Interior designer Marcia Wolff wanted a house that's energy-efficient, ecologically sensitive, fire-resistant and, above all, beautiful. So she chose a building material that might surprise some ...

The utilisation of straw bales in construction has attracted growing interest as a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials. Straw bale construction integrates agricultural ...

A new way to insulate homes is coming to Columbia. Greg and Joan Dyer are building their new house using prefabricated straw insulation. Using straw to insulate a home reduces its carbon footprint, as ...

PORT ANGELES — Michael and Spring Thomas want to demonstrate how strong a house built of straw can be. Straw bales, that is. Compressed and covered in plaster, straw bales stay dry, resist fire and ...

Dear Jim: I want a natural way to build an energy efficient house without plastics, foams, adhesives, etc. Straw bale houses seem to be natural. Is the straw bale construction efficient for low ...

David and Carrie Chew live in a house made of straw. It has two bathrooms, a modern kitchen and a packed earthen floor. The exterior walls are made with stacked wheat straw bales covered in plaster.

VIRGIN, Utah — Standing in pits of mud, hauling straw bales and enduring the heat of a Southern Utah summer while barefoot were all part of one couple’s experience when building a straw bale house, St ...

Would you ever live in a house made of straw? It might sound unusual, but this company in Missouri is proving that this ancient building technique is not only durable and efficient, but it is also a ...

Jul. 31—Sharon Van Hassel still remembers the laughter, the meals and the dirt flying through the air roughly 25 years ago as she, her late husband and neighbors built a home, straw bale by straw bale ...

Winter has a reputation for slamming the brakes on gardening, but frost doesn’t have to mean failure, frozen dreams, or limp ...