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| Living room with kitchen in the background. |
I have to admit, there were times when I didn't know if we would get everything completed and actually move into our dream home, but here we are, all moved in and loving every minute of it.
It is hard to capture the true essence of the home with photos, but here you can see some of our favorite design elements.
The living room is where we spend most of our time. We can visit, watch TV, enjoy the fireplace, or just hang out whether we are working in the kitchen or snacking in the breakfast nook (to the left of the kitchen in the photo). The door leading in from the air lock entry is on the right.
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| Solar Heat |
We moved in on 3 December and for the first 5 days we had no heat (the propane tank was not hooked up). We had only the sun and our fireplace to warm the inside. Good thing we had clear skies and warm sun because the temperatures dropped to the low teens over night and never got above 28°. But inside our adobe it ranged from a cool (but tolerable) 60°in the morning to 71° by noon. Now we have the propane tank hooked up and filled up, and heat to warm the floors when necessary.
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| The Count Rumford Fireplace |
The passive solar continues to work great, as long as the sun is out. Temperatures in the morning drop down to our thermostat settings of 63°, but by noon it is up to 70°-72° without any help from the radiant heating system. Of course the rooms on the north side of the house are closed off and don't enjoy the benefits of the passive solar. They include my bathroom, the utility room, and closets and are designed to be thermal buffers to the living areas.
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| Air Lock Entry |
Another wonderful design element is the front entry air lock. It is an entry room, we also use as mud room, fitted with two insulated entry doors. Thus, any cold air that blows in as the outside door is opened is trapped here before it can get into the living room. It is also a good place to leave winter coats and shoes and a convenient stash of firewood.
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| East Wing Hall |
The layout of the house exposes all the living areas to the warming rays of the sun in the winter but an engineered overhang of the roof shades them in the summer. The two spare bedrooms (one we use as an office/crafts room), utility room (including washer/dryer, water heater, and the boiler for the radiant heating system), a large storage room (which also functions as the closet for the back bedroom) and the spare bath with shower make up the east wing. The utility room, spare bath and large storage closet line the north wall while the bedrooms line the south and enjoy the benefits of the passive solar heat, with a long narrow hallway in between.
The master bedroom, and master bath also enjoy southern exposure (and passive solar heat) while two walk-in line the north wall. Separating the two wings is the open kitchen/living room, or great room.
Keeping to the "old look" theme, the master bath has a new claw foot tub but the vanity is an 1880's wash stand with a marble top and a ceramic vessel sink. The towel rack is a pueblo style ladder.
Here is a brief video tour of our adobe home.
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Master bath with 1880 wash stand
vanity with vessel sink. |
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| Master Bedroom |
