Apartment Therapy: building materials

Another Silo Home... And This Time It's An Inn

While this isn't the first grain-silo-turned-home we've blogged about (see the Monty-Silo House), it is available to stay in when visiting Texas. One of the many room options at the Gruene Homestead...

Zip-A-Way: Removable Window Sealant

Just the other day we were starting to think about winterizing our home for the season, when we got a great tip from one of our favorite home improvement gurus, Lou Manfredini. Lou suggested that as...

How To: Make A Scrap Wood Table
Instructables

We just got a great tip about a new DIY on Instructables. This wood scrap table was made completely of salvaged wood rescued from decaying buildings in and around Hale County, Alabama. It was comm...

A Ribbon Apartment in Manhattan

Young designer Alan YL Chan took on the difficult task of personally renovating his 400 square feet dark, cramped and deteriorating Manhattan apartment – all while living in it and only 3 years ou...

Green Vs. Greenwash: How To Find Truly Green Products
Metropolis

Finding sustainable products and materials used to be a dispiriting, frustrating task because choices were limited and the overall aesthetic was awkward and unappealing. But ever since "green" beca...

Thermeleon: Color Changing Tile

Remember how awesome HyperColor clothing was? Just imagine the same concept, but this time it’s covering buildings instead of bodies. By now we all know how important light colored roofs are for k...

RainTube: Perforated Gutter Protection

There is nothing more frustrating than gutters that are clogged during the fall and then ice-damaged during the winter. It's bad for your house and a nuisance to repair. RainTube, one of Sustainable...

Inspiration: Beer Bottle Partitions

Beer bottles – what can’t they be used for? During the renovation the historic and now defunct Milwaukee Blatz Brewery, salvaged and original Blatz bottles were turned into warm amber pivoting p...

Filtercrete by Ozinga: Pervious Concrete

Concrete is often thought of as a great green material, but one thing it’s not great as is a paved surface. It's almost entirely impermeable and contributes to unwanted water runoff. Filtercrete i...

Debunked: 10 Green Home Myths
This Old House

Being green at home has been gaining momentum, even being dubbed as a fad by some folks over the last few years. Even with all the increased attention on the movement there are still tons of myths f...

Team Germany Wins Solar Decathlon

Team Germany’s surPLUShome won this year’s Solar Decathlon, making it their second victory in a row. With a façade covered almost entirely in solar panels, the house created twice the amount of...

How To: Make Sure You Maintain A High Albedo
Green Architect

(Welcome to Scott, one of the finalists for our Green Architect blogger search. He's writing from Boston. Comment away!) I don’t know if any of you are quite as crazy as I am and dream of someda...

Green Insulation: Rockwool

Rockwool was used in Anne's Sunny Renovation Yesterday we told you about a great construction material, cellulose insulation. Another great material you may have noticed popping up in a lot of our ...

Artist Tim Makepeace's 16th Street Heights Masterpiece
DC Urban Turf

Tim Makepeace's art focuses a great deal on the inherent functional beauty of architectural structures, so it's no surprise that the home which he renovated is brilliant to behold. Clean lines and e...

Inspiration: Solar Decathlon 2009

Yesterday kicked off the 4th Solar Decathlon. We look forward to seeing what creative and forward thinking designs the students come up with not only because they look cool, but also because they ca...

Events: AIA Austin Tour of Homes
10.10.09 - 10.11.09

This weekend, 14 of Austin's most stunning homes will be on display for the (paying) public as part of the American Institute of Architects Austin Homes Tour. Not only do these homes inspire decor; ...

A Sweet Green Kitchen Remodel

There's nothing more disheartening than looking at an over-the-top green remodel. All we can ever think about is how we'll never be able to afford anything like it .... ever. So a tasteful, small-scal...

Stak Blocks at West Coast Green

Because we were out of town, we missed West Coast Green this year. Huge bummer, as we've gone to the last two and they were fantastic. Lucky for us, Jetson Green is blogging some of the clever new pro...

100% Design London Showcases Sustainable Designs

The 100% Design London showcase, the UK's leading architecture and design event, has just concluded and sustainable designs were as pervasive as ever. Some of the finds from this year's event inclu...

Small Malibu Escape is Green and Fire-Resistant
Los Angeles Times

This small retreat is nestled in the fire prone Hills of Los Angeles and was designed to be both fire resistant and reasonably low impact. The 700-square-foot residence is designed with modern detai...

Inspiration: Simple Home on a Hill in Chile

This simple home was built a few years ago on a hill side in Chile, and was designed to be low impact both in appearance and in its use of materials. Total cost? About $15,000......

Flashback, Flashforward: Building With Solar Storage Tubes

Some technology just doesn’t change. Around for decades, water storage tubes provide thermal mass to moderate indoor air temperatures. Use to store heat during the day and keep warm at night, you ...

Recycled Glass Driveway by Filterpave

Instead of a concrete or gravel driveway, the Cordell Shipping Container House has a driveway made out of recycled glass. It's called Filterpave, a combination of granite and 100% post consumer was...

The Story of a Bench: Part 1

Okay, we’ve finally decided to do it – get a bench made for the landing strip. We’ve been thinking about it for over a year, and have started the process to work with Green Sawn to make a cust...

How Bad Is Fake Wood Furniture For The Environment?
Slate Magazine

When it comes to furniture in our home, one of the greenest things we can do is to invest in quality pieces that'll last forever and won't end up in a landfill a few years later. But quite often th...

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Posts tagged “building materials”