Greenest Home In America!

David was thrilled this week to receive LEED Platinum Certification for our remodeled Rockridge home  at the GreenBuild conference in Boston. We received the highest score of any home in the current LEED-HOMES program.

For the press coverage, check out the media section of our website. I'll write more when my darling husband returns from his rock star Boston trip and watches the kids for a few hours....

Eco-Driveway 101

We're choosing which permeable pavers to use for our driveway and have settled on Basalite. 

Above is SF Rima at the Sunset Idea House in Palo Alto. Why permeable pavers? They reduce stormwater runoff and increase usable space.  They recharge ground water. More on that when I figure out what that means. They are ADA-compliant, meaning our aging parents are less likely to trip as they walk our driveway. You get LEED credits for them too, although gaming LEED was never our intent.

We are completing a deal for the Italian Renaissance line, shown below. Foxy, no? Comes in lots of colors.

Moved In!

Has it really been a month since we moved in? Our construction crew from Canyon just left yesterday, and our landscaping began today. Do you like the new exterior colors, also from Mythic Paint? We're in love....

Who knew I could love my little garage so much. Next we're working on drip irrigation using graywater, and hooking our toilets up to our rainwater catchment -- as mentioned previously our vessels are the fab rainhogs that we recycled from the San Francisco Slow Food Conference two weeks ago. We also hung out with Harold at Ecohome Improvement yesterday, as he waxed poetic on the virtues of various green stains for the deck.  We chose TimberTek in Pinewood. Photos to follow.

"Tesla" Home: New Concept in Green Living

David is blessed to have more epiphanies between 8 and 9am than most people have in a lifetime.  While we struggled with our home loan and the appraisal process - David came up with the concept that our home is analogous to a "Tesla" - the super sexy yet green electric car that does 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds yet averages 256 miles per gallon. 

Drive quickly.  Tread lightly.

We were thinking about this as we checked out, smelled and licked Elon Musk's Tesla last Tuesday at a friend's house.

Here's Elon.  He's only 37 yet is the Chairman of Tesla and financially backed the company to the tune of $55 million.

We used New Resource Bank for our construction loan, and we were so sad to witness the disconnect that still remains between a BANK that understands the value of green but is coupled to and hand-cuffed with an APPRAISAL industry that gives you a higher appraisal for more square feet, bedrooms and bathrooms. We feel many of the "green" McMansions popping up everywhere are greenwash - is it really green to have a 5000 square foot home? Seems to miss the point and spirit of green.

David wrote a thoughtful letter to our appraisers who initially valued our soon-to-be LEED Platinum at no higher than market rate for a fossil-fuel guzzling regular Craftsman. He made the case of our home being a "Tesla" prototype - small yet so deep green, and worth the rather high price tag.  When you take our Prius on the road, and accelerate to 60mph, it says "yes." But a Tesla is a sports car, an electric sports car, and it is speedy.

David succeeded: we got a better appraisal for our loan, although still significantly lower than our cost.

We need to overhaul our appraisal system so that it values green homes higher and with different standards than traditional homes.

Lovin' the Recycled Wood

We got ourselves some front steps, finally.  They are recycled from the Old Sacramento Bridge and are just gorgeous.  I know, the iPhone photo doesn't do them justice. David got so excited when our crew found old lead bullets in the planks. Feels like we're channeling Eric and Amy down at the Wooden Duck in Berkeley with their zany stories of where their wood originated.

That's Maya standing next to our reclaimed fir front door from Liberty Valley.  No bullets.

Did you notice that our move in date came and went? We are rescheduled to move on Aug 21.

Today we met Doris, the woman who sold her house to us.  Her parents bought the house in 1940 from the Davis family, whom we think owned it from 1915 until 1940.  We are hoping to visit her again and get more of the history on the house.

Heat: Myson Radiators & Phoenix Solar Hot Water

David and I decided to go with Myson hydronic radiators, fed by solar hot water using the Phoenix system, with a gas back-up if necessary. The white Myson radiator above is made in France and is the LST style -- that is, low surface temperature of 100 degrees F.  Better for kid's inquiring fingers than the warmer models.  Click here for the distributor we used for both Myson and the Phoenix, Hydronic Specialties Company.

Below is their standard color in white, but you can do custom colors and finishes too, as we are presently doing.

Myson also makes this bench (below), which is a great option if you are short on space in your mudroom or entry hall as we are.

Another great way to heat bathrooms is with a Myson hydronic towel warmer.  Comes in many finishes, including the one below.  

We just got the radiator back from the auto body place we used - painted the white radiator a brown/bronzey color that works with our cocoa walls in our bedroom.  We're thrilled with the result.

Looolo Biodegradable Cushions: YUM!

Am blogging covertly today as we are moving in six days, and, well, I really should be packing instead. Meanwhile, I muse about our living and family rooms and think how yummy these organic Looolo pillows would be on our sofa, such as the Janthur above or the Armadillo below.

All are made of certified organic materials and filled with Kapok from Rainforests in Malaysia. Not sure that's the best thing for you or if they buy carbon offsets, but these are just too pretty to get green confusion over it.