DYY (Do Your Yurt)

Yurts run the gamut from DIY (do-it-yourself) to pre-fab.  Most people who live in a yurt purchased a kit from a professional company. Recently though, I was looking at some pictures from a Colorado Yurt Company customer when hit me: all yurts, to varying degrees, are do-it-yourself.  While some of our customers contract out bits and pieces in and around their yurt (e.g. site preparation and deck) the vast majority play a large role in giving shape to their yurt. Each customer builds a unique yurt; we just facilitate. Take the case of Samantha Swenson and Duncan Masters.

Envisioning

The first step in the building process for the Swenson-Masters began with a stroll across their land in eastern North Carolina. When they imagined a home there, they saw a yurt.

 

 

Samantha says their love of reading guided their use of space in the yurt. Between the newlyweds’ two collections there were a lot of books.  Samantha says, “We figured out all the possible places to put shelves and then added everything else.”  Using the bookshelves as functional walls, they divided the big yurt into quarters: the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, and the office/craft area and future nursery.

 

 

 

Luxury

Moving into a yurt was obviously a step into an “alternative” lifestyle but not as much as you might assume.  In Samantha’s words,

"We are still interested in maintaining a relatively average lifestyle inside eccentric surroundings, finding balance between being eco-friendly and being your average active working individuals who love high-speed internet and crime drama TV shows..."

 

 

 

In addition to crime TV they love having people over.  They left the front half of their yurt, the kitchen and living room open and inviting, while moving the clutter of everyday life to the back of the yurt.


Designing the Kitchen
For their kitchen they decided on IKEA’s Varde series, which appealed to them ascetically and because it’s freestanding.  The counter space is movable and the table expands. 

 

 

Another wonderful thing about this yurt is that it is handicap accessible.

Like all great homes, the Swenson-Master’s is a work in progress.  They are currently adding a loft to the big yurt for Samantha’s craft projects.  By the time their baby-to-be is school age they hope to add another yurt to the mix.  

Some folks are more hands-off in their approach to designing their yurt than these guys, others do more. Regardless of where you fall on the DIY to Pre and Post-Fab continuum, the decision to live in a yurt is the decision to live in house that reflects you.  The round space and flood of natural light provide an inspiring place to build a your unique home.
 
Get started designing your yurt with our "Color Your Yurt" tool!

 

Susan Lange of Sweetwater Watsu Practices in her Yurt!

I love my yurt! It is a beautiful structure that evokes a kind of special magical feeling.

Last spring, I erected a 24 foot yurt in Evergreen Colorado, to house my 15 foot therapy pool.

 

 

 

 

I use the pool to give Watsu sessions to my clients. Watsu is a kind of water therapy that combines Shiatsu with water. I float people in a pool of warm water. I support their bodies while I move them through the water giving them gentle stretches and twists. It is both relaxing and rejuvenating. In July of 2009, I opened for business as Sweetwater Watsu.

 

 

 

 

When I was getting ready to establish my Watsu practice, I looked at a variety of structures that would work as a housing for my therapy pool. I chose to erect a yurt because I loved the round shape. I am so glad that I made that choice. The interior of the yurt is incredibly beautiful with the ceiling pattern of beams radiating out from a central dome. And the clear ceiling dome provides a view of the blue Colorado sky.

 

 

 

 

When people first step through the door of my yurt, their eyes light up when they see the inside of the structure. They frequently comment on the beauty of my space. As I work with my clients, the yurt lends to the calm feeling of healing energy. When people lay back in the warm water of my pool, they look up at the clear dome surrounded by radiating beams. It is a beautiful sight. My clients frequently comment on the shape of the yurt and the wonderful feeling they get when receiving a Watsu in the warm water inside of the peaceful yurt. It seems magical. The shape and energy of the yurt definitely lend to my Watsu practice.

For more information about my yurt or my Watsu practice, visit http://sweetwaterwatsu.com or become a fan of Sweetwater Watsu on Facebook.

Susan Lange
Sweetwater Watsu
http://sweetwaterwatsu.com
303-638-9843

 

A Yurt for Monster Mountain Snows

Last week a few of the Colorado Yurt crew were invited to spend a couple of nights in the Fowler/Hilliard Yurt. The yurt is part of the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, a system of 29 backcountry huts in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, connected by 350 miles of suggested routes. We set the yurt up this past fall on an exposed ridge at 11,300 feet elevation. It is one of our newly designed Winter Stout Alpine Yurts. Unfortunately, once we got above tree line, weather conditions quickly eroded. Faced with a whiteout and hip deep snow, we were forced to retrace our steps back to the trailhead in the light of a full moon. These are the exact conditions the Alpine Yurt is was built to withstand.

The Fowler/Hilliard Yurt on a milder day.
photo by 10th Mountain Division

• Massive snow - in a setting like this, it is not unusual to see several feet of snow on a yurt roof top.
• Unbalanced snow loads - winds and drifts often pile all the snow on the north quadrant of the roof while the sun melts the south side clear.
• Wicked winds - at this exposed elevation, wind gusts can easily begin to flirt with 100 mph. 

Although it rarely happens in normal conditions, when exposed to rugged alpine conditions like this, a typical yurt can face partial to full collapse. Since we live in the heart of the Rocky Mountains we wanted to engineer a yurt that would allow fellow mountain lovers to live where they want to live and play where they want to play.

The thorough engineering of the Winter Stout Alpine Yurt also adds a couple of other benefits.

• International Building Codes - the Alpine Yurt meets the structural requirements of IBC in jurisdictions across the country so you can document the structural engineering for building officials like you would for any building.
• Seismic activity - the Alpine Yurt can withstand considerable earthquake movement.

So, although we weren't quite up for the challenging mountain conditions on our last trip up to tree line, the Fowler/Hilliard Yurt was. The 10th Mountain Division has graciously invited us back for another go at it and we're determined to spend a few nights in that yurt yet.