Skyrim: Top 10 Best Player Homes

Every Dragonborn needs a cool home, a place they can store his loot and retreat to in times of need.

With plenty of homes available, choosing one can be daunting as if you change your mind later on, it’ll be a pain to transfer everything over. Even the strongest Dragonborn in existence can’t carry thousands of heavy items!

This is where this list comes in, giving you everything you need to know about the best player homes in Skyrim.

As there are less than 10 purchasable player homes, dwellings provided by spouses will also make the list.

Male and female spouse homes will be provided so any character belonging to any player can find something for them. 🙂

Same-sex marriage is perfectly legal and doable in Skyrim. This list will provide options for all sexualities, genders, and playstyles!

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10. Female Spouse: Ysolda’s House

How to acquire: Speak to Ysolda to obtain the Rare Gifts quest, she’s available to marry after completion, you can then move in with her.

While Ysolda’s house is pretty much a little shack, it’s one of the first residences you can obtain.

You at least get a nice bed and a few containers.

Thankfully, this home is right next to several merchants, stalls and shops.

Found close to the entrance of Whiterun, it’s easily available for dropping off quick items or managing inventories for trading with merchants.

I’d say this house is honestly perfect for brand new characters who are just starting their journey. Decorating your house with treasure and items found through countless adventures is a late-game player’s job.

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10. Male Spouse: Karthwasten Hall

How to acquire: Ending the dispute of the Sanuarach Mine will allow you to marry Ainethach, you can then use this home freely.

You’d think being named a Hall would come with some nice amenities but Karthwasten Hall is pretty bare-bones.

Its best aspect is fast travelling to Karthwasten will put you a short walking distance to your home. As well as the nearby mine, allowing you to acquire Iron and Silver efficiently.

There’s a Tanning Rack outside but crucially, there are also several barrels. Working as an awesome drop off point, it’s one of Karthwasten Hall’s main advantages.

Inside the hall is a choice of beds, a group of Silver Ingots and a Cooking Pot. A dummy target is also found in the basement if you need to practice archery!

Enjoy the countryside with this homestead, allowing you to live out your life in glorious nature, rather than a bustling town.

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9.Female Spouse: Viola Giordano’s House

How to acquire: Complete the That Was Always There quest, you can then marry Viola Giordano and move into her house.

Located in Windhelm, Viola Giordano’s house is huge, with 2 large floors available.

Tons of food can be discovered all around the house, as can a few coin purses and potions. I sound like an estate agent here but the house is just a short walk away from the main markets in Windhelm.

Downsides come in the form of travel time, as you have to run a fair distance from the main gate and the storage chests, despite there being quite a few, are spaced far apart.

Viola’s House would be great for role players or those who want an actual home rather than utilising a player home for gameplay purposes.

It’s a really cute tucked away house with plenty to offer for adventurers who just want to relax in peace.

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9. Male Spouse: The Winking Skeever

How to acquire: You can move in after marrying Sorex Vinius. This is possible by delivering a bottle of rum to Falk Firebeard for him.

One of the best starting player homes available, the Winking Skeever provides a solid income of potions, food and potion brewing materials.

Additionally, a choice of beds and a huge amount of storage make it hard to turn down for new Dragonborn saves.

Absolutely no stations (such as Alchemy Table, Cooking Pot, Tanning Rack) come with the Winking Skeever so you’ll need to go elsewhere for them. Not ideal when you’re trying to organise your storage!

In terms of immersion, living in a place called the Winking Skeever doesn’t exactly make you feel like an epic dragon-killing warrior.

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8. Female Spouse: Uthgerd’s House

How to acquire: Beat Uthgerd in a brawl, you’ll be able to marry her and move into her house afterwards.

Located in Whiterun, Uthgerd’s house is fairly close to the main gate, allowing you to get in and out easily.

Inside you’ll find plenty of storage space, with barrels, chests and drawers close to each other for effective item sorting.

Uthgerd’s house is fairly small so if you’re the type to keep certain items, ingredients or equipment in certain places, you’ll struggle to make a home here.

However, if you just want an easily obtainable house early on to stash your items, this might be the perfect player home for you!

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8. Male Spouse: Filnjar’s House

How to acquire: Located in Shor’s Stone, Filnjar needs help clearing Redbelly Mine of spiders. If you do so, you’ll be able to marry him and move into his house.

If you want a simple but useful home, Filnjar’s House might be ideal.

Located a few feet away from the fast travel landing point, you’ll be able to drop off loot quickly.

Outside you’ll find typical blacksmith resources such as a Forge, Tanning Rack, Workbench and Grindstone.

Inside is quite small, with just the main floor and basement.

With that being said, storage containers are located all over so this player home would make a great starting point!

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7.Female Spouse: Sarethi Farm

How to acquire: Complete the Smooth Jazbay quest, you can then marry Avrusa Sarethi and move into the farm.

The greatest benefit of moving into Sarethi Farm is the abundance of potatoes, gourds and even nirnroot.

Avrusa Sarethi, the owner of the farm, cultivates these plants, giving you a huge supply.

You don’t need to move in to farm these resources but if you do move in, you’ll visit the farm often, giving you more opportunities to dig up those precious plants.

Outside the main house, you’ll find a tanning rack to convert all those pelts you find on your adventures.

Inside the main house is full of food, alchemy materials and even an alchemy table.

A distinct lack of storage options is a huge downside though, you have the one chest to store items in, with a few barrels/cupboards around the place.

