A greenhouse and a treehouse

I wanted to build a small greenhouse last year but just didn't get around to it. As I was laying out this year's garden on paper I assigned a small space for the greenhouse. My plan was to build it almost entirely of discarded house windows, until one day late last fall as my Dad and I were apple foraging I had another idea. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was riding in the passenger seat of his van. It was chilly outside but the inside of the van was toasty as the sun's rays kept us warm. As I was in a gardening frame of mind I thought, "this is what a greenhouse feels like on a chilly day."

It's not a big leap to then think about incorporating old car glass into the design, which I also thought would be stronger and even more insular than home window glass. The advantage of using house windows is that they're already framed, the dimensions are consistent with 90º corners, and they are easier to install in a conventional square or rectangular design. Most auto windows are irregularly trapezoidal in shape and would require a little more work to incorporate into the design.

Substitute "creative thinking" for "work" in that last sentence and that's enough to convince me that it should be a fun project. And thankfully, auto junkyards are full of raw material.

Of course we'll be sure to share the project with you when we dive into it in, I think, a few months.

Anyway, this morning I came across this video of an unusual home in Berkeley, California, wherein the builder incorporated the hoods and doors of junked cars in his design as siding and certain structural elements. He also cleverly used vehicle windows in the upper deck awning. The overall effect is attractive, cost effective and environmentally friendly.

website: http://www.faircompanies.com/videos/view/upscale-bay-area-home-made-from-salvaged-car-roofs-windows/

Quite different in materials used but using a similar sustainable and environmentally friendly mindset is this beautiful treehouse located in, I assume, France (I assume it's in France because the website is unfortunately, for me, in French).

There is a slideshow with a few other views of the structure on the website: http://jardin-maison.dekio.fr/reportages/maison/Les-ecotagnes-des-cabanes-ecolo-dans-la-montagne

Credit to the source for the video and treehouse. I shared the two items from one of the great blogsites I regularly enjoy: Lloyd Kahn's blogsite: http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/. Kahn always posts some cool stuff on tiny homes, sustainability, skateboarding, surfing and much more. Check it out and add his site to your list of favorites too.