Satiety Cove: My Precious “Dumb” Home

By Kate Kheel from Safe Tech International

Sitting here at home tonight, internet service down, time expands. And so does my appreciation for this stunning home I have been blessed with. This home speaks to my heart and to the heart of almost all who visit. It’s an answer in the form of a dwelling place to the yearning that is welling up inside so many of us for simplicity, nature, harmony, and peace.

The “smart world” with its tech-buzzing homes insists on faster, evermore connected, AI, and “convenience”. Life is reduced to services delivered through buttons and buzzes, devices and data. But much of humanity is saturated to the point of indigestion. The thought of even one more “byte” is repugnant.

Many people don’t realize they’re over-consuming. It’s the norm, what everyone does. But when people enter this home, my sanctuary, I sense in them a palpable sigh of relief. Time slows down, and they begin to see once again: Irregular shapes and textures, the varied forms of nature, replace insistent angular forms and synthetic materials of mass-produced homes. Heavy stones reminiscent of times long gone, reclaimed wood, and boards from fallen trees, each one conveying a unique life story, all meld together to form a tapestry inside that reflects the varied textures, colors, and forms of the exquisite and open surrounding landscape. This home feels different, strangely different, yet so familiar. Entering this home is not stepping out of nature but rather transitioning to an enclosed nest that is nature.

Designed around the natural sunlight of the seasons, the passive solar orientation with a wall full of windows on the south side of the home provides sunlight in the winter throughout the day. And in the summer, when the sun is high in the sky, an overhang above the windows ensures the home stays temperate. So, the energy required to heat and cool this home are but the finishing touches. The bulk of the “work” has been accomplished by nature — a stark contrast to “smart” homes, which ignore the natural world and superimpose draconian measures to replace what has heedlessly been discarded.

The workmanship of this home is exquisite. It’s difficult to find words for the perfection of the imperfections. Edges and corners are seamlessly and intentionally woven together without harsh, machine-generated definition. Colors that mimic nature blend, complementing one another with no single one claiming sovereignty.

In typical homes, the dulling of our senses is only surpassed by the assault on our health from toxic materials, not to mention the embodied energy needed to manufacture all the so-called “smart” features of newer homes. But with this home, enormous care has been taken to ensure that all materials (to the degree possible) are free of toxins and ethically sourced. Solid oak doors reclaimed from an estate in Connecticut lend beauty while escaping early retirement to a landfill. Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities give seasoned barn wood a new lease on life.

Thankfully Satiety Cove is situated far from cell towers and for the time being has not been targeted by Telecom for a 5G “small cell”. Minimalistic but wise use of technology untethers this home from the energy grid, smart meters, and the attendant electrical pollution. No dimmer switches, internet of things appliances, or other such gadgets that proffer far more than they offer. 

Outside, chirping birds replace the incoherent sounds and electromagnetic frequencies so unavoidable in urban living. A tree, brimming with activity and life, lovingly offers herself as a dwelling place for squirrels and other little critters. Why on earth are humans trading these treasures of nature for radiating antennas outside of homes?

We all consume…it’s a reality of being alive. The only question is how to do so causing the least harm to other beings and to our shared planet. Though certainly not perfect, this has been the aim in building Satiety Cove. It is a precious and cherished “understatement” that embodies the sweet point of satiation – thus its name, Satiety Cove. I feel blessed and truly satiated, and I pray that our civilization comes to value the preciousness of “less”, simpler, and so-called “dumb,” so Earth can regenerate and we humans can once again experience the beauty of being fully alive.