Simon Dale adalah seorang kepala keluarga di Wales, bagian barat Britania Raya. Ketertarikannya pada kemandirian dan kesadaran ekologis mendorongnya untuk menggali dan membangun rumahnya sendiri—salah satu hunian terindah, terhangat, dan paling nyaman yang dapat Anda bayangkan. Dan biayanya hanya £3.000, atau sekitar $4.700 dolar Amerika!
Dapatkah Anda membayangkan pintu masuk yang lebih menawan dari ini? 
Simon memberikan dua alasan untuk membangun rumah tersebut. Alasan pertama yang elegan, dari situs webnya , adalah:
Menyenangkan. Menjalani hidup sendiri, dengan caramu sendiri, sungguh memuaskan. Mengejar mimpi membuat jiwa kita tetap hidup.
Alasan keduanya adalah permohonan untuk keberlanjutan, di mana ia menyatakan bahwa "persediaan kita semakin menipis dan planet kita berada dalam bencana ekologis". Anda dapat membaca pernyataan lengkap dan penuh semangatnya di sini .
Simon juga seorang fotografer, dan seperti yang Anda lihat di seluruh artikel ini, dia berbakat.
Pemandangan indah di rumah lain yang Simon bantu bangun untuk orang lain. (Awalnya, foto ini keliru diidentifikasi sebagai foto rumah yang ia dan keluarganya tinggali.)
Peralatannya cukup sederhana. Kelonggaran utama terhadap modernitas adalah gergaji mesin, yang ia gunakan untuk menebang sekitar 30 pohon kecil. Tak ada hutan tua yang memenuhi kebutuhan keluarganya. Ia berfokus pada peralatan yang menggunakan tenaganya sendiri, seperti sekop, pahat, dan palu. Namun, ia hanya membutuhkan waktu empat bulan untuk membangun rumah yang indah ini.
Rumah itu dibangun dari kayu, batu, jerami, dan beratap rumput. Pemanasnya menggunakan perapian kayu dan panel surya untuk sumber listrik. Sebagian besar materialnya berasal dari barang bekas. Namun, hasilnya tidak seperti rumah kumuh yang hanya bisa bertahan hidup dengan barang-barang bekas. Rumah itu kreatif, artistik, elegan, dan nyaman. Yang paling menakjubkan, rumah itu tidak membutuhkan pelatihan atau pengalaman bertahun-tahun. Simon tidak membutuhkannya. Dia bukan seorang arsitek. Dia bukan seorang insinyur. Dia bukan seorang tukang kayu. Dia memulai dari nol dalam segala hal. Dia mengatakan kepada Daily Mail:
Menjadi arsitek yang bisa mengerjakan sendiri sangatlah menyenangkan dan memungkinkan Anda untuk menciptakan dan menikmati sesuatu yang menjadi bagian dari diri Anda dan tanah, daripada, yang lebih buruk, menjadi kotak produksi massal yang dirancang untuk keuntungan maksimal dan kenyamanan industri konstruksi.
Membangun dari bahan-bahan alami menghilangkan keuntungan produsen dan campuran racun karsinogenik yang memenuhi sebagian besar bangunan modern.
Ia beruntung mendapatkan tanah untuk rumahnya. Lahan itu, yang agak luas, diberikan kepadanya sebagai imbalan atas perawatannya.
Simon Dale, istrinya Jasmine Saville, dan kedua anak mereka di depan rumah mereka yang telah selesai dibangun, hanya 4 bulan setelah pembangunannya dimulai! Foto ini dan semua foto di halaman ini adalah karya Simon Dale (http://simondale.net).
Perhatian untuk menjadikan rumah ramah lingkungan juga mencakup toilet kompos, penggunaan jerami di atas lapisan plastik untuk insulasi, dan kulkas yang didinginkan dengan udara yang mengalir dari bawah fondasi rumah. Semen merupakan penghasil karbon yang tinggi, sehingga dinding interior dilapisi dengan plester kapur, bukan plester semen.