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7. Male Spouse: The Scorched Hammer

How to acquire: Balimund will tell you he needs some fire salts. If you provide them, he’ll become a candidate for marriage.

If you’re a hands-on, crafty character then you’ll love the Scorched Hammer.

Located right next to the Riften marketplace, you’ll have easy access to a variety of stores.

With a Tanning Rack, Forge, Grindstone and Workbench outside, you’ll have everything you need.

Inside you’ll find a Cooking Pot, another Grindstone and Tanning Rack. As well as multiple rooms, storage containers and even a safe. 

Just be aware, Balimund does have an adopted son/apprentice living with him. If you aren’t ready for that kind of commitment, you might want to look elsewhere!

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6. Abandoned House

How to acquire: Complete the House of Horrors quest, it can then be used as an alternative home.

Any new save should absolutely take advantage of the Abandoned House in Markarth.

Not only is this place huge, but it also has a huge variety of foods, weapons and clothes at your disposal.

With a bed included and more than enough chests, cupboards and barrels to store your loot in. In fact, this home has the most amount of storage options in the entire game!

A pickaxe and woodcutting axe are also included, which are great items for obtaining ore/wood.

Unfortunately, as you do not technically own this house, you can’t move any followers or spouses into it.

For the early stages of your adventures though, there’s no house better in Skyrim.

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5. Breezehome

How to acquire: You are able to purchase this house for 5000 Gold in Whiterun after becoming Thane of Whiterun.

Full upgrade cost: 1800 Gold

Tanning Rack: No

Alchemy Table: Yes

Cooking Pot: Yes

Enchanting Table: No

The classic itself, Breezehome is one of the most popular player homes in Skyrim.

Not because of what it offers, it’s more to do with how early on players can obtain it.

With a decent amount of space, plenty of storage and resources, this house is well worth choosing early on.

For just 6800 Gold (purchase cost + upgrades), you’ll have literally everything you need to house your loot and family.

The missing Tanning Rack is no issue, there’s a whole forgery next door you can use at your leisure!

Please be aware you can either have the Alchemy Lab OR the children’s bedroom, you can’t have both!

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4. Honeyside

How to acquire: You are able to purchase this house for 8000 Gold in Riften after earning a good reputation (by helping local citizens).

Full upgrade cost: Up to 4850 Gold

Tanning Rack: Yes

Alchemy Table: Yes

Cooking Pot: Yes

Enchanting Table: Yes

Honeyside comes equipped with 2 points of entry. You can enter this home from the front door, inside Riften, or you can go through the back door, which is accessible via your personal dock (yes, really).

Outside the front door, you’ll find a number of barrels in your garden, which are excellent drop-off points.

Crops & alchemy plants are also littered throughout the garden after you’ve upgraded it.

The interior leaves a lot to be desired, a fairly small ground floor is offset by a large basement area.

Honeyside is the only purchasable home with a Tanning Rack.

Overall, this house is an excellent home for the price.

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3. Vlindrel Hall

How to acquire: You are able to purchase this house for 8000 Gold in Markarth after earning a good reputation (by helping local citizens).

Full upgrade cost: 4200 Gold

Tanning Rack: No

Alchemy Table: Yes

Cooking Pot: Yes

Enchanting Table: Yes

While this house is quite large with a ton of potential upgrades and a myriad of rooms, its location is abysmal.

You’ll have to climb countless steps to reach it, which gets tedious after the first few times.

If you can cope with this, Vlindrel Hall is highly recommended as the combined cost offers a great mid-game home. You’d have to get used to storing items in anything other than chests though, as you only get 1 chest.

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2. Hjerim

How to acquire: You are able to purchase this house for 12,000 Gold in Windhelm after earning a good reputation (by helping local citizens)

Full upgrade cost: 9000 Gold

Tanning Rack: No

Alchemy Table: Yes

Cooking Pot: Yes

Enchanting Table: Yes

One of the largest homes in the game, justifiably by the huge cost.

The display area upgrade is very nice, giving you a huge room full of racks, display cases and mannequins to store your best gear.

Prior to purchasing upgrades, Hjerim is almost completely empty so it’s highly recommended you have a massive coin purse before fully moving in.

An upside is the ability to use it as a home without purchasing it, although you won’t have much to use.

If you’re in desperate need in the early stages, you can use it as a home until you have the gold to purchase ownership and start upgrading!

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1. Proudspire Manor

How to acquire: You are able to purchase this house for 25,000 Gold in Solitude after completing 2 quests, The Man Who Cried Wolf & Elisif’s Tribute.

(A glitch also exists to cheese entrance to this player home, see description below)

Full upgrade cost: 14,000 Gold

Tanning Rack: No

Alchemy Table: Yes

Cooking Pot: Yes

Enchanting Table: Yes

An insanely high cost means an insanely good home.

I have to point out the silliness of its location, deep into Solitude forcing you to sprint a fair distance to get to it.

Other than that, Proudspire Manor is simply the best player home in Skyrim.

You can almost get lost in this house, with 3 floors containing several rooms, all of which can be upgraded.

Outside one of the 3 entrances is a small drop-off point, giving you the ability to throw some loot into a barrel to sort later.

A glitch exists to grant access to Proudspire Manor without paying a single coin.

You can pickpocket a Fletcher Key from Fihada or Jawanan, which works for Proudspire Manor for some reason.

Of course, you won’t get the upgrades until you purchase ownership though.

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