This home truly was a labor of love for the owners. They built the house themselves, with the help of friends and family. The owners instilled their strong values into every nook and cranny of the structure, ensuring that the materials and building process made the smallest possible ecological footprint.

The surrounding cliffs inspired a Southwest style home, which Cheryl Heinrichs Architecture designed to maximize solar gain and prioritize recycling. The home's exterior is built with stackable Rastra blocks, made from 85% recycled materials filled with rebar and concrete. South-facing windows capture natural light and energy from the sun, and interior walls are framed in certified and recycled wood. The passive cooling system uses skylights, fans and a thermal chimney. A sloped roof channels rain into enormous, terra-cotta pots for landscape irrigation. Salvaged timbers from old Spanish missions form the front door, which was hand-made in Mexico. Cutting-edge, energy-efficient appliances include a refrigerator from Denmark, made of recycled materials, that costs less than $2 per month to operate. Low-toxic and natural finishes were used inside and out, including: breathable hand-applied stucco; natural hand-applied plaster; zero VOC paints; water-soluble and non-toxic sealers; limestone, tile and bamboo flooring.

This house was honored with the Central Oregon Association of Realtors 2003 Building a Better Central Oregon award for Residential Design. ReadThe Cascade Business News article featuring this "Desert" Home.