A Cozy Cob House ~ Home Sweet Home #3

This might be the best one yet, it's a Cob Cottage! I really love the whimsical design of this one, but these can be built in a more traditional style...or even a very contemporary design.



Earth is probably still the world's commonest building material. The word cob comes from an old English root meaning a lump or rounded mass. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and niches. Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter. Cob's resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold climates like the Pacific Northwest, and to desert conditions.



Here's Michael Smith of Emerald Earth Sanctuary in his cob kitchen! If you love Green Homes, take a peek at Earthships and Hobbit Homes!