan, as well as their three children, Indio, Avri and Exton, the property has airy living spaces, seven bedrooms and six full bathrooms. A characterful office and library occupy the windmill portion of the structure – perfect for working from home!
The unusual celebrity home was on the market for $11.9 million (£9.4m) before the VIP couple snapped it up in 2017 for an unknown sum. Since then they've invested plenty of time and money into the property to make it their own. When they snapped it up, the décor was very traditional with plaid carpets and lots of antique wooden furniture, but it's now the perfect balance of old and new, with timber floors, beamed ceilings, cosy fireplaces and large sash windows.
The star's backyard is pretty amazing, too. As well as the main house, the garden is also home to a guest house, a studio, a three-car garage and a potting shed. There's also a tennis court, formal gardens, a large swimming pool, outdoor living spaces, a bar and an alfresco dining zone for making the most of those long summer nights.
Positioned in the town of Anna Paulowna in North Holland, this old Dutch dwelling truly epitomises the windmill aesthetic. Nestled close to the Oude Veer, which is connected to the Wadden Sea through the locks of the Amstel Lake, this former polder windmill once protected the village from flooding.
After the windmill broke down and was left redundant because of advances in flood-prevention technology, it was sadly destroyed. Then, in 2002, a passionate local builder decided to rebuild the structure on the exact same site by the Oude Veer. For the thatched rear – the body of the windmill – the builder rescued another windmill from the Dutch city of Groningen, dating back to 1892.
The rest of the home conversion was newly constructed and now sits atop a traditional saw shed, adding to its unique character. The mill’s sails still turn too. Inside, the 2,896-square-foot home you’ll find a living room, a sunroom, a country-style kitchen, an office and a scullery that provides access to two garages. There’s also three bedrooms, including a ground-floor master suite with a dressing room and ensuite.
Elsewhere, the luxury property offers a swimming pool, a sauna and a sprawling garden. You can even soak up 360-degree views from the home’s dreamy roof terrace. What’s more, it’s eco-friendly too – equipped with a heat recovery system, a central vacuum system and excellent insulation, the property has plenty of green credentials. If you've fallen in love, it's currently for sale with Christie’s International Real Estate for €1.5 million, that's around $1.6 million (£1.3m).
Nestled in the rural English village of High Easter, Chelmsford, this Grade II-listed post mill was constructed in the late 19th century. However, when it became obsolete, it was carefully restored and transformed into a beautiful, bright family home.
The property is an old post mill, which is the earliest type of European windmill. Essentially, this means the body of the mill houses the machinery. Luckily, the 3,249-square-foot home still boasts plenty of historic structural elements and the two-storey circular lounge showcases these details best. In this space, you can see four red-brick buttresses, which would have once supported the revolving mill wheel.
Inside, there's also a large kitchen, a striking galleried library, four bedrooms and a private roof terrace, located directly off the master bedroom. Every piece of furniture in the house was carefully made-to-measure too, so that it would fit with the round, curving walls of the house.
The master bedroom offers panoramic views across the surrounding countryside, an ensuite and a dressing room. Outside, there's a curved decked area, a large lawn and numerous original stone elements from when the property was a working mill. The house went up for sale with Savills in June 2018, selling for the tidy sum of $1.8 million (£1.4m).
Known as the Flea Windmill, this stunning waterfront property is show-stopping. Located on a private plot in Ponta Delgada, on the Portuguese island of São Miguel, the house was constructed in the 19th century and benefits from panoramic views of the ocean.
The unique conversion project has a stylish exterior, with whitewashed walls and copper accents across the upper storey and the windmill’s blades. Inside, the petite property is laid out over three floors, with a living room, a kitchenette, a spacious bathroom and a king-sized bedroom. While the interior is bright and modern, there are plenty of unique details from the 1800s, such as the rough exposed stone that surrounds the home's windows.
The bedroom is perhaps the finest space in the house. Positioned on the top floor, it features striking 360-degree windows, chic wood panelling across the walls and a huge bed. Just imagine waking up here every day and soaking up that stunning sea view!
How about this for a beautiful backyard? The garden spans 13,123 square feet and is filled with sub-tropical fruit trees and colourful native flowers. The yard also offers beach access. If you've fallen in love, then you can stay here anytime you like, because the pad is available as a holiday home via Airbnb.
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