Mayne Island Cob House

Mayne Island Cob House

I have just returned to work after a wonderful rollercoaster 15 months of maternity leave. So for the last week we decided to rent a small cottage in the middle of no where and it was total bliss. It was a small one bedroom barn conversion just outside of Llanidloes in Wales and it totally won our hearts. We are both now dreaming of a simpler life in the country.... so expect loads of tiny country cottages coming up on Moon to Moon!

For starters I have found this place...

 This beautiful 600 ft² Cob house in Mayne Island, was supposedly the first Cob house in Canada. Although small it is perfectly formed! I just love that warm wooden ceiling in the bedroom..... wouldn't the rain would sound so lovely up there?

Not only are Cob houses such as this eco-friendly but they are also pretty cheap to construct, the original construction cost of this beautiful home was around $56,000 (designed by Cobworks.)

 This home is available to rent on airbnb here

Large Round Mirrors...

Round Mirror

Rounded Mirror in dressing room

Round office mirror

Large round mirror: Eclectic, vintage interior

Large round mirror: Sera of London

I am on the hunt for a big, beautiful, round vintage mirror for the top of my stairs. I found a beautiful one in a local charity shop but by the time I had returned to collect it, it had been snapped up by someone else.

My house is pretty light anyway but there is a darker area at the top of my stairs and I am hoping a mirror on the opposite wall may reflect enough light over for a house plant to live there happily.

Richard Olsen's Handmade Houses

From Richard Olsen's Handmade Houses Photo: © 2012 Kodiak Greenwood

INTERIOR OF THE MUENNIG HOUSE IN BIG SUR.

All images from Handmade houses by Richard Olsen

Aren't these houses all just so dreamy? They are all so beautiful, I don't have a clear favorite. The beautiful organic shapes and attention to detail are such a contrast to the square box's most of call home. The majority of the homes in the book are West Coast American homes and sadly they would not last in the rainy cold UK.

All these beautiful images of beautiful wooden and cob houses are from the Book Handmade Houses by Richard Olsen. Olsen is a writer and photographer specializing in rustic and environmental domestic architecture, and was previously senior architecture editor for Architectural Digest.

Earthships....

Earthship interior, ultimate sustainable ecohome

Earthship bedroom

Earthship: Interior garden and pathway

Earthship exterior

Earthship pond

Earthship bathroom

Earthship exterior

The images above are a selection of my favourite earthships from the web. I have been obsessed with these houses since discovering Lesley from Earthage was selling hers (here).

 These quirky homes are not only beautiful but made of recycled materials and have been described as "The epitome of sustainable design and construction".

So beautiful.

Don't forget to enter this months Give Away, the Winner will be drawn on Wednesday

The Hobbit Holes of Hobbiton....

How cute is this little Hobbit Hole of Hobbiton complete with potted Garden?

Hobbit hole: Window and pots

Hobbit Hole of Hobbiton

Hobbiton sign

Hobbit Hole: Beautiful Hobbit house 

Hobbit Hole: Attention to details, love that door handle

Hobbit Hole: House details, drying flowers above the door

Hobbit Hole: Hobbit house entrance - I want to sit there with a pipe and a pint of Ale

The pictures are of the actual Hobbit Holes made for the filming of the new Hobbit movie released later this year. The studio are allowing the public to take a tour of the Hobbit village which has been built on private farm land near Matamata. Al of the pictures are from this awesome dedicated Hobbit house Tumblr which I have spent hours dreaming over.....I am so in love, I WANT a hobbit house......

Hands up who's moving to Hobbiton with me?