Marie Granmar and Charles Sacilotto of Stockholm came up with an amazing way to enjoy spring weather throughout the year, while also living a more sustainable life. To do this, the couple build a greenhouse around their home!
According to the Weather Channel, temperatures in Sweden during the winter can stay anywhere between 23-31 degrees Fahrenheit. To help them work through the colder months, they build their Naturhus (Nature House) in 1974. They built this on the site of an old summer house on a Stockholm archipelago.
When speaking about why they decided to do this, Marie explained that in Stockholm, most people turn on their heater in September and run it throughout mid-May. By using a greenhouse, they were able to cut back on using a heater, which saved them money and also provided a way to be more energy conscious.
If the greenhouse isn’t enough during extremely cold times, they supplement with a wood-burning stove.
During the hotter months, the roof of their greenhouse lifts and allows them to let heat out.
“It can get warm a few days in the summer,” she says, “but that’s not a problem because we open the windows, and we enjoy the heat. We like the sun!”
Living in a greenhouse has many advantages, including keeping their home warm while storing excess heat below the house. They also have a roof deck that they use for sunbathing, reading, and playing with their son, year-round.
Additionally, since the greenhouse produces Mediterranean-type weather, they can grow figs, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs that ordinarily would be harder to grow in their region. Outside of the glass, they grow things like cherries and apples.
“Growing things here is not easy,” Marie says in the video. “We need all the extra energy we can get.”
And not only do they grow much of their food, and save on energy- the home can collect rainwater which they use for free water.
Sacilotto was inspired by a Swedish eco-architect, Bengt Warne to build his wonderful and sustainable home. And if you are wondering whether or not it’s safe to live inside a glass bubble, Sacilotto assures us that it is. “It’s security glass. So, in principle, this can’t break. If it ever does, it will break in tiny pieces to not harm anyone,” he said.
Using the money they saved through solar energy, the couple was able to re-do the exterior of the home they built the greenhouse around. It wouldn’t be enough to say that this family is self-sufficient- they go above and beyond that. And the idea and beauty of this home only add to its amazing qualities. Be sure to check out the video below.