Mojave Rock Ranch, made from souvenirs, is for sale in the Californian desert

Still haven’t found the really different house you’re looking for? The word “unique” gets bandied around a lot when it comes to homes – sometimes with varying degrees of accuracy. 

But the recently listed Mojave Rock Ranch, in Joshua Tree, California, has well and truly earned the description. Priced at $US4.5 million ($5.93 million), it’s not just about looks – the listing notes that the the home “has been the backdrop for photo shoots, drawn journalists and Hollywood elite”. 

The property is surrounded by an impressive succulent garden. Photo: iamthedesert.com

 Recycled bottles, boulders, pieces of footpath, tins, street tiles, and a shark skeleton have been worked into the interiors. Photo: iamthedesert.com

One of the two owners has told The Desert Sun that the Beastie Boys were among the well-known names to stay there, as was, apparently, Ridley Scott. It was also available for private parties, events and filming.

The home was build over 20 years by its two globetrotting owners Gino Dreese and Troy Williams, who’ve brought back souvenirs and treasures from around the world to incorporate into their desert oasis.

Tree trunks create an imposing entrance. Photo: iamthedesert.com

The desert provides a panoramic backdrop. Photo: iamthedesert.com

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom abode sits on 91 hectares about 67 kilometres north of Palm Springs, and around 30 minutes’ drive from the Joshua Tree National Park.

It’s surrounded by an impressive succulent garden, with golden barrel cacti and prickly pears among other varieties, incorporating Sitka spruce trunks in the gates and walls and raised areas to hold the plants in parts where the the ground was too hard to dig.

Souvenirs and treasures from around the world have been incorporated into the desert oasis. Photo: iamthedesert.com

Stone and glass-bottle walls glow in the sunshine. Photo: iamthedesert.com

Initially the two landscape designers, originally from Los Angeles, had refurbished and rented cabins out on the land around the ranch, which they bought in 1996.

The cabins were dilapidated, they dated to the 1940s and 1950s, and had been abandoned, and the owners found running them more work than they were after.

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A bed sits cocooned on a raised plinth. Photo: iamthedesert.com

Mojave Rock Ranch, Joshua Tree, California, is for sale. Photo: iamthedesert.com

So they sold them, and concentrated on working on creating their artistic home, which dates back to the Depression.

There’s recycled glass bottles, boulders, pieces of footpath, tins, street tiles, and a shark skeleton worked into the interiors, and a collection of discarded mailboxes repurposed as birdhouses.

The building is far from your average dwelling. Photo: iamthedesert.com

There are no neighbours to disturb the serenity. Photo: iamthedesert.com

A small structure stands within a round yard. Photo: iamthedesert.com

The dining room has large picture windows to admire the view. Photo: iamthedesert.com

A pool and cabana provide a respite from the heat. Photo: iamthedesert.com