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Tag: homes
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7 charming off-grid homes for a rent-free life
Want to make rent and utility bills a thing of the past? We’ve rounded up seven off-grid homes that could be the answer to making your dreams a reality. Stylish and self-sufficient, these eco-friendly dwellings promise freedom from the grid. Many are even set atop wheels to let you move with your home to almost anywhere you desire. Keep reading to see seven charming homes that offer homeowners the chance to live off the grid and rent-free.

Powered by solar energy and made from recycled materials, the WOHNWAGON is a beautiful mobile and modern home with a housing footprint so small it fits within the size of a standard parking lot. This larch-clad caravan was designed for homeowners who wish to travel the world and enjoy comfortable off-grid living thanks to energy-efficient features including a green roof, triple-glazed windows, graywater recycling, solar panels, highly efficient insulation and more. Developed for mass production, the WOHNWAGON starts at 40,000 Euros and can be individually customized.

For those who want a little off-grid place of their own with more of a futuristic edge, look no farther than the EcoCapsule. Now available for pre-orders, the tiny egg-shaped home that went viral in 2015 has been displayed around the world wowing visitors with its ability to produce all of its energy onsite with rooftop solar panels and a low-noise wind turbine that feed into a 10kWh battery. Developed by Nice Architects, the mobile home can be moved or dropped in place with a crane or helicopter, giving owners the freedom to live almost anywhere they please.

South Africa-based architect Clara da Cruz Almeida collaborated with local design firm Dokter+Misses to create POD-Idladla, an adorable flat-pack home with off-grid capabilities. Targeted at young adults, the tiny solar-powered was conceived as a customizable eco-friendly home at an affordable price. The modular design can also be expanded upon with additional pods to make multi-unit configurations that house up to 12 people.

If homes inspired by fantasy and fairytale are more your style, you’ll love Moon Dragon. Tiny house builder Abel Zimmerman Zyl of Zyl Vardos designed and built this tiny timber off-grid home that looks like it’d be right at home in Middle-Earth. Outfitted with a solar kit for off-grid living, the beautifully detailed mobile home boasts masterful craftsmanship as well as impressive an impressive suite of features, from a five-burner Range cooker with two ovens to a loft bedroom large enough for a queen-sized bed.

Lovers of travel and modern, minimalist house designs will feel right at home in KODA, a tiny prefabricated home created by Estonian design collective Kodasema. Designed with off-grid capabilities, KODA can be assembled on a variety of surfaces without the need for foundations or disassembled and prepped for relocation in as little as four hours. Fronted with large quadruple-glazed windows, the light-filled modular house can also be expanded with multiple units.

Designed as an escape from city life, the Ark Shelter was created to reconnect people with nature. The self-sufficient modular cabin is prefabricated from durable timber and placed on site atop raised, mobile foundations. Wind turbines, solar power, and rainwater collection allow the home to go off-grid.

Dutch design agency Walden Studio teamed up with carpenter Dimka Wentzel to design a tiny home that’s big on luxury and freedom. Equipped with all the systems needed for off-grid living, the contemporary mobile home is filled with natural light and natural materials like the cork floors and birch plywood paneling. The 17-square-meter home also contains plenty of multifunctional furniture to maximize its small footprint.
http://inhabitat.com/7-charming-off-grid-homes-for-a-rent-free-life/
On – 18 Feb, 2017 By Lucy Wang
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HIT THAT FOLLOW BUTTON ____________________________________________________________ #tinyhouse #tinyhousenation #SmallHome #SmallHomes #LittleHouse #LittleHouses #LittleHome #tinyhousemovement #tinyhouses…
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Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BbuiNGLh9ez
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$20K studio in Virginia demonstrates straw bale can be viable in humid environments
Straw bale building offers an affordable, sustainable solution to materials like concrete. Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design demonstrated straw bale building will work even in wet climates with the Zeljo Studio, a 300-square-foot cottage in Arlington, Virginia. Built with reclaimed and scavenged materials, the studio cost less than $20K to build.

