A Swedish couple grows their own food and even manages to stay naturally warm in the bitter winter of Sweden thanks to a greenhouse that cocoons their house. This greenhouse provides them with both food and warmth throughout the bitter Nordic winter.

Stockholm residents, Charles Sacilotto and Marie Granmar have given the term “living around nature” a whole new meaning. They have built a greenhouse that envelopes their home with a 4-millimeter thick glass pane. It even provides food for them all year-round.

Winters are particularly severe in Sweden and last for over 9 months in a year. Winter temperatures in Stockholm can plunge to 23 degrees Fahrenheit. January is particularly freezing in Stockholm. But walk into their home and you are transported to a warm tropical paradise. The upstairs can reach a pleasing 59-68 degree Fahrenheit, reports the Daily Mail.

They were told that it would not be a very good place to live in winter unless there was a lot of heating. The house was initially a summerhouse, not meant for living round the year. But they came up with the idea of wrapping it in a greenhouse. So they save energy and depend on the sun. It is a normal greenhouse but the difference is that it is like a bubble over the actual house.

In the Nordic cold of Stockholm, normal homes turn on the heater around the middle of September through to the middle of May, says Marie. The greenhouse surrounding their house lowers that period down to only 6 months. The energy they consume is also much less. A stove that burns wood supplies the additional heat.
Marie asserts she is almost immune to the harsh winter that confines her neighbors and friends indoors. As they have built a glass ceiling on the rooftop they do not need the roof of the house. Even when it snows or rains, she can relax on her terrace and enjoy the view outside.

During the warm summers, the glass roof opens automatically when the temperature crosses a certain point. It lets the built-up heat inside to escape. The openness allows them to enjoy the summer.

Their plants are also warmer inside the surrounding greenhouse. It covers an area that is almost double the house inside. So there is plenty of space for a garden that envelopes the whole house. The Mediterranean warmth in the house allows them to grow tomatoes, grapes, figs, herbs, and cucumber. They also have apple and cherry trees.

Marie admits that growing things there is not effortless as they need every bit of energy for their home. They have put up a system that collects rainwater. They have also installed an advanced toilet system. It filters out the urine and other waste and provides free fertilizer. The plants growing inside help them out by maintaining an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

The couple also has plans to install a system that allows them to store excess energy from the summer months for use in the cold winters. Marie says that this simple system allows them to be self-reliant and they do not have to depend on larger conventional systems.

They say that living in the way that they do proves that nature has everything needed to sustain life. This doctrine allows one to use the sun, water, and nature for all the needs in life.