A fantastic house on Saltspring – made and recycled of local materials found within 100 miles.

Yesterday I was at Saltspring Island for a board meeting of The Land Conservancy of BC.  We held the meeting in the home of Briony Penn, a founding director of TLC, and the current vice-chair.  She showed her this Globe & Mail article of her home.

All of the house’s lumber was cut down on the property, or salvaged.  The roof

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/in-bc-a-locavores-100-mile-dream-home/article2379741/

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

Check this link to see the G&M photos of the housebuilding in process – some interior shots too! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/where-do-you-get-ultra-local-building-materials/article2379144/?from=2379741

 

Briony told us this great story about how she found the sink… just a few days before the building inspectors came to see the house.  It was found in the yard of a friend, thus reducing the cost of ordering a sink or purchasing it off-island.  And it was free!  This is a nice kitchen to work in with lots of counter space and natural light.
There are lots of personal touches that befit the house of a naturalist.  This is a whale spine bone about two feet in diameter… arranged with a Japanese glass float ball that washed across the Pacific Ocean, and other beach findings.
Remember that kitchen sink?  Well, the grey water from the sink goes through a holding tank and filter, then later finds its way into this pool, which is a habitat for local frogs.  The garden behind it is enclosed by an eight foot high fence to protect from deer, then later the garden’s produce finds its way into the kitchen for daily meals.

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