Preface This article is inspired by the craftsmanship and elegance of early American homebuilding and traditional homestead construction. Further, it endeavors to be a worthy…
Imagine that you are outside working in your garden. You have been out since 6:30 a.m., and now that cool morning air is giving way…
Today's hottest trend is off-grid living; unplug, disconnect, and get back to your pioneer roots. Bookstores are full of books on every conceivable aspect from…
The very nature of living on a homestead is such that it generally involves living in isolated, rural environments. Many active homesteaders are single individuals…
Five years ago, my husband and I designed and built our backyard chicken coop. The design was based on photos of a friend's chicken coop and…
There are several options available to the new landowner-slash-rural-inhabitant, some appealing, some viable, some neither one. It all depends on the zoning requirements (or lack…
If you are thinking and have been reading about Alternative and Natural Building styles, this is one of those things that you see on the…
There’s something special about building your own home, whether you build it traditionally or not. And, there are some major benefits of being part of…
As some of you may know from reading my Missouri Journal, I have been building a house on my 12-acre Ozark paradise for a number…
“Wait. You forgot to draw in the HVAC closet”, said the young man with the product in his hair, perusing my pencil-on-graph-paper rendition of the…
One of the first concerns of new homesteaders is to provide themselves with some sort of shelter. We have all heard the advice that it’s…
As we all know, the evolution of the kitchen — room, concept, purpose, and practicality — began on a camping trip. It was a camping…
