Islander's "they made me do it" house pix

[Islander]

By popular demand, pix of the solar end of my passive solar house. Mind, I did not clean or tidy, and every speck of dust seems to have mysteriously magnified itself. That said... This is the west end of the solar room; southern exposure is to the left. Yes, that's a live cat on the coffee table, and an African Grey parrot on top of the cage. Sheepskin on the floor, reindeer skin from Iceland on the rocking chair, naugahide on the couches.



Here's the woodstove that heats most of the house, and the fieldstone chimneypiece that acts as a heat sink. And yes, my tabletop Xmas is still up. Please don't tell Wednesday.



Looking east now, with southern exposure on right.



Aaand...this is trhe kitchen.



Close-up of stove and chimneypiece with herbs. Irish hubby did the interior stonework, I did the exterior (coming soon).



Balcony to the second floor bedrooms. Yes, the heat rises!



This shot is a couple of years old. The front door has since been stripped and re-done in dark red. We had to cannibalize a stone wall from one of the pastures to do the front.



Hope that satisfies everyone's curiosity. Stalkers, I made it easy for you!

[david86blue]

A beautiful home and a contented cat. Country livin' at it's best. Thank you for sharing your home with us.

[Jaglavak]

I'm guessing that last shot is the east end of the house?

[Chacoguy]

That's beautiful Islander!

[Islander]

Thank you, David and Chacoguy, and yes, Jaglavak. Mainers have an aversion to using the front door, but in winter they have to. I can't afford to plow around to the side!

[Falcon]

That is a really cool house!

[Zombies!]

Islander, I love it.

Seriously, you've got my dream house right there.

[SoylentPopTart]

Can you please tell your neighbor's 'Sorry'? I was looking in the wrong windows.

That's a nice lookin' place.

[Doyle]

Everything is beautiful, except the tv. What's that a 19 incher?

I'm guessing those weren't winter picks.

[Taur]

I knew you'd have a crock or two in the kitchen, and I think I see an interesting looking weigh scale, too.

Fantastic place, Islander. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Auntbeast]

Thank you for sharing your home with us. It looks very inviting.

[Panacea]

I like the floor !

[Veb]

Sigh. I now have a bad case of house-envy. Love it! I love houses that are comfortable and look like they're made for people to live well in them.

Your kitchen is terrific! It's compact but every inch is used. And three cheers for the unpainted wood too.

You really need a happy dog curled up on the floor (or the couch, more likely) though.

[SmartAleq]

Your house kicks ass, I haz a big envy!

[Solfy]

You did the exterior stone work? : boggles :
Beautiful!

[OutStandingInTheField]

We're thinking of moving, and that house looks perfect. How soon can you be out? Seriously, I like it. I wish my house was that great.

[Islander]

I forgot to include the butcher block!

Several deer were hewn on that butcher block, which my hub made to last a lifetime.

[Islander]

Originally Posted by Doyle

Everything is beautiful, except the tv. What's that a 19 incher?

I'm guessing those weren't winter picks.

Taken this afternoon. I took the sheet off the TV cuz I watch Netflix on it. It's an oldie, all right, and non-working since everything's digital now.

Oh, sorry, the exterior shot is a couple of years old. The front door's a nice deep red now.

[Rock]

That's a beautiful house, Islander.

[Jaglavak]

Oh my. Anybody who keeps a stack of two stroke oil in the kitchen next to the wine rack is my kinda gal.
:: swoons ::

[Scruff]

That is a house where life is to be lived. It is beautiful; but it is a beauty that appeals to the heart.

When's the party?

[Zeener Diode]

There's something missing... maybe in the kitchen...?

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

Oh my. Anybody who keeps a stack of two stroke oil in the kitchen next to the wine rack is my kinda gal.
:: swoons ::

::Faints dead away::

[Khampelf]

It's just like I've imagined it. Just less 'Julia Child' and more 'Morticia Adams'.

[Zeener Diode]

That house is a museum.

[SoylentPopTart]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

That house is a museum.

When people come to see 'um
It really is a scre'am.

[takowasakun]

Can I live with you and yours, Islander? That's the kind of house I could die happy in.

One of these days I will do a "Seo's Squalid Hovel" thread so you can all see why I try to minimize the amount of time spent in my dormipartment.

