Latest articles

Blue Mountain Dreams

Blue Mountain Dreams is a charming, 4-bedroom vacation rental home that overlooks the Cohutta wilderness 15 minutes to Blue Ridge . Brought to you by SB Getaways luxury and opulence await you in this 1.8 acre wooded private wilderness retreat, perfect for a family getaway or a family trip with friends. Continue reading “Blue Mountain Dreams” »

This Regenerative Candle Makes a New Candle From Its Melted Wax

This candle holder does something that is both revolutionary and common-sense: it captures a candle’s melting wax to make a new candle over and over again. The Rekindle candle holder from designer Benjamin Shine is an ingenious way to get the most for your candle-buying dollar. Continue reading “This Regenerative Candle Makes a New Candle From Its Melted Wax” »

Geodesic Dome Tent

This is the smallest dome our exclusive tent collection has to offer. It’s absolutely perfect for a couple or small business to own and enjoy.

This tent boasts high utilization, living, growing and of course storage space as well. It’s also just big enough to fit most the necessities one needs to be super comfortable out in the wild. Continue reading “Geodesic Dome Tent” »

Man Spends 6 Years Living Off-Grid with Rainwater & Solar in a Self-Built Cabin

 

Canadian Castaway has been living off-grid in his self-built cabin for 6 years now, and we sat down with him to find out what it’s like day-to-day, how much it cost him to build and live off the grid, and what he’s changed over the years to make his alternative lifestyle more comfortable and functional.

Canadian Castaway lives in an 18′ x 22′ cabin with his girlfriend and his cat. It has a kitchen, living room, and bathroom on the main floor, and a movie-watching space, a home office, and a bedroom in a couple of lofts above.

His electricity is from two solar arrays that are set up in different spots on his land to maximize sun exposure, and the panels charge a pair of lithium batteries. He also has a generator for backup electricity, which he runs for about an hour a day during grey winter days to top up his batteries.

His heat comes from a wood stove and his hot water and cooktop run on propane, although he has installed an electric water heater for use on sunny days (when there’s extra solar power) so that he can reduce the amount of propane he uses.

He collects rainwater from the roof of the small house, and stores it in a 6,000-liter cistern in a shed. During summer months when there is plenty of rain, the tank is always full. During the winter, he goes for about 5 months without rain, so he has to ration the water (about 1000 liters per month). The tap water is filtered through a nylon filter to remove sediment, and the drinking water goes through a UV lamp filtration system.

He initially bought the land and built the cabin for approx. $64,000 CAD but that was done by taking a risk and building without a building permit. The building inspector has since required some upgrades that significantly increased the cost of the project, including putting in a road, putting in an engineered septic system, increasing the size of his cabin’s footprint to meet the minimum building code size, etc.

He initially wanted to build and live off-grid because it seemed cheaper, and with the cost of land being so low, the entire project cost less than what an empty lot costs now. But he does say that while he enjoys the feeling of being self-sufficient, it’s also very limiting because you can’t leave the home unattended. He might eventually plug into the grid if the power lines get closer to the point where it would be affordable to do so.

He also has plans of his cabin for sale HERE…

Crochet Cauldron Coasters

This bubbling witch’s cauldron coaster set will be the perfect addition to your creepy cute aesthetic or Halloween decor! Inside the cauldron are 4 coasters designed to look like bubbling potions and brews. Remove one or all, and use with your favorite spooky mug or glass. Made from 100% cotton and love. These are available in the link below… Continue reading “Crochet Cauldron Coasters” »

The Perfect Pregnancy Socks

These socks are the perfect baby shower gift to congratulate your pregnant bestie or an original way to announce something special to your family and friends. These are available in the link below… Continue reading “The Perfect Pregnancy Socks” »

Wake and Bake Coffee Mug

An awesome and useful gift to coffee lovers or tea drinkers for Christmas, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, inappropriate naughty humor, funniest creative small gifts.

And yes you can really smoke out of it! This is available in the link below… Continue reading “Wake and Bake Coffee Mug” »

Heavy-Duty Truck Step

The dependable step adjusts to four positions and features a strong no-slip surface. Rubber bumpers protect your tire from damage. When you are done, the truck service step folds flat for easy storage. Easy to use, this is available in the link below…. Continue reading “Heavy-Duty Truck Step” »

A Floating Villa With An Underwater Level

Today we are touring a one-of-a-kind floating sea villa. The Floating Seahorse is the world’s first floating villa with underwater bedrooms! A feat of innovation achieved by a marriage of engineering and imagination, The Floating Seahorse villas are an epitome of timeless design and craftsmanship spread across three levels including a spectacular underwater floor. Continue reading “A Floating Villa With An Underwater Level” »


© 2024 Home Design, Garden & Architecture Blog Magazine. All rights reserved.