Usually you do not want fungi in the walls of your home. But Ecovative is building a home in which having fungi in the walls is the entire point. The “Mushroom Tiny House” will use mycelium (the mass of threadlike “roots” that mushrooms use to take in nutrition) for insulation.

According to Inhabitat, this stuff is basically asbestos except that it’s not bad for the planet, won’t give you cancer, and is related to something you might put on a pizza:

Once it’s done growing, this mushroom insulation will continue to dry over the course of a month forming an airtight seal and excellent thermal protection. According to Ecovative, it will also be affordable, fire resistant and will have low or no VOCs. In addition to naturally-grown insulation, the house will also have ceiling tiles made of mushroom material.

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

So, basically the next best thing to being a Smurf and living in a toadstool.

Also, according to Inhabitat, you can eat the insulation. It will taste bad. But it won’t kill you. And really, all we’ve ever wanted is to live in a house you can theoretically eat.