[Islander]

@ Chacoguy and Jaglavak: What, you think I keep the Jonsered under the kitchen sink? I hate to rain on your fantasy, but those little green bottles are Safer's Insecticidal Soap, used to eliminate tiny livestock on houseplants. I keep the 2-stroke engine oil in the woodshed where it belongs.

@ Zeener: what's missing is the old gas-and-wood combo stove. When it became too inefficient to heat the house in winter, it was replaced by the gas range and the big black Napoleon on the other side of the chimneypiece.

And Seodoa, I do indeed plan to die happy in my house.

[Rebo]

Gorgeous!

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by Islander

@ Zeener: what's missing is the old gas-and-wood combo stove. When it became too inefficient to heat the house in winter, it was replaced by the gas range and the big black Napoleon on the other side of the chimneypiece.

I wondered how you did your cooking without a stove/oven. I thought it might be behind the chimney. But that's a wall, isn't it?

[Islander]

Go back to the kitchen shot. On the extreme right, under the cookbook shelf, is a black gas range with a red potholder on the oven door handle.

The butcher block that was in that spot got moved to one side of the chimneypiece, where the old wood 'n' gas stove used to be.

Make sense now?

[Zeener Diode]

I saw that dark thing in the corner. I wondered, could this be the Frontier Stove?

(You'd might've mentioned this in an earlier thread* that I'd forgotten.)


*On another board, perhaps?

[Islander]

Here are two shots of my friend's raised bed garden (and my wet dream):





She also gave me the specs for the project; she chose a certain kind of wood for a reason. I'll look for those and post them if I locate them!

[Veb]

I have a smaller-scale version of this, that I'm busily gathering materials to expand for the planting season. For anyone who's interested, here's a good photo-guide to building raised garden beds. Now our real pioneer woman here probably bats this stuff out in between making venison sausage and fixin' the tractor. Me, I need lots of clear instructions, the more basic the better. ("See drill. Put drill bit in drill. In the pointy muzzle end, not the handle.")

[Islander]

TVeb, is this the site? Your linky, she no worky.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandga...ble-bed-redux/

[Auntbeast]

I got these neato boxes that I think were worm beds. They are the right dimensions for square foot gardening, collapse down and most of all were 50 cents a piece. 14 boxes for $7. Who cares if they rot in a year and because they were worm boxes, they should be pretty pesticide free. I found mine on craigslist.

[Veb]

ARRRUGH!

Yep, that's the one. It's the best I could find with lots of pretty, step-by-step pictures and materials lists and...sigh. Shit, then I screw up the frickin' link.

I have now achieved utter ineptitude.

[Jaglavak]

Woah! What is that odd Kumbaya music in the background?
Suddenly I can't find my switchblade.
Weird.

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

Woah! What is that odd Kumbaya music in the background?
Suddenly I can't find my switchblade.
Weird.

Um,

[Zombies!]

Originally Posted by Chacoguy

Um,

I love you man.

I love all y'all

[Veb]

I hate all of you.

Except Islander, who will come to her senses any day now and decide to adopt me.

[jali]

No room for TVblens!


::smiling nicely::

Which room is mine?

[The Viceroy of Lost Umbrellas]

What is the history of the house? How old is it? How long have you owned it? Did you build it?

I really love the wooden wall and the stonework. I think that your house has a lot of character and is really cool. Is the floor slate?

[MarkF]

That's a beautiful house Islander, one thing tho', it doesn't look as though you have a great deal of work surfaces in your kitchen, is that a problem or do you have plans to increase it?

Thanks for posting it, useful for inspiring ideas

[Islander]

Originally Posted by TVeblen

I hate all of you.

Except Islander, who will come to her senses any day now and decide to adopt me.

I believe Room #2 is reserved for you.

Originally Posted by jali

No room for TVblens!


::smiling nicely::

Which room is mine?

The only one left is Room#3. We'll have to find you a bed. Meanwhile, bring sleeping bag.
Or share Room #2.

P.S. You have a charming smile. Use it on TVeb, maybe she'll let you share.

[Veb]

Originally Posted by Islander

I believe Room #2 is reserved for you.

