Over the last several months our house has been a hotbed of countercultural lifestyle ideas. We've been all over the map trying to break out of the mold and plan something for our future that is just for us, and not driven by any cultural expectations of what a pair of 20-somethings in love are supposed to do.

Today I started putting together some ideas I've been working on. I'm trying to take all the ideas and notions I've developed about how I'd like to build an earthbag house and start fitting them into a realistic plan.

The linchpin of my house idea is the way it is broken into two levels, one on top of a hill and one on the north side. Doing this allows the entire house to benefit from warmth of shallow winter sun, while at the same time shielding the living room and kitchen from the harsh but high summer sun.