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Feb 07
Love0

The Light at the End of the Hallway

By Homesteading
Hallway with Shaker Pegs

We’re nearing the end… I think…

Life rule #327: everything always takes much longer than you think. Life rule #328: it’s terribly easy to forget how true rule #327 is every single time. Well, remodeling our house has been no exception. When we first acquired our new land (one of these days I’ll stop saying “new”), it was early summer, but we couldn’t relocate until September.

Once we showed up and moved in, we basically immediately starting remodeling the house, and we’ve been going at it more or less since then with the exception of a few diversions here and there. Yep, I thought we’d be completed much sooner than this. But finally… yes, I can see the light at the end of the hallway and we’re almost “done”. (Rule #2349: your house is never “done”.)

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Feb 01
Love0

A New Chapter for Gobcobatron

By Cob Building, Strawtron
Gobcobatron, Cob House

A new chapter for Gobcobatron…

For long-time readers of this blog, you probably know the story of building my first house, Gobcobatron. That experience was, after all, the inspiration for “The Year of Mud” to begin with. About a month ago, we sold Gobcobatron. It’s exciting, a relief, and an interesting stew of emotions to no longer own what was once so very close to me. Mostly, I’m really glad to be completely untethered from a building I can’t easily maintain living 8+ hours away. The experience of selling the house also causes me to feel old(er) in a way, and a bit nostalgic too. And it’s fascinating to think about the house having its own story and its own path now, separate from me.

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Jan 23
Love0

Snow Day

By Winter
Snow Day 2016

Snow day!

As a kid, my favorite thing about going to public school was the snow days. (Except when we had so many that they crept into our summer vacations, that is.) Thankfully, as an adult I can appreciate the snow for more than its uncanny ability to shut down school. Anyone on a significant stretch of the east coast is getting a good dose of snow right now, and we were no exception. We got a good 14″+ here, and it’s beautiful.

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Jan 16
Love0

2016 Workshop Schedule is Up!

By Natural Building Workshops

13537433894_3d8109bd16_o

These past few weeks, we’ve been busy planning our Natural Building Workshops schedule. 2016 is a particularly exciting year because this is the very first time we’ll be hosting courses at our new homestead location outside Berea, Kentucky. I’ve been anticipating this day for several years now, and it’s finally happening. The Year of Mud’s new headquarters will be the source of a lot of amazing building activity and workshops for years to come.

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Jan 09
Love2

Make Drywall Look Like Earth: How to Use Clay Paint on Drywall

By Clay Plaster
finished clay paint

You can make a piece of drywall look like earth with just a couple coats of clay paint

You can make a drywall interior look like an earthen home with nothing more than a couple coats of simple clay paint. Clay paint can transform your space — it’s a very versatile material and can be used on a variety of surfaces, including exposed wood, plywood and drywall. In my previous post, I described how you can make a beautiful, non-toxic clay paint using three simple ingredients.

If you haven’t yet read the recipe yet, go ahead and start there. If you’re ready to get mud on your walls, read ahead for instructions for how to apply your new paint to your desired surface!

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Jan 04
Love0

How To Make Your Own Clay Paint

By Clay Plaster
Clay paint recipe

Clay paint is very easy to make and can lend even drywall a very earthen appearance

For some reason, it’s taken me a long time to try mixing up and using a clay paint (also known as a clay alis). Whatever the reason is, after attending the Natural Building Colloquium in October and talking to several folks about the ease of applying clay finishes on drywall, I knew I finally had to try it out in our new home here in Kentucky. Clay paint has many possible applications. Perhaps one of its best uses is to give an otherwise boring interior wall an earthy pick-me-up. It’s actually quite compatible with drywall, as you’ll see.

Read ahead for a recipe and instructions for making your very own clay paint.

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Dec 27
Love0

Looking Back on 2015

By Uncategorized
Land in the sunset hours

2015: the year we acquired land, built a straw bale octagon, traveled east and west..

It’s that time of year again when I like to reflect on the goings-on of the past twelve months, wondering what the heck happened to the time. There was no lack of building work this year, and some very exciting trips towards the end of the year… and then there’s the new land and a baby on the way, too. Hrm… this whole blogging thing might get difficult trying to hold a baby while planting potatoes in the upcoming spring, eh? Well, until that time comes let me take a moment to share some of the highlights from 2015.

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Dec 20
Love1

The Wood Cook Stove is In!

By Uncategorized
Kitchen Queen 480 Wood Cook Stove

Lighting the first fire in the new Kitchen Queen stove

Another big fulfillment came in the form of moving our wood cook stove into the house today. Hooray! The stove made it through the door, and nothing terrible happened in the process either. Mind you, the stove weights 750 pounds, so it was no slouch trying to maneuver the beast into its final resting place. We found this beauty on craigslist months ago — it’s a Kitchen Queen 480, an Amish-made wood cook stove of epic proportions. Here you can see me about to light the first fire… yes, it was a giddy moment for me.

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Dec 13
Love0

SunRay’s Magical Treehouse

By Carpentry, Design, Photos
SunRay Kelley Treehouse

A ramp provides access to this funky little treehouse — I love how the underside of the roof catches morning light

SunRay Kelley may be one of the most “mythical” of the natural builders out there. He’s the builder known for saying the forest is his “Super Natural Store”, and his building designs conjure up feelings of the fantastical, magical, funkadelic. I had the privilege of seeing one of his creations in the making at the recent 20th anniversary Natural Building Colloquium at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, NM — a whimsical treehouse nestled in ponderosa pine trees, featuring some signature SunRay touches. Check out the photos of this wild little building ahead…

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Dec 06
Love1

This is One Sweet Natural Floor Finish

By Uncategorized
Rubio Monocoat floor finish: buffing

Our natural oil finish in the process of going on the new red oak floor

Well dang, I’ve been waiting many days for this moment. Right now I’m happily sitting in a chair on our hardwood floor. That doesn’t sound particularly thrilling without any context though, I know. So… after days of grueling installation and sanding, we finally got to put the finishing touch on our new red oak floor — a special natural oil floor finish, one we’ve never before used. The application was a breeze / dream, your choice of cliche.

Really though, the finish went on extremely well. Best of all, of course, is that it’s a natural oil finish. This particular product is linseed oil-based (no polyurethane or VOCs here, thanks), it goes on in a single coat, and it gives the hardwood floor a beautiful “natural” tone and low gloss finish. The particular natural hardwood floor finish that I’m describing here is Rubio Monocoat, which I’ll talk more about below. So far, I really like it.

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