apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Casa Familia
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Point Loma)
Type: 1950 home

Kevin wrote in to share this this "reinterpretation of quintessential Southern California courtyard houses", a coastal remodel designed with home technology and energy efficiency at the core of its character. The technology rich home employs a wide assortment of smart design choices to reduce energy (-65%) and water consumption (-55%), while making an aesthetic impact indicative of the modern architectural movement toward eco-minded construction...

Antoine Morris and David Long of The Practice of Everyday Design wanted to create an all-in-one solution where they could rest, read, work on their laptops in a small, easy to convert space. What they devised is a remarkable ramshackle-chic mobile unit that is office, bedroom and storage all in one...

DIY YouTube star, Giannina Lezcano, show us how to reuse old clear-style light bulbs as decorative elements around the house. And don't blame us for what she's wearing...

Venom Power's Eco Alkalines batteries are a big fat zero: 0% Mercury, 0% Cadmium, 0% Lead . They're also certified Carbon Neutral by Carbonfund.org, with support going to the Paso Pacifico Return to Forest reforestation project...

Why waste valuable kinetic energy created while leisurely rocking when you could power an OLED lamp while doing so? That's probably the question that spurred on this design by Rochus Jacob, resulting in the Murakami Chair...

Practically everyone knows about Etsy, the marketplace of numerous wonderful handcrafted creations sold by the designers, artists and artisans themselves. (And we all have our favorite Etsy stores!) But do you know about Regretsy, a site dedicated to compiling the best of the worst sold over at Etsy? We've collected ten of our safe for work favorites...

The show-me shower system uses a LED display system to notify you how much water you use during your time in the shower. One LED is lightened up for every five liters of water consumed. Would you want something like this installed to help reduce household water use?

Unplggd reader Mod Mischief noted that there was a better looking version of the same idea we posted earlier this week of an old iMac repurposed into a hamster house, and upon review, we have to wholeheartedly agree...

Q: I was wondering if you had any online or offline recommendations for learning the ins and outs of knowing which products to use from both a hypoallergenic and green perspective. My daughter is 3 years old and I've become particularly concerned about reducing her exposure to all the unnecessary chemicals I was raised while growing up...

When we stumbled upon this kid-friendly gadget that took second place in this year's Greener Gadgets competition, we just knew we had to share. Designed to help teach kids a lesson about conservation and energy costs, the Power Hog Piggy Bank regulates energy use by requiring coin deposits to keep power flowing to the connected device...

Etsy seller boxlightbox couldn't bear tossing out the abundance of inkjet cartridges her workplace would go thru on a regular basis, so she began taking them with the motive of making something out of them she could enjoy and sell to others. What was once empty plastic is now a colourful hanging chandelier or desk lamp that might help you remember to refill your printer cartridge or perhaps even be more frugal of what you decide to print out...

Q: I've got a crusty oven that needs a good cleaning, with an assortment of old and new grease stains that won't come off using soap and water. But I've recently set out to eliminate using chemical formulated household chemicals. Do you have any recommendations about removing the gunks and chunks from a well-used oven without harsh chemicals?

- Posted by John

Eco Pool Technologies's Solar-Breeze is to the pool like a Roomba robotic vacuum is to your living room. Except this helpful pool cleaner doesn't require any outlet, taking advantage of two long, thin solar panel arrays to harvest the sun's rays to keep the debris collecting skimmer moving, while also dispensing pool chemicals. The unit uses three filters and an additional paper towel insertion filter to keep the pool clean, with 4 bumper wheels that adjust the trajectory of the unit to keep it moving all around...

Almost missed this bit of news mentioned in last month's Westways magazine: the South Coast Air Quality Management District is sponsoring a program called "Mow Down Air Pollution," offering LA, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino county residents an opportunity to trade in their gasoline burning lawn mowers for a non-polluting battery powered model at a deep discount. How much are we talking? How about a Neuton CS 5.3 for $100? That's the very same electric mower Grace tested awhile ago at a very nice price; they're also offering the more powerful Neuton CE 6.3 and the Black & Decker CMM1200 both for $160 with your trade-in as an incentive to steer Southern Cali residents away from polluting our neighborhoods with traditional mowers...