What is it like to live in a straw bale house? Experiences from Ebner 1822

Anyone who hears about a straw bale house usually has questions straight away. Does it smell of straw inside? Can mice get into the walls? What happens if it gets damp? And is a house made of straw really safe when the fireplace is lit?

These questions are understandable. We know straw from the field or the barn – not necessarily as a building material for a high-end holiday home. At Ebner 1822, however, it is inside all three nature houses. Not visible and not as a rustic feature, but expertly installed in a timber construction, protected by clay and lime.

What guests notice about this is less the straw itself than the living experience: warm surfaces, muffled sounds and rooms that feel neither technical nor artificial.

Our experience with straw bale houses therefore does not begin with measured values, but with stepping inside.

A straw bale house doesn't look like one

In our nature homes, the straw bales are concealed within the building envelope. The load-bearing structure is made of wood. In between is densely pressed construction straw from SonnenKlee. Inside, hand-applied clay surfaces shape the rooms, while on the outside, a vapour-permeable lime render protects the structure.

Anyone entering the house therefore sees no straws. One sees spruce and larch wood, oak floorboards, clay walls and large windows with a view of the Nock mountains.

The straw fulfils a silent task: it insulates the house. The trapped air between the stalks slows down the transfer of heat through the wall. As a result, heat stays in the building longer during the cooler season, while the rooms do not heat up as quickly in summer.

However, how well this works never depends on a single material. Orientation, window areas, shading, airtightness and proper ventilation are equally part of it. A straw bale alone does not make a good house. Only a carefully planned wall build-up turns an agricultural raw material into a reliable building material.

What does living there actually feel like?

Most guests don't talk about insulation values. They describe the house in other words: warm, quiet, comfortable or cosy.

This has to do with the way the materials work together. Wood brings warmth and texture to the room. The clay plaster can buffer short-term fluctuations in humidity by absorbing moisture and releasing it again later. The straw forms the thick insulating layer within the wall.

Together, these materials ensure wall surfaces that feel pleasantly warm in winter. Sounds seem less harsh than in rooms with many smooth, sealed surfaces. The wall heating and the wood-burning stove complement this feeling with a calm, even warmth.

This does not mean that a natural house can do without ventilation or heating. Neither do natural materials replace fresh air or well-planned domestic engineering. However, they create good conditions for rooms where people enjoy spending time.

We explain more about how these building materials work together in the article Natural building materials in the holiday home.

Does a straw bale house smell of straw?

No. In a finished straw bale house, it doesn't smell like a barn.

The straw is dry, tightly pressed and completely enclosed within the wall. It is not used as a visible surface. What is perceptible in Ebner 1822 is rather the wood, the clay and – when it is lit – the wood-burning stove.

During the construction phase, straw naturally has its own distinctive smell. However, once the walls have been plastered and finished, this is no longer noticeable inside the building.

What about damp and mould?

Straw is an organic building material. If it remains damp for a prolonged period, it can suffer damage, just like timber or any other plant-based building material. This is precisely why planning and skilled craftsmanship are so crucial.

The straw must be installed when dry. The roof, plinth, window surrounds and external render must reliably keep out precipitation. At the same time, the wall construction should be designed in such a way that water vapour can escape. At Ebner 1822, a conscious decision was therefore made to use vapour-permeable materials.

Inside, the clay plaster can mitigate short-term moisture peaks. Outside, the lime plaster protects against the weather. Regular ventilation remains necessary nonetheless – particularly after showering or cooking.

The honest answer is therefore: a straw bale house that has been professionally designed and built to ensure it remains dry does not, in principle, have a mould problem. However, faulty joints or water ingress would be problematic here too. Natural building does not mean leaving the building physics to nature. It means working with it with particular care.

Can mice live in the walls?

We are often asked this question too. Straw consists mainly of the dry stalks of the cereal crop, not the grain itself. It is nevertheless crucial that high-quality building straw is as free as possible from residual grains and is installed tightly.

Even more important are sealed building components. If the plinth, roof connections and all penetrations are properly finished, animals have no access to the straw insulation. This also applies to other insulated houses: it is not the insulation material alone that is decisive, but the quality of the building envelope.

In our finished natural houses, the straw is completely enclosed by the other component layers. It is neither visible nor accessible to guests – and nor should it be to mice.

Is a straw house a fire hazard?

Loose straw burns easily. However, tightly compressed building straw that is protected on both sides behaves differently. Due to the high degree of compaction, there is very little oxygen available inside the bales. In addition, the layers of render protect the insulation material.

Fire tests show that straw bale wall structures, when properly constructed and rendered, can achieve high levels of fire resistance. The key factor here is always the tested overall structure – that is, the interaction between the timber frame, the straw, the thickness of the render and the connections. One should therefore not make a blanket statement that straw is non-combustible. The correct statement is: professionally designed straw bale constructions can meet the fire safety requirements laid down in building regulations.

All the houses in the Ebner 1822 development are fitted with wood-burning stoves. In this development in particular, ensuring that the correct clearances, connections and fire safety measures were in place was, of course, a key part of the planning process.

Is a straw bale house really cooler in summer?

The thick straw insulation slows down the heat entering through the roof and walls. This is particularly pleasant in summer when the outside temperature rises during the day. Research on straw bale buildings shows that corresponding building envelopes can dampen temperature peaks and delay them over time.

Nevertheless, it would be disingenuous to say that a straw bale house could never overheat. Large windows let light and the landscape into the room – but also solar heat. Shading and proper ventilation therefore remain essential.

Ebner 1822 is situated at around 1,000 metres. The cooler nights help to air the houses out thoroughly again in the evening. Together with the wall structure, this creates a pleasant summer climate without the feeling of a constantly running air conditioning system.

Why walls don’t have to be perfectly smooth

Clay is applied by hand. Wood shows knots, grain and small variations. A natural house also does not age like a flawless high-gloss surface.

For us, that is not a defect. It is part of the attitude with which the houses were created.

Nothing in nature is straight – but it is just right.

Natural materials should be allowed to show their origins. A clay wall does not have to look like an industrially manufactured panel. Wood should be allowed to develop a patina over time. The craftsmanship should remain visible.

That does not mean that craftsmanship and comfort are of secondary importance. On the contrary: minimalist architecture, in particular, requires meticulous attention to detail, good beds, harmonious lighting and materials that have been crafted with integrity. Here, perfection is achieved not through uniformity, but through harmony.

Who is a stay in a straw bale house of interest to?

A natural home is particularly suited to people who are mindful of their surroundings. To guests who are interested in craftsmanship, appreciate natural materials, or simply want to experience what it’s like to stay in a house built differently.

You don’t need to be an architecture expert to appreciate it. Nor does the house require any particular way of life. There is nothing to learn and no set routine to follow. You can simply live there, have breakfast, sleep, cook, read and look out of the window.

We’ve made plenty of preparations. We won’t tell you how to spend your days.

For us, that is precisely what makes living in straw bale houses such a wonderful experience: the material does not impose itself. It provides the framework for a living environment that feels more peaceful, warmer and more natural – and allows those living there to have their own space.

Experience a straw bale house for yourself

Our three nature cottages at Ebner 1822 were built from wood, straw and clay. Each cottage offers plenty of privacy, a wood-burning stove, a private Hydrosoft cabin and a breakfast basket waiting right outside the door each morning.

Discover the natural homes at Ebner 1822 or check your desired travel dates.