Call Me a Hippie, If You Must

Home is where the hearth is.

Some languages do not have a separate word for house and home, like English does.

House is the physical dwelling, home is the psycho-spiritual setting.

There’s a strange interplay between them though, some houses feel like homes. Others just feel like people containers. Real estate. Nothing more.

These first months, Kelly and I have been putting most of our energy into preparing the land, setting up gardens and securing places for the animals. We’ve given only passing thought to where we will live.

This week we’ve been considering what shape our house/home will take. As is my tendency, I am researching options to death. Kelly leans more into intuition.

We want a home that reflects our values, does not contribute unduly to landfills and climate change, is sustainable in design and operation, but is also an expression of ourselves.

Something that fits us.

Where the outer is in harmony with the inner.

I’ve been looking at shipping container homes, straw bales, recycled foam blocks, cob, green modular homes, yurts, domes, tiny homes, etc.

We have some guidelines:

• Small footprint

• Off grid

• Energy efficient

• Unique

• Affordable

• Minimal impact on the land (i.e. small foundation)

We want it to feel warm and inviting.

We want it to blend with our vision for the sanctuary.

Right now I’m most drawn to dome homes. They use fewer materials than typical homes and are very energy efficient. But there’s something else. They have an expansiveness. A long horizon. Things don’t get trapped in corners. Energy moves.

Domes feel different.

One whole section would be a massive window, guiding our gaze to our fellow inhabitants, and that view that never gets old.

Most of us grew up in square homes, with lots of 90 degree angles, and boxy spaces. A round space robs you of analogies to your childhood home. It invites exploration. New ways to do things. Where the hell do you hang pictures?

The lack of obvious solutions makes you get creative. Makes you experiment.

It is simple and vast.

Unusual and warm.

New, yet very ancient.

Home is a dome…

Call me a hippie, if you must….