Bangunan ini merupakan salah satu bagian dari pendekatan hidup berdampak rendah atau permakultur. Kehidupan semacam ini adalah tentang hidup selaras dengan alam dan diri kita sendiri, melakukan segala sesuatu dengan sederhana dan menggunakan teknologi yang tepat. Bangunan alami berbiaya rendah seperti ini memiliki tempat tidak hanya karena keberlanjutannya sendiri, tetapi juga karena potensinya untuk menyediakan perumahan terjangkau yang memungkinkan masyarakat mengakses lahan dan kesempatan untuk menjalani kehidupan yang lebih sederhana dan berkelanjutan.
Saya tak bisa membayangkan rumah yang lebih indah, menarik, dan layak huni daripada rumah ini. Ini bisa dan seharusnya menjadi tren masa depan dalam pembangunan rumah.
Untuk informasi lebih lanjut tentang rumah Simon Dale, rencana, dan foto lainnya, silakan kunjungi situs webnya, A Low Impact Woodland Home .
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They choppped down trees to build it!! It uses wood to heat it! This is not sustainable. Cute and hobbit like but not all that eco friendly.
I'm guessing that most of these people oohing and ahing over this would not be nearly so enamored after using the outhouse, washing the clothes in a tub by hand and hanging them out, having no privacy since the kids sleep in the same bed with the adults for a month or so. Having lived this romantic lifestyle, I can tell you, it's not all it's cracked up to be, especially for women.
no laundry area, where's the bathroom and where's the room for the boys? But if they're happy, then they have found ways to make it work... I would want a laundry
It is lovely, but I can't help wondering how safe it will be in anything resembling catastrophic weather. And how will you protect all of that charming untreated wood from termites and the like?
I hate to be a nay-sayer, it just strikes me as reckless to completely disregard the input from two entire professions (Architecture and Civil Engineering) that have evolved over time with the sole purpose of providing better and safer buildings for man-kind.
The good news? Well, with that price tag, even if you have to completely rebuild it every five years or so, it will still be economical.
I applaud your ingenuity and audacity, and wish you nothing but good fortune.
It's worth pointing out that the production of lime plaster is also heavily dependent on massive energy inputs. It's made (like cement) from the heating of limestone until it oxidizes. The per unit difference in emission output between lime plaster and portland cement isn't all that much. Cement does have the advantage of not being highly caustic (pH12) during the application. That being said, the home is gorgeous. You could likely build this in the United States under the adobe house building codes.
One of my dreams is making a home like this one. Making a decision is the hardest part.
Beautiful home but i didn't see a bathroom or a shower in the desugn plans..just wondering how that works out?
land included?
where's the shower / bathroom?
What an Amazing Place!! Something you only fantasize about!! Its Beautiful & So Creative!! What kind of kitchen & bathrooms are you using? I Would love to see every room!!
Blessings to you & your family...Happy Living!!
LIVING THE DREAM!!!
It's just like the house in my dream...
Creative.
City permit bureaucrats, would never let this be built due to " codes"
Too much government oversight stifles creativity in US.
what a great place for children to grow up in. they'll have a magical childhood. anyone sent this to ' grand designs ' ? !
Stunning. Gorgeous. Lovely. So helpful to see...I learn from this type of thing.
The rooms appear to be hobbit sized but the man himself looks to be about 6 feet tall. I would not mind but does have trouble navigating the shorter ceilings? Did he consider geothermal power? I am fascinated beyond belief and entranced with his photography. What a lovely way to live within the Earth.
Beautiful, creative and inspiring ! Unfortunately here in the US it would probably be impossible to receive the proper building permits resulting in hefty fines then it's untimely demolition. Imagine creating communities like this alongside permiculture instruction - This type of housing would certainly pose a huge threat to power and profits !
Whoa! You guys are my heroes today!
