MiSo: A Romantic Solar off grid Escape.
Tucked away on a quiet hillside near Ohio’s Amish Country, MiSo is not just a home—it’s an off grid getaway engineered in aluminum, glass and sunlight.
❤️ Romantic touches you’ll love:
• A peaceful, private setting to unplug and reconnect
• A cozy outdoor bed swing perfect for reading or cuddling
• A private wood-fired sauna
• Pond views and open skies
• Just minutes from Amish Country, where time moves slower.
The space
This home was designed by the University of Michigan schools of architecture and engineering for a Department of Energy competition in 2005. It was transported to Washington DC and set up for judging. It was later moved back to Michigan and served as a display of sustainability in the Botanical Gardens. Later it was sold into private ownership and used as an off grid homestead. We acquired this unique home, transported it to Ohio (the name MiSo – Michigan Solar – in Ohio) and engaged in a couple year process of restoring all the original components of passive and active heating, cooling and power. Many of our Amish neighbors and tradesmen assisted in the restoration – who better than the Amish to assist in off grid living?!
While our effort is to preserve all the students’ original design in sustainable living, we do have back up grid tie power available for those long gray winter days.
Guest access
Guests may access the entire house, private backyard and sunny front deck. The only part of the house that is locked to guests is except the basement which houses the battery bank and central utility closets where inverters and other components are located. If a guest desires to see and hear explanations of how all these components function, reach out and Brian will give a full tour.
The pond is on the neighbor’s property and not included in this vacation home.
Other things to note
The sauna is wood fired and takes some time to reach temperature. We can assist with fire starting and other prep on request.
While the house is designed to be completely off grid, if there is a sustained period of cloudy days, we do have an option for grid tie electric to make your stay comfortable.
The house is located in a very sunny, open area with fields. There are two neighboring houses visible from the backyard. There is an abundance of wildlife (deer, fox, turkeys, ducks, raccoons) in the area. Please do not feed wildlife or leave food outside.