Irwin Weiner ASID - It's impressive to see natural and local building materials used for new construction. The carbon footprint is tiny when eco materials like soil, flowers, straw, and local timber are used to build a new home. Hats off to blogger Katie and her Making This Home blog for inspiring us with many different eco-house stories (the blogger lives in a home made from recycled tires, bless her heart). In the above photo, the blog shows you a home with bales of straw for cozy insulation (click on the photo to learn more). And in our featured video, an architect and family in the Czech Republic build the natural house of their dreams using straw and other local, natural materials. What a wonderful example they're setting for their children, too!