Seriously - how awesome is it that Buffy is so beloved that other people make mods for her?
The Mad Mage's Tower really is awesome - I can't recommend it enough. But it'd take a special sort of mage to actually live there - it was built by a literal mad mage, and it shows. There are portals, sort of like the ones in Frostcrag Spire, except that they take you through a screaming vortex along the way and spit you out at the other end. There's a chest with legs that moves around. The walls breathe - audibly and visibly - you can not only hear them, but actually see them flexing in and out. It's definitely unsettling, but it's very cool.
So... first off, the first mod house I ever did for Oblivion -
Niben Cabin (with its owner - Jibran the Redguard swordsman - in front)
It's on the northeast shore of Niben Bay, a little east of due south of Cropsford.
Here's a shot from a distance. That's Fort Grief to the right, and the ImpeREAL Empire fort (I forget the name of that specific one, but it's the one along the road to Leyawiin) in the distance behind it. The dock in the foreground is a vanilla structure some might recognize.
I discovered the location first, and decided it would be a great place for a house, then I tried to figure out who might want to live there. I had been spending a fair bit of time with Jibran the Redguard swordsman at that point, and it seemed like it might appeal to him, so I loaded up his game and had him travel there so that he could check out the constuction in-game (since it was my first house mod, there was a lot of trial and error involved). An interesting side effect of that is that it pretty much ended Jibran's career. Once it was done, he just didn't seem very interested in leaving. I've taken him out a few times since then, but he doesn't go far and doesn't stay long before he starts itching to get home again.
Three shots of the interior, from different angles.It's all vanilla items, but I was pleased with the way it worked out. I particularly like the light - I experimented a lot and learned a lot about placing light sources from that house (I generally don't use any statics that emit light themselves - instead I use strategically placed separate lights that correspond with fake candles and such, so I can place the statics relatively close to the walls but place the actual light further out into the room, so it's a bit more diffuse and the glare on the walls isn't so strong).
In the end, it's not notable in any particular way, but I like it, and Jibran likes it, and it was a great learning experience.