Mirror House by MLRP is a transformation of an existing Playground Structure. A sustainable wood structure was covered with mirror polished stainless steel. "The mirrored gables create a sympathetic …
Shed of the Year
UPDATE: After readers voted, the 2016 Shed of the Year Finalists have been named. Next, a panel of shed experts will pick winner. While we make no claim to shed expertise, here's who we'd choose in …
Bark Shingles
Bark was commonly used as home siding by the American Indians. Europeans arriving in America also found bark to be a useful siding. Chestnut siding was preferred until the chestnut blight killed the …
How To Make A Hobo Stove: 9 Plans
For four years now, rocket stoves have been our biggest attraction here at sustainablog: my list of plans for making these super efficient wood stoves has topped our list of popular posts pretty much …
Tree Houses! From The Past Into The Future
In the future, will we give back the land to native plants and animals and live up in the trees? Hovering aircraft are available now, we just need to wait for the clean energy versions. If we compost …
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Tiny House, Big Living
One look at this tiny house and you feel as if you are about to enter a doll house! With bright pink walls, Villa Hermina clearly stands out from the rest of the cottages in the area. Situated …
This Tiny, Off Grid Cabin Was Built for Just $300
Building an off the grid, tiny house style cabin is a dream for many Americans, but money is always a huge obstacle to putting up any building. At least, that's the conventional wisdom. Derek …
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Living in a Dumpster, For a Full Year – Meet the New 1%
Environmental science professor Jeff Wilson believes that American homes have gotten way too big, and way too wasteful, giving people something they don't need at a price that- often- they can't …
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Engineer Turns Trailer Into Luxurious, DIY Camper
Bill Southworth is not like you or me. That's because when Bill took a long, hard look at this 16' Haulmark cargo trailer, he didn't just see a storage locker on wheels — he saw the foundation for a …
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The Human-Powered DIY Washing Machine: 5 Plans
Need a DIY clothes dryer? That's easy: string up a line between two trees, fence posts, or whatever you've got. A DIY washing machine, however, is just a bit more involved... but as I've discovered …
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Tiny House Made from Big Dumpster
There's dumpster diving, then there's this- which, maybe we should call dumpster dwelling? Taking a page from both Gary Pickering's efforts to build small shelters for homeless people and the tiny …
DIY How-to: Build a $300 in-Ground Greenhouse (w/ plans)
Farmers have been trying to extend the growing season of their crops for hundreds of years. So far, the greenhouse has been the dominant technology, since it doesn't usually require electricity to …
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The DIY Soil Block Maker: 7 Plans
I'll admit it: until last week, I didn't know about the concept of starting seeds in soil blocks (instead of containers). Mother Nature Network made the introduction, and my initial response was, …
The DIY Aquaponics System: 6 Plans for Bringing Fish and Plants Together to Grow Food
Aquaponics is one of those concepts that I've known of peripherally for years, but didn't really give much thought to until I came across plans for The Plant in Chicago. Putting fish and plants …
How to Make Your Own Concrete Tamper
Our Earthbag Building Workshop is about to kick off tomorrow, and I spent the day doing some last minute preparations with our instructor, Scott Howard of Earthen Hand Natural Building. A big …
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Seattle Solar Installation Q&A
Seattle Solar Electricity Q&A I sat down last week with Amy Beaudoin of West Seattle Natural Energy, a solar & wind energy installer based here in West Seattle. We talked about a …
How to Build a Chicken Tractor: 4 Plans
I've got that admit that, for a long time, I misunderstood (or, at least, didn't fully understand) the concept of permaculture. I thought of it as "something kind of like organic agriculture." While …
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6 DIY Rocket Stove Plans
Just back from a weekend trip up to the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and between board meetings, was able to join in with the community's annual open house and Village Fair. Many, many interesting …