00:00Hi, I'm Nicole from Refinery29.
00:02I'm in Taos, New Mexico, on my way to stay at an off-the-grid getaway known as Earthship.
00:08This is Weekend House, a show where we check out some of the most interesting and unique
00:13vacation rentals from around the country because we could all use a little getaway.
00:19Wow, and this came out of nowhere. There's nothing around here.
00:25Look at this beauty.
00:30All right, now where is the entrance?
00:35Can't tell if this is the front or that's the front or that's the front.
00:39All right, come in.
00:42Oh my god, it's so warm in here. This is amazing.
00:46We have now made it inside. It's almost humid in here. It feels kind of tropical.
00:54The Phoenix Earthship is a state-of-the-art, off-grid,
00:57eco-friendly building with modern amenities. The home's jungle greenhouse creates its own
01:02microclimate in the high mountain desert. Let's go adventure. Wow, look at this.
01:09This is insane. Look at this kitchen.
01:13Look at these trees. There are trees in the kitchen.
01:17They made it very cute. Look at this little oven mitt.
01:24Look at this fountain. This is absolutely gorgeous.
01:28It's a fountain fireplace. I've never seen anything like this before.
01:33With stained glass, check out all these details.
01:37And there's tile work on here. There's little faces on the fireplace.
01:42It's so interesting how they make the bottles and blend it so seamlessly into the design.
01:48More forest.
01:50Okay, here's the first room. So you don't even really have a wall.
01:54It's trees that close off this room.
01:58Also, I want the best room in this Earthship, so I'm gonna try out all the beds.
02:02Let's see how this one does.
02:06Pretty comfy.
02:09Oh my god, these are really comfy, actually.
02:11I think we're gonna have a great night here. Let's check out some other rooms.
02:16I love how all the painting really works into the architecture.
02:21Bed test number three. Let's see.
02:26Not as comfy as the other one. I don't know if this is gonna be a winner.
02:31This feels like a treasure hunt. We don't know what's through every door.
02:35Wow, this bathroom is absolutely gorgeous. I love how the bottles look like stained glass.
02:42You can't see it right now, but I think in the morning it's gonna be insane.
02:48When we're gonna shower, the water that goes onto our bodies is actually funneled underneath
02:54this building, and it waters the plants within the building.
02:58While I did my research on the sustainable elements of the Phoenix, I wanted to find out more about its
03:04design.
03:04So I went to speak to Michael Reynolds, who is the architect and creator of the Earthship concept.
03:10Bring us through the process of imagining a place like this and building the first Earthship.
03:16Graduating in 69 from architectural school, I started seeing problems.
03:20So I started gathering garbage and building houses out of it. I kept adding various little tidbits
03:26of solutions to the buildings I was building that addresses the main six points of people's
03:32sustenance on this planet. They need comfortable shelter. They need electricity. They need water.
03:38They need to do something with their sewage and take responsibility for it themselves.
03:43They need to have food, and they need to do something with their garbage.
03:46There's just not much maintenance. There's actually less maintenance than a conventional home.
03:52After having the honors of speaking with Michael, I headed back to check out the kitchen.
03:57This is not a cabinet, you guys. This is a fridge. Check this out. Wow, it's a pretty huge fridge,
04:06actually.
04:07And then this is your freezer right here. I think we need some food, though, because I'm starting to get
04:13a little hungry.
04:17Maybe we'll check out the grocery store nearby. Hopefully there is something nearby. We'll see.
04:24We headed to a local grocery store in Taos County, which is about 20 minutes away from the Earthship.
04:29I was craving tacos, so I got some tomatoes, onions, peppers, taco shells, avocados, and a few more items for
04:37our stay.
04:42We made it back. We did get a little bit lost, especially since it's pitch black outside.
04:48Also, we don't have any cell reception, so a little sketchy, but, you know, we're good.
04:54We're here. We have food. All right, let's get started.
04:57I think the most exciting part of being here is actually being off the grid,
05:03even though it is a little bit scary when you're driving here and your GPS doesn't know where you are.
05:08On my drive back, looking into the void of darkness, I was contemplating some goals for this trip.
05:17So I'm going to take a little trip outside later.
05:19And then maybe, I don't know, we sit there for a while and kind of contemplate life and see if
05:25there's
05:26any UFOs or anything like that. Chef's kiss. Dinner's served.
05:35Now that I have had some time to eat some dinner, it feels good. It feels really nice.
05:43It's really fun being able to watch the stars and look at the moon.
05:46I haven't seen any UFOs yet. Maybe we'll see some later. But it's so quiet.
05:52It's kind of the opposite of Los Angeles. I don't know if you can see my breath right now,
05:58but it's pretty cold out here. So I'm not going to sit out and reflect for too long.
06:02And I did hear some barking, which could be dogs or wolves. Probably not going to hang around to find
06:09out, but it's been a good night.
06:13I am ready to tuck away for the night. I chose this bed. It's the comfiest, I think.
06:21It's been a day. And I got a warm shower. A solar powered warm shower. And we cooked some dinner.
06:29We did a lot. We had a busy day. And tomorrow's going to be another busy day.
06:34So we better hit the hay.
06:40Good morning. So I just saw the sunrise. And it was beautiful. I'm going to walk around later.
06:49But right now, 30 to 40 more minutes of sleep will do me just fine. See you a little later.
06:59It's day two. We're going to explore the backyard. I heard there's chickens out here. Let's find out.
07:07So this is where we watched the stars last night. And then I think that this is the chicken coop.
07:13Right over here. I love how they built a little Earth ship for the chickens. It's actually the cutest thing.
07:21Oh, hey guys. How's it going? Oh, perfect timing. Well done. Wow, they look glorious.
07:29They have a pretty large spot for just three of them. They have all this space here.
07:37So this is where we did not want to be at night because we heard coyotes.
07:44This has been an amazing experience. It doesn't feel real. Honestly, it feels like a Disney ride or
07:50something like that. I've never been in a house with a full-blown forest inside of the kitchen
07:55and the bedroom. I think some of the highs of this trip have definitely been sitting next to the fire,
08:03being able to relax and unwind. There's also a waterfall in front of the fire, which I thought was
08:09probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. So I think that this is the perfect place for
08:15somebody that is adventurous, someone that is not trying to post on social media that you're here
08:23because you might not be able to get service to be able to post. I would definitely stay here again.
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