Renting This New England Glass House Will Cost You Several Mortgage Payments

Stunning, isn't it?  Like a piece of art. That's exactly what this house is, as the unique vision of an architect graduate from Harvard.  You can rent it for events, and even for an entire night if you want to.  It's called The Glass House, and as you can see from the pictures, there aren't any walls.  It's literally pure glass.

According to Town and Country, it will cost you $30,000 to stay the night. Yes, that $30,000 is a donation buying you a one-of-a-kind experience in influential architect Philip Johnson's iconic Glass House. The home used to be his weekend retreat from the city in New Canaan, Connecticut, about an hour-and-a-half from New York.

You can also take a tour of this world-famous house for thousands less, if that's more budget-friendly.  However, let's not throw stones at those that do the nightly stay, because it's for a good cause.

Being that the $30,000 is a donation, it's at least tax deductible and gets you and a guest a full night stay along with a magnificently delicious, locally sourced, multi-course dinner for up to ten people.

All the proceeds go to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has owned the house since Philip died in 2005.

Philip is still considered a visionary in the architecture world, and you can read more about him here.  But essentially, he's the founder of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, and the first person ever to receive the prestigious Pritzker Prize for his vision.  He built the glass house between 1949 and 1955.

Oh, and by the way, breakfast is included in that overnight stay.  Phew!  The Glass House itself is about appreciating nature and is actually quite small.  It's 55 feet long and 33 feet wide, with 1,815 square feet.

But since the overnight price tag is most likely not on most of our radars, you can also tour the bucolic grounds with guided, self-guided, and private tours ranging from $25-$250 per ticket.

The Glass House overlooks a pond with rotating art exhibits on 49 acres, with breathtaking landscaping and art installations. There's also an underground art gallery that includes works by Any Warhol and other notable artists.

By the way, you can also rent the grounds or gallery for events, starting at $10,000.

And this shouldn't come to anyone's surprise that "The Glass House Experience" was once one of the fantasy gifts in the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog.  I grew up with that catalog, and still love to look through it each year.