Alternative Home Designs

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There are trends for everything in our lives. How we do our hair, the clothes we wear and even what jobs are trendy now in comparison to a few years ago. However, one of the rarer trends is housing.

However, we are seeing a rise in the alternative housing trend. This is where people are living, not in a traditional house or apartment, but something a little bit kooky. There are people who live in tiny homes, storage units or even reverting back to hut like homes.

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Alternative home designs 

Before we get into why you should be choosing an alternative home, let’s take a look at some of the options.

Tiny homes

Space might be something we feel we need more of. However, there is a tiny home trend that might just change your mind. This home does what it says on the tin, it is super small and compact.

Tiny homes are great for singles or couples as they take up less space and are more cost effective. They are easy to heat and are sometimes even portable so you can take your home wherever you want.

Hut home

If you’ve ever wanted to build your own home but don’t have the funds, why not try a hut home? Built out of durable materials, you can build your own dream Quonset hut home in any shape or size you like.

Storage container

Storage containers are also a popular choice with people looking for an alternative home design. Using a converted shipping container can save on your building costs as well as helping to use something that would otherwise be destroyed.

Home built with recycled materials

In a similar vein, building a home from recycled materials can be a green and unique way to build your own home. People have made houses from any kind of material you can think of.

One popular material is glass bottles – not one that would immediately spring to mind but this is a very durable material that works well to build a home.

Cob house

Cob houses are a traditional way of building that has gone out of fashion due to the bricks and mortar we have discovered since. But there’s actually no reason why you wouldn’t revert to this type of building.

This is also a very green way of building a house as it is a mixture of earth and straw – very basic and uses raw materials. This is a versatile material that can be made into whatever shape or size you require.

It’s also a lot more durable than you would expect as well. There are houses that have survived hundreds of years and are still standing now.

Straw bale house

Another old process of house building that we can still use today is the straw bale house. This is another raw material that is inexpensive to purchase that works wonders. Straw is also a farming by-product that can sometimes go to waste. Using it for housing means that nothing is wasted.

Straw is an excellent insulator meaning that you won’t have to worry about being cold in the wintertime. This is another housing material that is super versatile so you can make your house into any shape you wish!

Why choose an alternative home? 

Not only does an alternative home look unique and fun, it can also be a much more cost effective way of building your own. Building costs as well as buying the land that a home is built on can be more than most people can afford.

Using recyclable materials can help the planet as well as your pocket when choosing an alternative home. Building your own home always feels great but this will make you feel even better.

Alternative homes are a great way to build the home of your dreams. And with so many green options, you can feel good about helping the planet too. Which alternative home is your favorite?

 

Kimberly Atwood’s books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. Kimberly lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, an exceptionally perfect dog, and an attack cat. Before she started writing historical research, Kimberly got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from Ohio State University. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of London and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships with some really important people who are way too dignified to be named here. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.

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