Family compound of streetcars, cob huts, treehouse & barrel
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Over a decade ago, Claudine Désirée was raising 3 young boys alone in a one-bedroom home built from old streetcars (from 1920s Santa Cruz). At first, the boys slept in the bedroom and she slept in the living room, but as her boys grew they needed more space.
For Désirée, learning to build with cob (at a natural building workshop) was the answer to the family's shortage of square footage. "I fell in love with cob because I don't have the patience to 'everything has to be like this and the rules and at this angle and we have to measure it and the codes'. I'm more into let's just do it".
First, Désirée built an 80-square-foot cob shelter as a bedroom for one of her sons in an unused corner of the backyard. Later, she built a larger bedroom for herself in another corner. Both structures cost more in time than the minimal materials cost. "I have two beautiful studios.. each one cost 500 dollars or something to build and if they were built with conventional materials they would have cost 5 thousand or 10 thousand".
Another workshop- this one focused on treehouse building- provided the start for a bedroom in an Oak tree for her eldest son. A carpenter helped finish it off as a fully-enclosed room that he called the Lorax Lodge.
When her son moved out, she started renting it out as a vacation rental on Airbnb. It brought in $11,000 in annual income, until she applied for a parking permit for one longer-term renter and "stupidly", as she explains, wrote that she was renting out the treehouse. The city sent her a notice that she was violating codes and she was forced to alter the treehouse so it can't be lived in, as well as pay a fine and the hotel taxes for using it as a rental.
Now that her kids are grown Désirée is selling her urban homestead- all the structures plus chickens, fruit trees, and a recycled barrel sauna- so she can travel the world and help others build with cob and create eco-villages.
Original story on *faircompanies: faircompanies.c...
dude, this made me tear up. That shot at the end where you see the entire back yard and all the foliage she added, is nothing short of amazing. Although I'm sure she did not plan everything herself, she is a visionary of our time - among others here in america at least, and hopefully will inspire others to do the same. Wonderful work.
That woman has a beautiful soul. I admire the heck out of here.
Look how young she looks. All the exercise, fresh food, and fresh air she gets.
Genetics. Then everything else...
incredible this is a lady whose imagination knows no bounds, I admire your outlook on life.
this is the coolest one so far... it's like a children's book place
What an amazing woman and cool mom. From Manhattan to the Cruz ... hippydom and happiness and memories of the sixties mixed with what is going on in the present ... I love what she has done and her lifestyle. I wish her luck on her new adventures and much happiness. She would make a most wonderful friend; she has a great essence.
Wow I'm watching this video in 2023. lol
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this..the Cobb structures especially. Coolest woman I've seen today... wish I could do this here in Chicago!
Holy shit! I know her! I went to elementary school with her sons. I'm just wandering around youtube looking at tiny houses and then like BAM! Claudine. She taught after school spanish and yoga classes and stuff.... wow! I had no idea her house was so cool.
I agree. I was surprised to see a video made in Santa Cruz! Yea. She's a friend of a friend. 😁
I love this woman. She's created an awesome life for she & her children. In the vernacular urban voice, "You go Gurl!"
This lady is a unique, free spirit. Not sure any city would approve, but she got her family through life, and has much energy and wisdom to share. As I clicked through to the links where she will teach about Cobb building, I see she is teaching all around the world. What a gem she is for anyone in the world to be able to build even a hut to house their family. YOU GO GIRL!
Kirsten. I really love that cute little train house. Can you catch up with whomever bought the property, and follow up on how they used it? Hope they didn't tear it down. Fingers crossed.
She sold it?
What a brilliant video, showcasing an amazing, creative, inspirational free-spirited women. Everything she has put her mind to has grown and flourished. Her home looks loved, inviting, colourful and relaxing. I would love to visit her! Each building is beautiful in its own way and the rambling food forest around her just makes my heart sing! Thank goodness for strong, resourceful and determined people in this world!
This is so close to my dream, having multiple little buildings in a homemade compound of sorts. Love this lady's creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness!
love it and love her yard!!! :)
Wow how cool is this! It's a shame that government always find ways to get paid for your hard work. I totally love your place!
Exactly, it is a shame isn't it. Its a shame we've been lied to by our government and money hungry big corporations. Do realize big corporation and our government work hand in hand. It would be foolish to think otherwise. Look at this house. My God. My $100,000 dollar house doesn't even come close to how neat and clean her house looks and I am still putting money into my old house renovating. She is a genius. You don't need to live in a contractor built houses. I have been watching these youtube videos of how people have taken simple things from junk yards or bought them for next to nothing and turn them into works of art. I am very jealous. I would pay her $100,000 in an instance for her place.
If President does it, it is NOT ILLEGAL I agree....she is so cool & her place reflects that.
Love your name!.....doesn't leave much, does it? Pretty much everything would be legal.
