Green Homes

Recent Features

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Gut Rehab Creates Office Space With an Apartment Above

Feb 3, 2011 | Portland, Maine

Architect Richard Renner and his wife Janet Friskey, a graphic designer, wanted a commute in downtown Portland, Maine that involved just a flight of stairs. “We jumped at the opportunity to purchase an old clothing store with an apartment above,” says Richard.

That turned out to be the easy part. “Our goals for the first-floor office and residence loft were an efficient building envelope, plenty of daylighting to the interior, and open floor plans for both spaces. And while we were at it, make the loft a LEED for Homes Platinum gut rehab.”

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Cranking Out Green, Affordable, Gut Rehabs

Jan 18, 2011 | Buffalo, New York

Don Marx is a very busy man for a guy who is “retired.” But as Chair of Construction on the Habitat for Humanity Buffalo Board, he manages as many as 12 whole-house renovations and 4 new homes a year. That’s supervising 8,000 volunteer labor hours for each renovation and 4,000 hours for each new home. And all of Don’s hours are in that total; he is a volunteer himself.

Habitat for Humanity Buffalo

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The ‘Shamrock Shack’ Retrofit – A Family Style of Green

Dec 21, 2010 | Pacifica, California

In 1938, Carl McCarthy started his “Shamrock Shack,” a small (700 square feet) weekend retreat overlooking the golf course in Sharp Park (now part of Pacifica), Calif., while he and his wife, Grace, lived 10 miles north in an apartment in San Francisco. He had virtually no building experience and no power tools.

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Green by (Interior) Design

Nov 10, 2010 | Asheville, North Carolina

“I had three main goals for this project when we started,” says interior designer Victoria Schomer.

1. Right-size and balance each room for its intended use.
2. Connect each room to a quality outdoor space.
3. Improve the overall energy efficiency and indoor air quality.

It took 4 years, but we could not be more pleased with the result. We took a small dark house with high energy bills and turned it into a light, airy, and thrifty home. ”