Amazing Woodland Homes: Not Just for Elves and Gnomes Anymore

by Jennifer Chait on July 10th, 2007

Thanks for being cool about missing an offbeat day so that we could help our new music channel buddies out. Today I’m back and to make up for yesterday, I found the most amazing home for all of you to see.

I know, this house doesn’t even look real. I actually thought I had stumbled upon one of those “D&D” or other interactive game type sites. I spent some time there and it appears that this is a real live, in-the-flesh home.

This amazing family home located in Wales is featured in an article by Jasmine Saville, in Green Parent magazine. Saville sums up this project nicely:

“Take one baby, a toddler and a building site. Mix well with a generous helping of mud, combine with 6 weeks of solid welsh rain whilst living under canvas. Do this in candle light without a bathroom or electricity for three months. Chuck in living with your father for good measure. Top with an assortment of large slugs. The result a hand crafted home of beauty, warmth and health for about £3,000.”

Not only is this house beautiful but it’s super eco-friendly. Simon has a list of the techniques and benefits incorporated into this home at his site. Some key mentionable worthy points include:

• “Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.“

I think the form of the kitchen is great, rounded, smooth and rough at the same time. Also, I read many eco-building books and a common complaint is light. Such as how to bring light in when building into the earth. People don’t love a dark home. As you can see from the above photos, Simon and his family aren’t sacrificing light, likely because of smart design pre-planning.

There’s a few great lessons here.

Building green and unique doesn’t have to cost a lot or compromise the style you want in a home. You can design green in just about every way possible.

I also love how Simon involved his family and other folks in the building process. What a great way to build up a better sense of community.

Lastly I think this points out rather well not to shy off from land ownership simply because the property is not exactly what you think you need. You can work with the land, not try to change it.

To see more, including design plans, the building process, green building links, and some adorable family pictures visit, A Low Impact Woodland Home.

Pictures courtesy of Simon and his family; thanks so much!

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POSTED IN: Eco Style, Fairy Tale Homes, Going Native, Green Building, Green Style