The Zeljo Studio is comprised of a “timber frame structure,” with straw bales providing insulation. Wood siding provides an elegant exterior and the interior is finished with clay plaster locally sourced with soil from the building site. The foundation was already in place. Atop the dormers is a green roof to absorb rainwater and help a loft remain cool in warm summer weather. Due to the straw insulation, the studio stays warm in the winter without needing much heat.
Related: Super-efficient straw-bale houses hit the market in the UK – piglets need not apply

The owners of the studio found salvaged bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, a kitchen sink, doors, and flooring for the loft. According to Koko, they obtained many of the materials for free. They even found new energy efficient windows that were “misordered” so were sold for a hefty discount.

Koko wrote in an article, “By far, the biggest concern with strawbale walls, as with most materials in a wet or humid climate, is moisture.” She designed the straw bale studio in humid Virginia to help show straw bale buildings are still viable in wet climates. By targeting areas where water can sneak in, like at the wall base, windows, or roof eaves, straw bale homes work in places heavily exposed to moisture. Koko wrote an article outlining what steps home owners can take to protect their straw bale homes that can be read in detail here.
Images courtesy of Sigi Koko, Down to Earth Design
On – 04 Oct, 2016 By Lacy Cooke
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Toronto company wants to build tiny homes in backyards
Amidst Toronto’s condo boom, many groups are working on alternatives to building taller and taller building by finding creative solutions to the city’s housing crunch, including one called Tiny Toronto.
Founded by Sa’ad Ahmed, the company has been based out of Ryerson’s Design Fabrication Zone for the past year, and its team – which includes a group of students from the University of California at Berkley – is building a prototype of a 104 square foot unit that homeowners can use as a work or studio space.
Just like the U.K.’s Wondershed, Tiny Toronto’s digital strategist Frederico Neumann says the company hopes to help folks maximize space and reduce commute times with these small, pre-fabricated units.