I wanted to do this 40 years ago but was told I was nutz....
This is too cool for words. LOVE!
Wow! Such beautiful houses built with care and love become homes, which is what we require.
There is a non profit in the UK that helps promote these types of buildings!
http://www.thepoosh.org/
Divine I want it..
I adore this, absolutely adore this. I wish I had any kind of building skills at all; I'd be doing something like this. Wow, just wow.
I love the fact that there are no flat walls and no 90 degree angles. Everything is curvy.
Finish
every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some
blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you
can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too
high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
My dream home. Where's the chooks?
napenda hii ajabu,,,,ilove it so much
Yes! Someone needs to start Habitat for Hobbits!
How gorgeous! It is so beautiful and quaint never mind magical. They look like a very happy family! xxx
cliche has it that the real home resides in the heart... our physical house is a concrete manifestation of that heart... simon's is one of cozy, green, and welcoming... and he built what he is inside... his 'hobbit home' :)
my love to simon, his wife, and the kids... the world is blest with people like you... ur an inspiration, in words and in deeds... godblessalways... roseencabo707@yahoo.com
Its n0t easy being green
so marvelous!! quite impressive!
amazing house.....good bless
Why is it better to kill baby trees instead of old ones near the end of their lives? It's not ok to kill a baby seal, so why is it ok to kill a baby tree?
I love it! It looks like a dream come true. I hope you and your family live happily ever after.
WoW<3 ! So NeaT...VeRy CReaTiVe....Is iT ToRNADo PRoOF ? Ya, ...I LiVe iN KANSAS~^j^~<3 !
Some people have a vision and realisation which has to be truly appreciated .........simple beautiful n artistic n brilliant !!
LOVE IT!!
I am SOOOO creatively inspired to see this...Ii can close my eyes and feel myself inside this beautiful home......I can smell the fire.....so inviting.......thank you for holding your vision for the rest of us to enjoy and expand with.......
Bless You !!!!
Deborah Galler
I see this as my next home......
Simon is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! What imagination, determination, and 'elbow-grease'! ...and Jasmine and boys make for a great-looking family. Congratulations!!
The house I have always dreamed of living in... GREAT inspiration for me. Nature at its finest as a home and your photography is awesome. I recogized the Yosemite scenes, especially the meadows. I live in Modesto, California.... just west of Yosemite, a very magical place. Thank you for inspiring me and others who have the same fondness for Shire/Hobbit home. Anna (photographer/visionary.)
This place is wonderful! You would be assured of living your life in creativity, you are surrounded by creativity and can breathe it in, and feel it always. You are taking very little to have your home, and you're not in an extraodinary over large space that you hardly use, and all space is used well.
Thank you for being so creative.
Billie Slade
THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE! FANTASTIC! CARRY ON SIMON!
The Hobbitses will be angry my Precious!!!
very cool, but I noticed the bathroom is missing??? No way I would have two small children without a shower or toilet. Could you imagine potty training in the winter? " Here son, just take this shovel and dig a little hole in that snow mound over there."
Truly amazing, thank you for the inspiration.
how lovely. Thanks for sharing this.
Sorry, my Welsh spelling is atrocious!
Fabulous, Simon and Jasmine. Dioch xx
dude lives in the shire!!!
maybe the coolest thing i've ever seen. inspiring. moving. absolutely fantastic.
How wonderful! I just love the fact that our visions can be realised! It is so uplifting to hear stories of individuals roling their sleeves and getting on to create something that makes them haappy. I magine if we all had the courage to be happy and self sufficient in a creative yet practical way!!
beautiful home and vision, thank you Simon and Jasmine for adding more to the world than trying to take. This is the future we can look forward too!
This is wonderful! The home looks very cosy and inviting. I'd love to see Habitat for Humanity embody some of these design principles. They could build so many more homes! I look forward to checking out the web site and moving myself toward a more sustainable living environment. What an inspiration!