Located on Sirius Gulch in the
remote STAR community, this earthship is great for people who want to
get away from it all yet live in a modern, beautiful and comfortable
earthship. The Travel Channel even choose to feature
it in their television program Vacation Home Search. Located
about 35 minutes from Taos, this three bedroom (one of the bedrooms is
only partially built), one bath home sits about 8 miles from the
pavement. Nearby, the impressive Tres Orejas Mountain places this
home in a very majestic setting.
The following video tour and still pictures will introduce you to
this beautiful earthship.
Home Details
The view above shows the home as seen from the south. The new
master suite addition is the new construction that you see on the right.
In this view, the great room combination of living room, kitchen and
entry is on the let below the solar panels. A solar water heater
is in the center (the tan object at the roof line is part of it) and the
bathroom and bedrooms are to the right.
You enter the earthship through this decorative door on the west side.
From the entry, you come to the the homes great room. A gray water
planter on the left provides a tropical feel. Behind it sits the
kitchen. Straight ahead, the counter provides eating space and
separation from the living room. The stones on the left are from a
decorative indoor waterfall.
The waterfall has its own pump to circulate the water. This
feature soothes the space with the sound of the cascading water and
humidifies the air in the dry climate.
The beautiful kiva fireplace dominates the living area. Here a
skylight lightens the room and provides ventilation. Built in
both sides of the fireplace allow plenty of seating. This picture
also shows the detail work of the elegant yet rustic flagstone floor and
the herringbone patterned tongue and groove ceiling.
The sun-filled kitchen sits at the very heart of the earthship.
The cook of the house will enjoy the bright spacious work area in
addition to the spectacular views.
The kitchen leads to a hallway connecting the great room with the rest
of the home. The white object on the left is a DC powered
refrigerator which takes its power directly from the solar panels and
batteries. Immediatly to the left down the all lies the smaller bedroom.
The mechanical area and bathroom sit to the right.
The smaller bedroom gets natural light from a north-facing window.
It features a split -level design with providing separation of spaces
between the different levels.
Tiles decorate the walls of the sun-filled bright and beautiful
bathroom.
Teh view from the sink area allows you to enjoy the spectacular scenery
even when brushing your teeth.
The present master bedroom has its own planters. The many windows
bathe this spacious room in light.
Skylights in the master bedroom closet provide light and ventelation.
This earthship features abundant storage not just in this closet, but
throught the house.
A walkway leads from master bedroom to a new addition presently under
construction. Here you see the planter and windows of this
bedroom.
Here you see the views that this addition will feature. The
present sellers intended this to be the third bedroom and a master
suite, but you can really use it however you wish.
Earthship Systems
Electrical
8 - 51 watt solar
panels +2 new 110 watt GE solar panels
10 Trojan T-51 batteries (8 purchased 2 years ago)
Trace U2512 2,500 watt inverter
Outback MX60 charge controller (purchased 2 years ago)
System last serviced 2 years ago.
System performance is excellent. No problems.
Water
2 Cisterns approximately 5,000 gallons each
Water filtration system designed by Earthship Biotecture. Upgraded
2007. Includes Katadyn ceramic drinking water filter.
Gray Water
Shower and
bathroom sink are plumbed to drain into bedroom planter. Kitchen
sink and washer drain into living room planter.
The two planters are plumbed to return water to toilet or to pump
excess gray water to the outside via pump and filtration system at
the end of each planter. This system is in rough stage and not
completed. Minor work to complete system.
