10 Amazing Cob Buildings You Can Use As Inspiration

If you are thinking about building a cob house and are looking for some ideas we’re here to help you do just that. 

From tiny woodland homes to five-bedroom villas we have found 10 amazing cob buildings you can use as inspiration for your cob building project. 

10 Amazing Cob Buildings You Can Use As Inspiration

1. Cob Cottage

Cob cottage is a mushroom shaped cob house built on Mayne Island, British Columbia in 1999. One of the best features, apart from the great shape, is that this is a two-story- house

There are numerous windows which are ideally placed to let in the maximum amount of sunlight. It has a cozy feel with softly toned colors and beautifully designed interiors. 

This was Canada’s first fully permitted cob house and has been an example for many others over the years. As an Airbnb rental plenty of people can stay here and be inspired. 

2. Mud And Wood

This cob house looks quite modern apart from the curvy nature of the walls and roof. Inside this soft shaped feeling continues with shelves sculpted into the walls and no hard edges anywhere. 

The wood for the window and door frames as well as the stairs came from wind fallen trees. As the owners are an architect and a carpenter it isn’t hard to see how they came up with such a stunning example of a cob house. 

Sitting in its beautiful surroundings in Co. Sligo, Ireland this cob house looks like it’s always been there. 

3. Goatling Cob House

Situated in the beautiful countryside of Somerset, England this incredible cob house looks like something out of a fairy tale. The intricately designed external walls are something to behold. 

Along with the cedar shingle roof and highly decorative windows this house gives you the sensation that you have stepped into another time and place. 

This cob house was constructed using clay from the stream that runs alongside it as well as hawthorne and pine from the surrounding woodland. It is a truly unique dwelling and full of joyful inspiration for budding cob house builders.

4. The Cob House

Simply called The Cob House this beautiful structure has just one room. The owner built this home without the help of any power tools, and even taught himself how to thatch so that he could fit the roof himself. 

The process of building the house took just eight months and everything was learned just from reading a book on cob house construction.

This is a truly inspiring story of someone determined to create a beautiful structure with minimum impact to the surrounding environment. 

Most of the materials are recycled with the straw for the roof coming from the owner’s own fields. 

5. Laughing House

The Laughing House will definitely make you smile, it is a pleasure to look at from outside and a joy to explore inside. 

Sitting in the woods near Coquille, Oregon this home is made from local organic materials. It is a two-story house with plenty of room and intricately designed interiors. 

There are many features that can be used for inspiration such as the beautifully crafted functional kitchen. There’s also the seascape mosaic in the bathroom and gorgeous, fresco bas relief around the kitchen window.

You won’t be short of inspiring ideas here. 

6. Elämän Puu Cottage

A straw and mud house in the forests of Southern Finland, Elämän Puu Cottage is another intricately crafted home. The work of an illustrator and designer, this cob house has the feel of a fairy tale cottage. 

Inside there is a large sculpture of mother nature with her hair extending in spirals around the cottage. The doorway is low and gives the sense of entering somewhere secret and childlike. 

The house is built from locally sourced materials apart from the roof liner and solar panels which supply power to the interior. The windows are recycled sauna windows and the straw for construction came from a local horse farm. 

7. Istoria Casutei

This cob house was created by Ileana Mavrodin, an architect and natural builder. It is situated in Banat, Romania and was constructed to promote natural buildings and a return to community spirit. 

Although cob is the primary material used in building this house the builder also incorporated dry stone to give the structure more strength. Roundwood was used for the roof and doors of the house.

This is just one example of the cob houses that Ileana Mavrodin has created. 

8. Cob Guest House

Built in 2005 on Mayne Island, British Columbia the Cob Guest House is an open, airy and pleasant abode. The large expanse of timber, living roof gives the cob house the ultimate protection from the elements. 

On the exterior walls are beautifully crafted bas relief frescoes while inside there are sofas which have been molded out of cob. 

This home is flooded with light and is a very comfortable and functional abode. 

9. Cob Earth House

A 5-bedroom villa in Portugal is proof that not all cob houses are small. This house was built with bio-materials and has a waste water preservation system that uses an ecological pit. 

Outside there is an organic garden, continuing the ecologically sound theme. It is watered by a drip feed irrigation system. The rooms are large and airy and there is a wood burning stove for heating. 

10. Cadhay

Another example of a fully functional and spacious cob house, Cadhay provides 2,500 feet of habitable space. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. There is so much here to inspire any cob house builder.

Set in a beautiful rural location in Devon, England the house was built largely from local, sustainable materials and the underfloor heating is provided by a ground source heat pump. 

Beautifully finished oak doors, windows and floors compliment the cob walls and the roof is a cozy French water reed thatch. 

Final Thoughts

We hope you have enjoyed our guide to these amazing cob buildings and hope that you have found plenty of information and ideas to inspire you. 

Joel Adams
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