Home & Dining Channel: Offbeat Style, 3rd Edition

Onward with the great Home & Dining channel posts!

Deborah over at Simply Thrifty covers how to save money. But so do lots of blog. What makes Deb’s blog the best is how she’s always incorporating green-friendly tactics; which of course Offbeat is a fan of (and me). She’s got a great post right now about the new Nalgene water bottle — you have to see its fresh design.

Other memorable post as of late include ways to recycle soap bits (which we all have) and 66 ways uses for vinegar. Quick tip about me; I hate vinegar it’s insanely fascinating to me that someone could find 66 uses for it. You’ll be fascinated too.

You also may be fascinated in this neat home. Which incorporates all the best parts of Simply Thrifty; thrift, eco-sensibility, and reuse.

This is the 100% recyclable cardboard house by Stutchbury and Pape. From Houses of the Future:

“All the material in the house is recycled, and recyclable, making it an excellent environmentally sustainable option for housing. The cardboard House is made of recycled cardboard supplied by Visy Industries. This is completed with a waterproof roof made from HDPE plastic, which also forms the material of the flexible under-floor water tanks and the novel kitchen and bathroom ‘pods’.

• Recycling the house saves 12 cubic meters of landfill, 39 trees and 30 000 liters of water.
• Extremely low cost, transportable, and flexible, this is a genuine
• housing option that could be used in a variety of temporary applications
• Autonomous servicing: uses only 12-volt batteries or small photovoltaic cells for power generation
• Composting system produces nutrient-rich water for gardening”

You can’t tell very well but there’s a good sized loft area up above which looks easy to expanded from the design plans; thus providing more living space.

Currently the architects see this home as an alternative to vacation homes or temporary housing that drain natural resources. It has a composting toilet and the whole home is collapsible and transportable. It can be built by two people in six hours. The architects are working on making this a larger and more viable option for regular home dwellers. In the not too far off future it may be a reality.

Next up are two different blogs I like; Rebecca’s blog, Mother Earth’s Garden. With summer in full swing you really should visit. She’s got beautiful summer gardens, baby corn, and other seasonal treats.

The other blog is Unplugged Living. Noel at Unplugged has cool posts all the time, but I narrowed it down to some nice recent finds like green musicians (green + music = super-fly!), an electric Porsche, and an interesting post on wind turbines. I love turbines, they always remind me of road trips for some reason.

I found a beautiful house on Treehugger a long while back that I’ve been obsessing over. I grouped these two blogs together because I keep going back and fourth over which blog it suits better… Unplugged or Garden?? Then, I realized, sharing among the nature-minded blogs is a-ok.

Honestly though, I want this house.

Starting with the sign:

When I get another house it’s pretty much decided. I’m putting this sign up and getting some chickens and plants.

It gets better:

Isn’t this beautiful! I know I say all the time, “I love this house, I love that house.” This time it’s a serious crush. The homestead, Rainbow Valley Farm is in New Zealand, like reader Talia’s home earlier this week.

Treehugger had an inclusive interview with the owner Joe Polaischer and got some amazing info on the home and on Joe and his wife Trish’s lifestyle:

“Both Joe and Trish have followed a no debt lifestyle which means that they have supported themselves and developed Rainbow Valley Farm in a completely self-sufficient way without any loans… He built his house using local Macrocarpa wood for windows and doors, the walls are adobe mud brick and the roof is constructed from 800 year old Kauri wood which was reclaimed from a demolished warehouse. The house is designed to be energy efficient using passive solar energy. It is earth sheltered with a green roof, which goes into the side of the hill it is built against… Herbs, grasses, succulents and flowers grow on the roof. Honey, strawberries and eggs are just three edibles that go from the roof to their table.”

I’m telling you, if you are at all interested in living less harshly upon the earth go read this interview. Treehugger has it in two parts and it was amazing.

Here’s an incredible wall from the home.

Treehugger has more pictures and the interview. Plus you can always visit Rainbow Valley Farms directly via their website.

Who thinks I should get a rainbow sign like this? Who else wants a sign (or house like this)?

Also, unruly home obsession aside, I hope everyone has a nice beginning of the week! Especially now that I’m feeling all rainbowish and jolly.