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How To Build A Hobbit House (That You’d Actually Want To Live In!) |
15 Comments |
| By Michael d'Estries in Conservation, Green Building, Green Living | December 31, 2006 | ||
Just found this link to a beautiful ‘How-To’ that takes you through the steps of building your very own low-impact woodland home. It’s appearance is very similar to the Hobbit homes featured in Lord of the Rings, but the aesthetics of the design also make it a piece you might find in Better Homes and Gardens. The cost? The author estimates total expenditures of about $6,000. This, and about 1000-1500 labor hours to put everything together. From the site,
“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.”
Some of the home highlights include: Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter, stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc., frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland, reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do, straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building, and tons of more fascinatingly green features.
“The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.”
There are even plans in place to construct a woodland eco-village in SW Wales and their offering courses and opportunities to participate in return for your time. Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a summer! Check out the site for more information, including interviews with the builder, site plans, and most beautiful photos. When did modern architecture become so boring?
Sherri said,
WOW! Their home is spectacular, and so is the website. Thanks for sharing.
Mike D said,
that website has got to be one of the best websites ever put up for a small project like that
Matt Mayer said,
I love it! What a way to get rid of most American’s biggest monthly expense and worry.
GroovyGreen.com - Start Today :: Save Tomorrow : Blog Archive : Eco Dome: The Home Your Xbox 360 Wants said,
[...] In the past, I’ve thought about investing in a hobbit house — but honestly, it looked a little complicated for my skills (or lack thereof.) I can’t remember where I’ve seen them before, but the other alternative I had in mind ’stumbled’ back into my brain. It’s called Eco-Dome construction and, as the site clarifies, would also work well as a ‘moon cocoon’. [...]
Sue B said,
Thanks for sharing your joy. It is a beautiful little house. I wish I had one just like it. Perhaps you should sell it all over.
Seth Easley said,
I love this house. I totally want one.
Amanda E said,
As a teen in high school I’ve thought a lot about what I want in my future and living in a hobbit hole has always been in my mind. Now I know that I can live that dream without having to spend a fortune. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Julianne Cliffe said,
Fantastic! Is there anything like this in Australia?? We’ve had a long term dream to build a hobbit home similar to this in Tasmania (right down the bottom of OZ) but have never seen any of the green-builders offer anything like this… do you do training courses in other countries? Jules
Taylor said,
How do you build a miniature hobbit home?
Simon Laikie said,
What a fantastic house, I can only imagine the immense satisfaction you must have got from creating something so natural and beautiful. I love the way you have incorporated the beams into the living space. Great idea of using straw as the main insulation material. If I was to build something similar ( and I am strongly considering it) I would probably put in a ground source heat pump system. Fantastic way to avoid the ridiculous house prices in the UK. Was it difficult to get planning permission? I am assuming that with such a low impact building it was fairly easy. Building something like that in the Borders of Scotland would be nearly impossible because the planning rules up there are the worst in the country.
Well done, good for you.
yohoho and a bottle of rum said,
i’ve recently been looking into things like this and… wow. it looks as though it walked right off the pages of those fairy tales you were told as a kid. from my research, i’ve learned that there’s this community of nothing but houses like these (Lammas Ecovillage), but it’s a full-time commitment, so unless you’re willing to be a farmer or sheep herder for a few years, i think it would be best to build it on your own. also, apparently the community had some real difficulty getting permission for their project. luckily, they eventually got accepted.
back to my main point: INCREDIBLE.
Kennedy Jones said,
Wow!! I took a fancy to hobbit-houses and their surroundings ever since I got a hold of Lord of the Rings and I’v wanted one ever since. I might have one before long I reckon!
Morgan J. said,
Are there any of these in Kentucky? That would be great if there was!
Debra Allan said,
Ever since Lord of the Rings I have wanted a Hobbit House! I knew I couldnt be alone in this and then a friend stumbled upon your story-Inspiration!!!
Peter Shields said,
Hello, this house is beautiful. It is the type of house I would love to build one day-inspired by the Hobbit House-beautiful craftspersonship. Well done and welcome home and thanks for sharing.