Deans Marsh Lime Rendered Straw Bale Home 2016

Deans Marsh Lime Rendered Straw Bale Home

The Phillips family home is a lime rendered, strawbale build using solar passive design. Mudbrick internal walls provide thermal mass, as do the earthen floors in the main living areas of both the home and recently completed studio accommodation. A stand alone solar system has provided most of the household power for the past 13 years with a generator for back up – although we prefer to limit the use of this as much as possible.

A Nectre Bakers oven heats the entire home with the flue passing by the upstairs bedrooms for extra warmth. The same oven also heats our hot water and provides an additional cooking source to our gas stove.

A dry compost toilet operates well in both the main house and the studio accommodation. Our home is orientated to the North and set in farmland, surrounded on the South East side by 200 acres of native bushland protecting it from most of the cooler weather.

It is a beautiful comfortable family home that is warm in winter and cool in summer with no need for air-conditioning. Our aim is to now provide affordable family accommodation so people can experience how a low impact house design can also be a comfortable low cost and aesthetically pleasing place to live….and holiday!