Diamond in the Rough (and Ready)
Comments
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This is one of my favorite Dwell stories! Love Ken Meffan and his awesome scrappiness. And who couldn't love a town called Rough 'n' Ready??
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Drywall actually drains the life out of me as well. Very nice work Ken.
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Chuck, your comment reminds me of a story we did pretty recently about a house in New Zeland where the resident had the same feeling about plaster board, one of drywall's cousins. He says it was the last thing he wanted in his house. Here's the link: http://www.dwell.com/articles/orchard-jam.html
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This is such a beautiful house in terms of concept, execution & aesthetics. They've done so many things right with this place that it is one of my favourite houses that Dwell has illustrated thus far. Hopefully this will inspire others in their own creations. Bravo!
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wonderful design, love the recycled wood being used throughout. Really proves we can take old and make wonderful, modern environments.
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wonderful design, love the recycled wood being used throughout. Really shows how we can take old and make wonderful, modern environments.
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Great house but please, for the love of God, do N O T put silt from your creek in the vegetable garden that the family eats from! There are likely heavy metals, benzene and who knows what else caught up in that creek silt. Find out who is in your creek's watershed (draining into it) as well as what the headwaters are and whatever else drains into your creek. Be aware of what is draining into your backyard and onto your table!
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I love this house and even better I live about 10 miles from Rough and Ready. It makes me happy to see something from this sleepy little area featured in my favorite magazine. I'm tempted to go on a hunt to find it and see it for myself in person. If only I knew the backroads out there.
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HEY< I want an outdoor shower like I saw in this article. Ideal something or other cattle tank. What was it? and where can I get it? Yes, this was so inspirational. Thank you for being individuals in this cukiecutter society. Marion Melchiorre
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Hey! Where can I get the outdoor Ideal shower tank? I keep reading about it with enthusiasm in the Dwell mag in my doctor's office. Finally, I went online. Got the company name for me?? Thank you, Marion
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LOVE THIS article...should have made the Cover!
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When I see this I can only think of 3 words (4 if you feel like a malevolent English teacher) "WAKEUP" "WITHOUT" "COFFEE." The element of nature is what adds life to humans. Case and point: The Ferrari Factory. Yes being a laborer here is one of the hottest jobs in Italy, not because you get to build high performance sports cars all day, but because the factory is an architectural masterpiece. With plants and plenty of sunlight light filtering in from sky portals the natural atmosphere is what makes this a very healthy place to work. The Factory is said to have the best working conditions in the country.
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Hey! Thanks for all the great comments! Please check out my website www.kenmeffanarchitect.com, I've got some more interesting houses and a cool hotel in Truckee that I did, I'm sure you all would be interested in!. I've put some links to some other super architects and illuminating stuff. Ken Meffan
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Hey Ken - Great article! And I love your website - full of much more of your fantastic handiwork of natural architecture, thanks for sharing the link in your comment above. Ken is a great person to work with. I have had the pleasure of installing the electrical wiring for some of his beautiful homes and I really enjoy working with him and his crew of talented craftsmen. Ken's ability to create natural homes provides a totally different experience of peace and tranquility to the home. The balance between man and nature is truly a wonderful experience that everyone should consider for their next home. Keep up the great work - Ken! Dave Rongey
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Another inspirational and fabulous house! I live with the kind of man who can build from oddments and one thing he asked me before we married was if I could live in a "box" which is what he called the aluminum shipping container he had as his office. He was planning to gradually build an entire house out of these insulated shipping containers. Problem is there are so many rules that building bit by bit with unusual materials--reusing the otherwise no longer wanted--is often extremely difficult even for a man with a doctorate in multidisciplinary engineering and a degree with physics who loves the natural environment where he grew up and wants to build there. Not pretty, but functional. I loved this story because it is the sort of thing my hubby wants to do when we retire to a remote bit of land his family has had for generations.
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Hey friends, I just made another wedsite re: natural architecture: www.naturalarchitect.com, I think there are some great photos. It takes a few moments to generate. Thanks for viewing Ken Meffan
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