A creative use of building materials Once upon a time, the Danish island of Læsø was filled with charming thatched-roof houses. The uncommon architectural trend was the result of a Middle Ages boom in salt production, whose reliance on kilns stripped the island of its trees.
Instead of wood, people built homes with seaweed thatched roofs and driftwood. In addition to making the island?s houses look like cozy high-design hobbit huts, the saltwater-infused material has proven to be a formidable opponent to decay.

Adam Schnack via The Spaces

Adam Schnack via The Spaces

This house, one of the last seaweed-thatched homes on the island, has been standing since the late 1700s, and it recently underwent a full renovation, its shaggy roof and driftwood facade included.
Adam Schnack via The Spaces

The owners replaced the roof, using 70,000 pounds of seaweed. The low-lying two-bedroom home now has new wooden beam floors and ceilings as well as fresh, white-washed walls. The house has a new kitchen, but it kept the old (like a cast-iron stove) as a nod to the home?s historic past. Intrigued" The roughly 1,000-square-foot home is on the market for 2.65 million DKK (about $414,000).

Adam Schnack via The Spaces

Adam Schnack via The Spaces

Via: The Spaces

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