A prototype of Tiny Toronto’s studio shed. Photo via Tiny Toronto.
Eventually, Tiny Toronto has plans to create garden suites, coach houses and even laneway houses in backyards across the city, but especially in more suburban areas.
Like groups such as Lanescape, Tiny Toronto wants to take advantage of oft-overlooked spaces (backyards and laneways) to help boost the housing supply in the city.
A report about the feasibility of introducing a local laneway housing initiative could materialize by early 2018, if city council approves a motion on it at this week’s meeting.
http://www.blogto.com/city/2017/07/toronto-company-wants-build-tiny-homes-backyards/
On – 19 Aug, 2017 By Amy Grief
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8 Subterranean Homes That Are Out of This World
https://www.dwell.com/article/8-subterranean-homes-that-are-out-of-this-world-c64819ed
On – 15 Aug, 2017 By Michele Koh Morollo
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A Life Without Bills: Middle-Aged Couple Builds $30,000 Off-Grid Cob Home
A Life Without Bills: Middle-Aged Couple Builds $30,000 Off-Grid Cob Home
Written by: Tricia Drevets How-To Print This Article
If you are intrigued by off-the-grid living but are put off by the expense of building your own self-sufficient house, you need to take a look at a couple’s home in Bisbee, Ariz. They built their 600-square-foot abode for only about $30,000.
Today, they are debt free and pay no bills for water, heat, trash pick-up or electricity, and they are gaining expertise as gardeners. Their only regular bills are for Internet service and property taxes.
Karen and Bill, who were both in their 50s when they began building their home in the fall of 2010 and moved in about 18 months later, did all the work themselves. They were profiled on the YouTube “Life Inside A Box” channel.
“We are loving it every day,” Karen says. “It was a lot of hard work, but we chose to do it.”
A video tour begins outside the front door where Karen and Bob explain that the home is made of cob and straw. They have experimented with different forms of plaster over the straw to help defend the home against Arizona’s unrelenting sunshine.
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“We used the basic principles of solar design,” says Bob, “with south- and southeast-facing windows.”
As they enter the home, Karen is quick to mention that everything in their home — except for the new energy-efficient refrigerator they purchased to fit in with their solar system — is either used, gifted or repurposed in some way.
“We made a real effort to recycle as much as we could,” says Karen, pointing out salvaged tin, wood, sinks and furniture pieces in the colorful, inviting home.
The open floor plan and the home’s high slanted roof offer a feeling of spaciousness. The bathroom is the only separate room, with the bedroom partitioned from the main room. A small curtained area is the storage room. “We are minimalists,” Bob says. “We don’t have a lot of stuff.”
Outside, the couple displays their solar system, which, along with their septic system, comprised the major costs for the home. Six main solar panels are nearby. Another four smaller ones power the well. The slanted roof off the back of the house captures rainwater to help irrigate garden beds, trees and plants.
Also on the property are two trailer homes that friends gave to the couple and that Bob later refurbished for their use. One is a warm weather guesthouse, and the other serves as Bob’s workshop. He built a structure to connect to that trailer, which he calls his “man cave” and which also serves as a cold weather guest room.
In the workshop, Bob says he tries out other alternative home concepts, such as crushed paper walls, that he did not get to incorporate into his home.
Raised garden beds, many of which have shades to protect plants from the Arizona sun, are also on the property. Bob and Karen admit they are still learning about gardening, but they are eager to add more homegrown food to their lifestyle.
When asked for advice for others who are considering building an off-the-grid home, Karen and Bob both are quick to stress simplicity.
“Don’t overreach,” Karen emphasizes. “Make a simple plan and then stick with the plan.”
Bob says that he and his wife were motivated by the idea of having a debt-free lifestyle. “We did everything out of money saved, and then we sold half of our 60 acres when we needed more money. … Many people aim too high, and end up getting divorced or having a house that is simply too big to maintain.”
Both Bob and Karen stress that you can always add on another room or another building later if you have the need.
“You will find that you can live in a small space very nicely,” Karen adds.
Would you want to build or live in a cob house? Share your thoughts in the section below:
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On – By Tricia Drevets
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Alternative Energy – Reasons To Consider Solar Power
Alternative Energy – Reasons To Consider Solar Power
The waste products generated by the manufacture of non-renewable energy that most of us use today is now known to be very harmful to the environment. Emissions of carbon-based pollution and nuclear waste, to name just two, are extremely toxic to ourselves and our planet. This message seems to have finally hit the target for governments and ordinary people too. And the demand for alternative energy sources such as solar energy is increasing.
The other reason for this movement towards the use of other energy sources is that the fossil fuels used to produce energy we use today is also declining, and what remains becomes more difficult and more expensive to source. We all saw what happened with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. If you want to know more about the damage to the environment of other human beings, I suggest you get a Coy award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and is prepared to be more than a little worried.
Therefore, it is that solar energy entering the equation as a serious response to the aforementioned problems. The sun’s rays are certainly a source that is obtained in large quantities and is constantly renewed and clean, green and eco-friendly!
There are some excellent reasons exactly why solar power alternative is an exceptional choice. For starters, you’ll see some real savings in your month of monthly electricity bill (in fact you can reach a point where you avoid the use of an energy company that is) In addition, you may also see an increase in your property value when you come to sell it. Think about the extra things you can repair that were not in your budget, for us we were able to get that air conditioning repair we desperately needed, we had stopped using it all together since it had become so inefficient.
There are a variety of ways you can use solar energy sources, you can use a very small system as an auxiliary power source ie water heating, or perhaps the power of a solar oven to cook your food, or It can be used to provide lighting for your house or yard. Or what about the air conditioning system, which depends on the network, which may at any time of the blackout summer or winter? Sure, you could go all the way and install a system that will power everything in your house.
Very few people now, who intend to build or have built new homes, choose solar energy systems over conventional energy. One reason for this has to do with the low costs of replacement and maintenance associated with the installation of this form of energy. The other reason is, of course, not having to count or pay for an electric power company. Some states also offer tax incentives and other financial aid, grants, etc., to those who choose to install alternative energy in their homes.
http://latestsolarnews.com/alternative-energy-reasons-to-consider-solar-power/
On – By Abigale Sherman
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Hobbit Homes Are Real, and Here’s How You Can Obtain One of Your Own!

