our friends michael and elise began building their home in 1999 and finished in 2001, which made this the first straw bale house in georgia. they have made this handmade-sustainable home an inspiration to many. every room and the expansive porches really take advantage of thier beautiful views overlooking the lush hills of farmington. it is such a comfortable and peaceful place to be.
a couple of weeks ago i spent the day with elise at their lovely home. she shared some stories and details about her home and the making of it. if you want a tour or more information about strawbale homes, elise is happy to share her knowledge and spread the word about eco-building and living. feel free to email her at: elang.mpierce@gmail.com
enjoy!
what does home mean to you?
community, comfort, cozy, beauty with stealth, safety, sustainability, quiet resting-nesting space that is mine to share
what is your most treasured part of your home?
the hearty, earthy, undulating wheat straw-bale walls with curvy corners. my mom says the walls are fluffy!
where is your favorite part of your home to relax?
the woods and river, the screened in sleeping porch, and the claw foot tub. while we were building the house we lived in michael’s art studio & we had an outdoor shower & tub. We made it really beautiful out there with flowers & candles & it was a really sweet place to relax, unbelievably nice! so I tried to recreate that feeling as much as possible when I designed our bathroom & it was the first room that was finished & we used it for years before the rest of the house was completed.
do you have a garden?
we help our neighbors with their garden, because theirs is really big & well established & well fenced to protect from deer. the deer sit on our porch & have midnight munching meetings!……. many hands make light of much work – sharing that big job is just better!
What were/are your inspirations in decorating your house?
Mostly the eclectic mix driven by trying to use reclaimed old wood / marble/ slate/ doors/ trim molding/ sinks & tubs/ door knobs,etc. There is SO much of it available. It requires more time to use it, but it is definitely worth it financially, and as superior material & design if you have the time to piece it together & refurbish it. We spent years looking at design books/ magazines/ peoples homes/ and then when we went to a junk shop or antique store, we would just look & ask “what can I use this beautiful old material for?” like the old temple doors from Bali that we found at the old Lakewood Flea market. after a while word got out & people would bring things to us…things they weren’t using & didn’t want to see wasted.
-the heart pine floors are milled from 100 year old beams saved from old Athens buildings which were torn down years & years ago
-the beadboard ceiling in my bathroom & on the stairwell were all salvage materials
- the wormy chestnut window & door trim were all custom made by from this wood I bought from an old church that was torn down & rebuilt. Michael also built our bed from that wood as a christmas present to me one year.
-the black slate floor & shower tiles came from a friend who had a huge pile of old roofing slate on his land- we had seen several other friends who used it for flooring at the Happy Valley Pottery Showroom & a guest bathroom at Ashford Manor.
-the black walnut we used for the kitchen island & shelves came from a friend – I love this wood! It is fabulously beautiful, even after alot of abuse, just sand it out & oil it with watko or kitchen grade oils. They worked great on these old wooden pillars for all our pottery.
- this antique teal enamel ladle piece from Paris is where I got my cabinet color
- the walls are hand mixed lime plaster like what they used in ancient rome & I am told the great wall of china. they are tinted with sifted clay from our yard.
- the atlanta design center – ADAC -is where I saw the distressed painted cabinets that I used for my kitchen
-my closet doors are probably one of the most remarkable design gifts in the house. they were old pocket doors in a mansion in Mississippi, and they are huge & so beautiful & I designed my closet around them.
- we got this incredible cedar that we lined the closet with when someone local cut it down, sadly. but we gave it a great home. it still smells so good & it was such a better quality & price than store bought!
Do you know anything about the history of your home and/or neighborhood?
- the land here was purchased by 4 friends in the 70′s who collectively brought in the underground power lines, then individually had wells dug & hand built their homes. -the “cabin” which is now michael’s art studio was built as a passive solar family retreat in the 70′s. It was built from cinder blocks, then earth burmed on 3 sides and the entire south facing side is all reclaimed double pane glass, framed in cypress, with a metal roof. This structure is incredibly efficient at maintaining a reasonably comfortable temperature with no augmentation. Of course we did use a wood stove at night and it was still humid in the summer, but it is really amazingly comfortable for such a simple & inexpensive structure.
This past year we added the active-solar photovoltaic panels, that feeds into the grid when we produce more energy than we are using at that time. We also heat our hot water with a thermal-solar hot water system.
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Absolutely beautiful!! My dream is a divided pottery and watercolor studio over-looking my flower cutting garden.
this is incredible. its a dream of mine to build a straw bale house, or an earth bag house. LOVE IT!