Miller Residence

Location: Leavenworth, Washington
Contractor: Borealis Builders
Completion Date: 04/2016

My husband Mike and I purchased a vacant lot in the summer of 2015 and began construction on a home I designed for our particular lifestyle and wishes. At 1100 square feet it is a fairly small house but provides everything we need (plus the detached single car garage is necessary for gear and tool storage). The majority of the walls are straw bale construction, which put Mike and I in a very hands-on role in construction. Borealis built the foundation and the post-and-beam frame, and came back after we installed the SIP (structural insulated panel) roof and straw bale walls to build the framed sections of wall and other key elements. Strategic shading and orientation, straw bale walls, extra insulation on the small sections of framed walls, and a roof with exceptional thermal performance make for a very comfortable house that is easy to heat and requires no air conditioning.

Photos by Dylan Fuller and Veronica Park, 2017