Hobbit Homes Are Real, and Here’s How You Can Obtain One of Your Own!
00residential structural engineer, structural engineering, SustainabilityTags: building a dome home, dome home builders, dome home floor plans
Customized home designs are gaining swift popularity as of recent years, and for good reasons: their flexibility and, most beneficially, their sustainability! People are becoming more aware of climate change than ever before, after all, and its visible effects on the weather throughout the world prompts most to take action however they can. For most people, this means modifying their homes to be more environmentally friendly.
If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, you’re probably intimately familiar with the concept and design of “hobbit homes.” If you also care about going green, you’ll be happy to know these homes can and do exist in the real world, and can even be commissioned and built for your own living needs! Interested? In this blog article, we’ll go over just what it takes to have your own hobbit home.
How Do Hobbit Homes Work?
If you aren’t familiar with this home design concept, we want to take the time to explain just what a hobbit home is. Building a hobbit home is very similar to building a dome home, particularly in terms of shape. Hobbit homes are typically nestled into hills, identifiable by the door placed into the hillside and the pathway leading up to it. These homes come in all sizes, meaning you can have a hobbit home of your own with as much space as you could possibly need.
What Are the Benefits of a Hobbit Home?
The best and most noteworthy feature of the hobbit home, much like dome home floor plans, is its versatility—both before and after building. Not only can you customize your hobbit home exactly to your liking, but once the construction is done, you have further options! Is your home growing too small? You can simply add onto it by requesting more “modules,” or home sections to be further implemented into the hillside. Modules come with all sorts of functions, from rooms to fully usable garages. Furthermore, you can even put the roof of your home to functional use! The grassy layout of the roof of a typical hobbit home makes a wonderful base for a garden, allowing you to grow flowers, vegetables or anything else you choose!
Even if you don’t want to plant anything on your roof, the grass up top will come in handy in case of rain and other weather events. Because of the vegetation up top, you don’t have to worry nearly as much about water damage to your home. Dome home builders ensure your home will be able to withstand the weather since the grass can easily absorb the rain’s moisture. It will then photosynthesize, giving back to the planet and reducing your need to worry about water conservation and home-owning disasters.
Does the idea of a hobbit home interest you? If so, B.E. Structural can help put you on the path to obtaining one of your own! Be sure to get in touch with us and we’ll help you every step of the way, from blueprints to dome home floor plans to location.
https://www.bestructural.com/hobbit-homes-real-heres-can-obtain-one/
On – 17 Jan, 2017 By
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Savvy seniors are buying tiny homes to enjoy their golden years in off-grid style
There’s no rule that says tiny home living has to be just for the young. In fact, seniors are starting a new trend by investing in smaller spaces so they can live out their golden years off-grid and burden-free. Take a look after the jump at some fearless retirees who are making the most out of retirement in custom-made tiny homes.

According to Tumbleweeds Houses, the latest trend in tiny home living is spawned by older adults who are looking to downsize as they grow older. For example, retiree Bette Presley recently took the tiny home leap at age 72. After deciding to minimize her lifestyle, she moved into a 166-square-foot Tumbleweed Elm cabin and hasn’t looked back since. The compact space has all of the comforts of home, but without the hassle of maintaining a larger area. Additionally, living off-grid was important to Presley and her tiny home is RVIA certified and comes equipped for solar power.
Related: Genius elevator bed slides vertically on rails to maximize space in Alaskan tiny home

Converting herself into a minimalist lifestyle was surprisingly easy for Presley, who told the San Luis Obispo Tribune, “We are consumers. We buy too much. We don’t need all our belongings,” she said. “I just experienced the clutter, to live in excess, and I didn’t find it particularly satisfying.”
Presley is far from alone in finding joy when breaking the confines of excess. A disabled widow, Dani, bought a compact Tumbleweed shell cabin after attending a workshop and has spent a number of years building it into the accessible home of her dreams. She has built a custom wheelchair ramp that leads up to the extra-wide front door and even created a custom-made chair lift using a rock climbing harness that lifts her up to the sleeping loft.

Nature-loving retiree, Adele, loved the mobile aspect of a tiny home so she invested in a tiny Tumbleweed Cypress on wheels. Not only is the cabin travel-ready, but also has a large outdoor living space, a covered porch and even a hot tub. She was even able to customize the interior with more windows in order to enjoy the beautiful views of the Oregon farm where her tiny home is parked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7muY0xq5I50
Tiny homes are also quite convenient for those who are still working in their later years. The famed Sausage Nonnas recently hit the road in three ultra-cute “tiny grandma homes” to deliver their world-famed sausages to lucky families during a campaign called Sausage Sunday.
On – 18 May, 2017 By Nicole Jewell






