Wartime philosophy serves Celia today

As a child growing up during the war, Celia Hutton had the "waste not, want not" message drummed into her.

It's a philosophy that she extended to the construction of her home seven years ago.

Her house Terranova was created from sustainable materials using a minimal amount of energy and uses earth to insulate it.

At the weekend, Mrs Hutton showed off her innovative house at Combe Down to members of the public as part of the Bath Homes Fit for the Future Open Homes weekend.

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The event aimed to give other homeowners around the city ideas for making their own properties more environmentally-friendly.

Mrs Hutton, who worked with her architect son Gavin on the concepts behind her home, said: "My house to a certain extent epitomises my attitude to life.

"My upbringing was through the Second World War. Then we stood on our own feet, used our common sense, recycled and wasted nothing.

"My earth-sheltered house has been created from a common sense viewpoint, with sustainable materials."

The house is described as an insulated concrete box, with its walls filled with rock wool. Earth sheltering means covering a building with a layer of earth, which acts as a massive insulator, allowing huge energy savings.

Plants also reduce the visual impact of the building on the landscape.

Mrs Hutton said: "The building has a long life expectancy and low structural maintenance, since little of the building is exposed to the elements.

"Wind and weather have little effect on it.

"The impact upon the landscape is low since plants inhabit much of the covering of the structure."

The open homes weekend, which saw 12 homes open to the public, was organised by Bath and North East Somerset Council, Transition Bath and the Bath Preservation Trust.

For more details of the Bath Homes Fit for the Future initiative go to www.bathhomes fitforthefuture.co.uk.