With its majestic Redwood trees and rolling hills, the Santa Cruz Mountains are ideally perfect for building a “Hobbit” home. And that is exactly why Anna Pissanetzky and her husband Pablo decided to begin the endeavor of building one on their property in Scotts Valley.
Pissanetzky and her husband moved to Scotts Valley about six years ago and moved into a house which sits on 15 acres of land. Surrounded by tall Redwoods there was more than ample space to build a smaller property next to their home.
A few years ago, Pissanetzky’s in-laws got sick and her husband Pablo traveled back to Texas, where they lived, to take care of them. Eventually, it made sense for the in-laws to move in with the Pissanetzky’s in Scotts Valley. That is when the idea of creating a separate space for the in-laws to live started to take form.
It was actually Pissanetzky’s 16-year-old son who instilled the idea of creating a “Hobbit” home in the hill behind their family house.
“It was August 2015 when my son said ‘Why don’t we build a Hobbit home in the hill?’” said Pissanetzky. “My husband thought it was cute at first, but then he started to research it and it turns out you can, in fact, build a Hobbit home in a hill.”
The Pissanetzky’s found a family-owned company based in Colorado called FormWorks Building, Inc. According to Pissanetzky, the company works by providing a kit to make a “Hobbit” home, as well as any additional help needed to complete the project.
The cost of the kit ranges in price but Pissanetzky estimated it at around $30,000. Each kit comes with all the building materials and detailed instructions on how to construct the home.
And while the Pissanetzky’s refer to the new property addition as a “Hobbit” home based off the similar look it has to the homes from the famed J.R.R. Tolkien book, the formal name used more often is an “Earthen Home.”
What defines a “Hobbit” or “Earthen Home” is they are literally built into the earth. Which is ideal for the Santa Cruz Mountains, where there often times is a lack of flat level ground. Another attractive quality about these kinds of homes is they are very energy efficient. Since the homes are in the ground, they keep a consistent warm-to-moderate temperature. An additional benefit is the homes are less prone to damage during natural disasters such as fires, tornados or earthquakes.
When the Pissanetzky’s project is completed in late spring or early summer, it will be one of few “Hobbit” homes in the area. The first one was built in Felton at 5,000 square feet but the Pissanetzky’s will be on a smaller scale at just 1,200 square feet. The home will be wheelchair equipped and have two bedrooms. Since the home will be inside of the hill it won’t be an eyesore for the Pissanetzky’s looking out their window.
“We will just look at a bigger hill,” Pissanetzky said. “We are just very excited. It is amazing. I hope I do not have to leave Scotts Valley and this is great to have a place my husband and I can move to in the future.”
The Pissanetzky’s plan to host an open house party when the home is complete to thank all the contractors and workers who helped make the project possible. To view the process of the project her husband started a blog at www.buildingahobbithole.com.