[smug]Islander always did like me best.*[/smug]

Originally Posted by Islander

The only one left is Room#3. We'll have to find you a bed. Meanwhile, bring sleeping bag.
Or share Room #2.

P.S. You have a charming smile. Use it on TVeb, maybe she'll let you share.

What is this 'share' thing of which you speak? Okay, the kitty has seniority. And it's Maine after all, warm fuzzy feline...

*Here's the $50.

[Islander]

Originally Posted by The Viceroy of Lost Umbrellas

What is the history of the house? How old is it? How long have you owned it? Did you build it?

I really love the wooden wall and the stonework. I think that your house has a lot of character and is really cool. Is the floor slate?

Originally Posted by MarkF

That's a beautiful house Islander, one thing tho', it doesn't look as though you have a great deal of work surfaces in your kitchen, is that a problem or do you have plans to increase it?

Thanks for posting it, useful for inspiring ideas

Ooooookay, this was a spinoff from the "Ask Islander" thread that someone posted on my behalf in the "Better Living through Posting" forum. All the backstory can be found there. To save you the grief of reading 2 pages of bob loblaw, I'll try to summarize real quick below.

First, the easy one: I have 8 feet of usable counter space plus 5 feet of butcher block in the kitchen. I could feed a small Laotian village if you supply the pig.

History etc: Our huge 1860 farmhouse-woodshed-barn-garage burned to the ground in 1982, killing all the stock on our diversified farm except for a modest flock of sheep in a separate barn. We were vastly underinsured and had $30k to rebuild with. I designed the core of a passive solar house with the intent to add on later when we saved up for it. Solar engineer tweaked the plans; south side is on an insulated slab topped with slate. That, plus the fieldstone chimneypiece, form a heat sink that radiates back at night. Later we added a study and garage on the north, a woodshed on the west, and a deck on the south end. We did all the stone and slate and much of the rest of the work; the $30k went to the contractor for stuff we couldn't do. We six lived in a tiny trailer on the front lawn that summer; the foster children were relocated. Two farm apprentices camped out behind the barn and helped with the rebuilding.

When I retired I sold all but 2 of my 50 acres, but I continue to raise a few meat birds and grow a garden which, with the orchard and berries, all of which I preserve, feeds me through the winter. I have 3 wells, I heat with wood, and if the infrastructure collapses, I will survive.

[Colonel Plink]

I love every cubic inch of it.

Well done.

[Zombies!]

Originally Posted by Islander

Ooooookay, this was a spinoff from the "Ask Islander" thread that someone posted on my behalf in the "Better Living through Posting" forum. All the backstory can be found there. To save you the grief of reading 2 pages of bob loblaw, I'll try to summarize real quick below.

First, the easy one: I have 8 feet of usable counter space plus 5 feet of butcher block in the kitchen. I could feed a small Laotian village if you supply the pig.

History etc: Our huge 1860 farmhouse-woodshed-barn-garage burned to the ground in 1982, killing all the stock on our diversified farm except for a modest flock of sheep in a separate barn. We were vastly underinsured and had $30k to rebuild with. I designed the core of a passive solar house with the intent to add on later when we saved up for it. Solar engineer tweaked the plans; south side is on an insulated slab topped with slate. That, plus the fieldstone chimneypiece, form a heat sink that radiates back at night. Later we added a study and garage on the north, a woodshed on the west, and a deck on the south end. We did all the stone and slate and much of the rest of the work; the $30k went to the contractor for stuff we couldn't do. We six lived in a tiny trailer on the front lawn that summer; the foster children were relocated. Two farm apprentices camped out behind the barn and helped with the rebuilding.

When I retired I sold all but 2 of my 50 acres, but I continue to raise a few meat birds and grow a garden which, with the orchard and berries, all of which I preserve, feeds me through the winter. I have 3 wells, I heat with wood, and if the infrastructure collapses, I will survive.

This. This is why you're a legend around here Islander. I know when tragedies happen most people just get on gettin' on, but the number of people who rebuilt a house by hand, after planning it themselves, with a budget of less than a quarter of the median house price, and then who continue keepin' on supporting themselves through subsistence farming, canning and self-sufficiency...

I am in awe of you. Seriously.

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by Zombies!

I am in awe of you. Seriously.

Seconded.