5.15.2007

sunsets, stars, friends and a labor of love


Well, I'm about to make my annual trip to New Mexico to continue working on a community straw bale guesthouse, soak up gorgeous sunsets, star gaze and enjoy time with dear friends. Three years ago, my friends Amanda and Andy offered the opportunity to a few of their friends to build a very modest guesthouse on their beautiful land outside of Santa Fe. I couldn't have been more thrilled with the idea. I immediately started designing the interior--it would be very simple and comfortable with smart storage, etc.

Well, it's been three years and we are still mudding the exterior walls with hopes to begin the interior walls this month. My interior design ideas won't go into production for a few more years. Straw bale houses are relatively inexpensive to build in terms of materials but labor is another story all together. The exterior and interior walls will need at least 3 coats of mud plaster to create a beautiful smooth texture. There are seven friends who are working on this sweet little structure but none of us live in New Mexico so the work has been slow going. It has been a ton of fun to learn about sustainable building, going to salvage yards to pick up materials and collaboratively building a sweet little sanctuary in the middle of the high desert.

Here are a few pictures from my visit last year. I will share pictures of our work when I return in June.




Here's an example of how beautiful the exterior and interior of a straw bale house can be:





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so wonderful! Have lots of fun!

Kerry and Rachel said...

Straw bale buildings are great! There is a straw bale art studio in our neighborhood and it is fabulous!
Good luck with the work!
Rachel