Interior designer Marcia Wolff wanted a house that's energy-efficient, ecologically sensitive, fire-resistant and, above all, beautiful. So she chose a building material that might surprise some ...

Do you recommend building straw bale homes? And/or can you insulate an existing home with straw bales on the outside of the home and then finish it using siding, wood, or stucco? I wonder why this ...

In post and beam construction, straw bales serve as infill to form walls and provide insulation. The bales are stacked like big bricks and covered with stucco or plaster. With proper detailing, the ...

HOVLAND -- A half-mile down a dirt driveway through woods, a stack of straw bales signals one's arrival at Chris and Cameron Norman's new home. Approach the house, and the scattering of straw on the ...

When Kate Calvery came to me in early 1996 and asked me to design a straw bale house for her on Vashon Island, my heart sank. I had attempted to permit a straw bale house a few years before in King ...