Woodland Homes

I have once imagined living in a tree house.
I thought that would be so awesome. 

I was very surprised when I searched up pictures of them one day and found some really large ones that people actually do live in. I had never heard of it before and thought it would be a really neat thing to try doing. Maybe it's just the kid in me still wanting that tree house that every kid wants when they are younger.

These are some of the pictures of those I have found

 I loved this picture when I found it. I do not know who made the picture, but the idea of having what is essentially a village within a large tree peaked my interest. 
It reminded me of how some imagine the fae to live.
It would take quite a large strong tree to hold one tree house let alone many.

Along with thoughts of tree houses I have been thinking about how wonderful it would be to buy up some land in a forest and build a small village filled with woodland cottages.
In a nut shell I am thinking of hobbit houses haha.

I found some of these in various places.

I especially love this white one.

 I loved the idea of having a lavender garden on your roof. Or some other kind of garden.

 This woodland home I found on Simondale.net
It is an eco friendly home they built in Wales.
They spent around $4,000-$5,000 on supplies, and invested 1,000-1,500 hours of work into the project.
I am sure a lot of the supplies were taken from the land around them and from unwanted items they could find for free. I found it amazing that one could build such a home for so little money.

 These are the house plan drawings. If I was to ever make one, I would make it bigger than this one but this is gives you a good idea of the design and thought process put into it.

Some key points of the design and construction:

• Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
• Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthetically fantastic and very easy to do
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring…)
• Woodburner for heating – renewable and locally plentiful
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.
  
  
  I personally would not go for a compost toilet but that's just me. I also do not trust a fridge that is cooled by natural means. My house would not be quite as eco friendly I guess, but it would be close. I believe they got around land costs by submitting their home to some association which proved that their home would not have any harmful impact on the environment. If I was to build one or more (If I could get a group of friends to want one too ^_~) We would most likely have to buy up a plot of land in the forest which even with that cost does not cost more than the price of a very small house if that.
  I may be crazy in thinking this idea seems cool... and maybe I have watched Lord of the Rings too many times and that might be why I want a hobbit hut, who knows? (I have only watched the movies 2-3 times really... so not as many times as others I know)
  
  
  These are cottages that I thought was adorable.
  There are so many different designs and styles, what I wonder is...
  Which ones are your favorites?

Am I really all that crazy for wanting a little enchanted cottage in the woods?
Its inexpensive in the scheme of things. Not only that but it would be quite an adventure trying to find everything to build it on a budget. Free windows and doors, left over lumber from construction sites, building the thing yourself or with friends. It would be hard for one person to do if not impossible I am sure.
It could be in the forest, but not so far from town that you couldnt get to a store easily if you wanted to. Hopefully a larger city would be within an hours drive from the town so if night life is wanted it could be gotten. So it is not like I want to become some hermit living in the middle of nowhere haha.
I just think it would be nice to have my home be my enchanted oasis.
I have so many plans and ideas for things like this its not even funny.
Has anyone else had the idea to want to do something like this before?
Any other ideas that might be useful on this subject?