DoubleTap Why must windows be installed to insure lack of privacy? How irritating!
This place ROCKS!!! Love it!!
She's very resourceful and creative!
This is a great property. One of my favorites for sure and the tree house story was hilarious.
my brother and his wife built a straw build house. They have lived in it for ten years or so. the walls are so thick and it stays about the same temp year round. They do have a wood stove and elec. heat under the concrete floor as they live in northern Washington very near Mt.Rainier so gets cold, and they have twenty acres of mixed forest. It is two story as they were constrained as their actual footprint, but very livable and cute.
I agree with this idea. Everything doesn't always need 2 be square. I consider this person awesome with having her own ideas 2 be able 2 "think outside the box," with creativity!
Cus evil things want us as obsessed with the cube as they are.....
I love this woman way of life....refreshing!
Wow. Incredible. So clever, resourceful, and creative!
I wanna live there!
I would love to see more of this kind of stuff (natural, holistic, healthy houses) Kristen rather than tiny, unrealistic houses.
What great parenting! The freedom and ownership she gave her sons is something special. I also love the organic cob buildings. So cool
A smart likeable woman she seems very together , what courage ,raising 3 sons single handed , Bless you .
In 1998 I moved to Santa Cruz for a job with a game company startup. It was very hard to find housing and then one of the artists told me about this funky house that was coming up for rent. You guessed it. I met and courted my future wife while living in that little house - was eventually asked to move out by the landlord because it had been sold to the woman you saw in this video. As fate would have it we went back to Santa Cruz last summer and the house was up for sale. We have a different life now but it was fun to indulge in the notion that we might move back to that little house. We brought our kids with us and walked around the block. Very good memories in that little house and I love the cob work that was done in the back yard after I left. The back yard was an over run old garden while I lived there and It used to have an old unkempt rose bush that I would pull stems from before going out on a date.
Aside from the sustainability and eco-consiousness, the whole environment is just pretty damned good looking. I think this woman has great style. Somebody else could've done the same thing and made it look like a post-apocaliptic hovel. The interiors & exterior spaces have a very comfortable, even elegant feeling. She could probably make a pretty decent living as a B&B. I'd stay there.
This woman is so cool! I love how independent she is. Great attitude
This planet needs people like you fantastic job on those cob Huts
Wow, I love this whole place.
That was really a cool property. Thanks.
It's so nice to see a video made about natural building in my hometown!!! 😆💕
I don't know about the people speaking negatively with their comments, but I love it! I can't find any fault with this place. It's just awesome, the type of place I'd like to live. I love how it's decorated. Great video, too!
God I love this free spirit goddess.
Wow.... What a artistic imagination..... Amazing
I just love and adore these types of people
Me too. I wish I was as wise as a young woman.
Wow! Very inspirational. Because I live on my own and obsessively researching tiny houses along with Cobb and there , I've become open to least in cost, healthy for us, eco friendly, etc. I want to live in the country but close to town and ride around in electric bike and car and this video of some living a dream. I'm grateful for this encouragement. Thank you for this awesome video. Aloha
She is a great lady!
In one word, Lovely!
PS)Love the part where Kirsten scoots up the tree to the treehouse like she couldn't wait to get up there. You go girl!
Her boys are lucky to have such a cool mom! Awesome place!
OMG!!!! I love what this woman has created there, would absolutely love to live there.
Totally fabulous...I love this house! It really is a "Streetcar named Desire," as I so desire it!
It's so organic! Like a village in utopia. People used to live like this for generations.
They'd start will a small cabin or sod house, and add whatever space they needed over time. More practical than what we've been doing for the last century.
I cant stop watching these! there soo cool
I Love this Lady!!! What an awesome space.
I live in a round house and love it. Have 2 950 square foot round pods connected together with a hallway. No other way to live.
She's an amazing woman. I wish I'd had the grit and determination and know how she has when my kids were little..sigh..maybe my next life.
This is truly a fantastic story. What a beautiful setup you have put together. I admire and respect your creative thinking and resourcefulness. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I love this:)
This woman is legit she knows wats up
Thank you Kristen for sharing with us your amazing videos, I really loved this one :) What a creative lifestyle :)
Great video!!! Thanks so much for sharing.
Such creative, wonderful living spaces! Looks like a little piece of the garden of eden! Love all the small cob buildings!
Love your creativity..
Here in India cobb houses always was the trend in villages..the climate and cost the cause of building them,and they work fine.
Very creative... The cob style houses are super cool...👍
Her property is amazing!!!!!!
love this and Claudine as well. what a phenomenal aura!
fantastic! Her designs are beautiful and it's inspiring, Just wish it was easier to do here in the US with less red tape and hassle from permits.
