What building materials do the rich typically use to build their homes? And likewise, what materials would you choose if you had nearly unlimited financial resources? Wood paneling or sheet rock? Granite and marble counters or plastic laminate? Wood, tile and stone floors or vinyl? Berber wool rugs or synthetic? Wood shakes, tile, slate and copper or asphalt shingles? Timber frame or stud frame? Thick walls or thin? Just look around a bit and you’ll see the answers are obvious. Most people prefer the beauty of natural materials when they can afford them. (Note: I could have located multi-million dollar adobe and rammed earth houses, but I just grabbed a few samples from one website.)
So here’s the good news for the rest of us: Build your own home using low cost building methods such as earthbag, building in stages if necessary and paying as you go, and you can surround yourself with the beauty of natural materials. You don’t have to be rich.
The homes shown below are from Aspen, Colorado – one of most expensive real estate markets in the U.S.
Luxury log home
Luxury stone home
Luxury living room with natural materials
Photo credit: LuxHomes.com
Earthbag Building Blog 
If I’d have unlimited resources, I would build a house using foam glass or aerogel. With some additional construction materials plus covered with of course natural materials like stone or wood to have a pleasant look.
How many people have built this way?
These homes are truly beautiful, but you don’t have to be wealthy to make use of these construction materials. With help from the best resources, you can use the materials you like and still keep your construction project under budget by locating deals.
Right, that was my point. Natural materials are highly desired, and yet are affordable if you do the work yourself and use local materials.
[…] by many as one of the best of all building materials as we discussed in a previous blog post Preferred Building Materials for the Rich. It’s somewhat unusual to see stone used as a construction material these days because it’s so […]