Take a look at the image of this house built by Simon Dale, and you won't be able to help but imagine Frodo stepping out of the house any moment.

Simon Dale a photographer and a graphic designer has set a perfect example of how sheer determination can make you achieve the impossible. With no architectural knowledge, a chainsaw, hammer, a chisel, £3000, father-in-law and couple of friends, Dale built a beautiful and one of the coziest houses in just 4 months.




























If there is one thing that is inherent to this house, it has to be respect and regard for the environment. Everything about this house is environmentally friendly. "This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology." shares Dale on his website.
























As a child Dale had always wanted a house in the country side, in the woods and close to the nature. Then one day serendipity played its cards right and gave Dale an opportunity of a life-time. Dale and his wife Jasmine were in the process of searching for an appropriate site for their dream house, and that's when fate led them to a landowner who was willing to give them a plot for free, provided they moved to Wales, take care of surrounding forest and build an eco-friendly house.

So without a second thought Dale, his wife with their baby and a toddler set up their camp in the woods of Wales and with the help of Dale's father-in-law, they started building the house of their dreams. Not only did they create something beautiful but also had an experience of a life-time in doing so.



































You can imagine how awesomely elating and exciting it must have been for the kids to be puddling in the mud, playing with pebbles, innocently looking for wood, enjoying candelite camping and watch their father built something that can inspire anyone on love with the nature.

Here's what Jasmine shares on her husband's website:

"Children are entertained by the outdoors ad infinitum even when it rains. Mums hanker after cosy cafes and make frequent excursions to venues with warm, clean toilets. Children find sticks, look under stones for insects, collect acorns, simulate diggers and do a lot of puddle splashing. Dads carry on building and look after family in the evenings when they are not completely exhausted. Children see materials taking form, observe the construction process and make a lot of connections; they see their parents being effective. Mums wash up whilst yearning for tiled utility rooms, learn to ignore the mud and fend off slugs. Dads build, console mum, read children bedtime stories and make muddy imprints on the sheets. Everyone wonders at the nature of slug slime. Then one day you get a house."

Let's talk about some interesting facts about the construction of this house:

-The first step was to dig the land into hillside on which the house was to be built, mostly for low visual impact and shelter.

-Then a timber frame was built around the house, after which a turf roof was built using straw bales for insulation and sheets of plastic to make it waterproof.

-The walls and foundation of the house are built using stones and mud from the diggings.

-Reclaimed wood was used for floors and fittings.

-The fridge uses the underground cool air that comes from the foundation.

-They use solar panels for lighting and other gadgets in the house.

-They make full use of gravity for water supply from nearby spring.

-They have a compost toilet and water from the roof gets collected in a pond for the garden.

"This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives. For example this house was made to house our family whilst we worked in the woodland surrounding the house doing ecological woodland management and setting up a forest garden, things that would have been impossible had we had to pay a regular rent or mortgage. " shares Simon Dale.

These kind of houses are a much needed revolution in today's world. We may be increasingly becoming dependent on technology and getting so engrossed in it, that we forget the inspiring science of nature. We may have learnt to use most of its resources to our advantage, but people like Dale inspire us to stop and think that maybe we can use our resources for the advantage of nature. It is a revolution, a lifestyle that was a long time coming and we hope it is here to stay.





Visit Simon Dale's website for more information: www.simondale.net

You may also like to learn about: Tumbleweed Tiny House Company