Claudine Desiree I hear you. It's insane how difficult living green and healthy is here in the US. I keep saying I'm going to leave too, just haven't found the exact right place to land yet. HUG to you and best wishes on your journey!
Soooo many things I LOVE about what you have "created". Your living space is a true extension of who you are. Most of all, I love cob. The endless possibilities to create are so exciting! Bravo :)
OMG a tree house for a bedroom!! What a Lucky kid!! I’m 28 and I’ll live up there!
I think you are spot on.If you can create an atmospere where you are comfortable. Lady, live the life,cause it only comes one time.
How very sweet.There no place like home Ty so much for shearing your place with us it is wnderful
I liked it...and think you should have your own land where everyone does it...like a community ...how cool is that..you can bike, grow things, live in nature ...awesome part of the jungle ...thanks
I much prefer a home with unique loving character. Gorgeous. .
That cob village is so cool
This is freakin AWESOME!!!! Love the Cob rooms:)
I agree, I also love the owner, we need more women like her & Kirsten. This home is Heaven to me, it's so peaceful, it has its own spirit in a way.
+latishabrown801 she sold the house n the land.. watch the video on HouseFuzz
+latishabrown801 sorry, it was HouzzTv
+Roni Hmt Thank you so much. I really like this little property, it's alot bigger than it appears to be, isn't it?
+latishabrown801 yup... did u already watch the new homeowner on HouzzTv? they did way much better the than the former owner..
That's a great home you've created. An inspiration.
Thanks for the great stories of small houses and houses made from reusable things like streetcars. Your channel is one of my favorites and I look forward to your new videos.
in china they use bamboo for rebar. Maybe it could work for cobb. Just a thought.
g pappas Just wondering , how do the buildings in China , with the bamboo as rebar , hold up to Mother nature? Mainly wondering about earthquakes.
+Antonio Brother Right. And what if the bamboo rooted into the ground!
and it took your soul
that was really groovy! i wish her the best of luck with getting the permits for her cob rooms!
Wow a few years ago this guy, (who turned out to be one off her sons) gave me a book on cob. Then I randomly came across this on RUclips. Crazy. Viva what up bro and thanks for the resource.
Really nice, clean and tidy the only way to do a tiny home and make it work. Cheers!
Good job! You have created a wonderful environment for yourself and your family. Very beautiful.
I'm in love with this entire property
This was such an awesome video!!!!! I've lived in cities where it is not uncommon for people to pay 750k - 1 million on ordinary/everyday houses not even a 10th unique or historically important as this womans house. This is the sort of stuff that inspires people to think differently. Bravo! :)
it was interesting to watch a previous video of the next owners and what they have done to the same house. its still colourful and beautiful.
The outside where the cob huts are remind me a lot of this bungalow in Siesta Key Florida that my wife and I stayed at for our honeymoon very cool and creative.
Wow awesome amazing woman.
Love your sense of freedom I so wish I could do some Cobb hay spaces so beautiful,thanks for showing you fabulous place
I love her! This lady is awesome!
Such a cool place ! Love how lively it looks :)
You are one of my inspirations. Seems so peaceful and relaxing
Im absolutely loving the street car home. Im well jealous. Fancy a uk visitor..
Oh, oh, oh! Thank you! This is awesome! Shingle houses have their own charm
but are expensive and need too many permits... I wish I lived in a tiny house, strawbale, or cob...
OMG, I so want one of these so bad! It is absolutely beautiful! Your so lucky.
She acts just like my mom.
I should tell my mom about this. I think a little cob hut in back yard with her garden would be charming.
You are so amazing! I have totally inspired me. I love, love, love your home!
This woman is an inspiration. I love this place. I'm looking for ideas as need to be mortgage and rent free is possible. I will have approx £30k when sold and I don't want to throw it at some landlord for rent!
Love all Those colors, and everything Is well designed
i would love to live there
A house out of a giant whiskey barrel,.... sold! :) Great video.
Cobb houses are awesome, saw a guy build a big rocket stove, seating, and entertainment area in one of the other videos. The heat was piped around the entire room then eventually after using all the heat possible it went out. I would really like a place like hers. I have a very steep hill, those would be great spread around on dug out flat spots. Kitchen in one that would keep the heat out of the living area in summer and one for bathroom and one with bedrooms and living room. Really like the Cobb floors, I bet in winter after the heater warms them they feel great on bare feet. And nice and cool in summer.
California is full of awsome people!
Hello Creative wonderfull woman, i love you!
Such a cool property.
This fantastic! I love the roundness of it!
Awesome,all she needs now is a hydroponics system with our fish friends to really make it totally self sufficient.It would really make her garden pop also,but wow,i could only wish to have that somewhere on my own land.Thank you for keeping the dream alive for us who want to live simply,God bless & thanks for sharing
wow.. just, WOW! That's actually a great way to live..
Wonderful home and lady. Thanks Kirsten!