Shelter and Serenity: A Straw Bale Home in Virginia
A snug straw bale home abutting the foothills northwest of Charlottesville, Virginia, provides protection from the heat, light, cold, and humidity as well as a peaceful haven for its owner-builders.
March/April 2001
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence
By the time they built their retirement cottage, Joy and George Matthews were experienced homebuilders. Without any formal training, Joy had already designed two houses for them, the second incorporating passive and active solar elements. She continued to follow trends in alternative building and renewable energy, and while flipping through Solar Today magazine, she became aware of an emerging building technique using straw bales. Skeptical at first, Joy was intrigued enough to read more. And by the time she had finished The Straw Bale House, she was a disciple.
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“Particularly when they talked about the organic feel and the sense of shelter, that appealed to me because that’s the way I feel about my home. It’s something that envelops you,” she says, “a haven of repose as well as an active place to live, work, and play comfortably and naturally.”
Joy was convinced that a straw bale home was the perfect solution for their newly purchased land in the foothills just northwest of Charlottesville, Virginia. At the top of a treeless, rolling hill, exposed to abundant sunlight and breezes from all sides, the home site’s exposure also meant breathtaking views in every direction, from fertile fenced pastures to majestic Buck Mountain and the Blue Ridge range. “We needed shelter from the hot summer sun as well as the winter cold, and a thick-walled, insulated house seemed ideal,” Joy says.
For more about this lovely straw bale home, including images, check out the March/April 2001 issue of Natural Home.