Location: Chicago, IL
Size: 3600 sq/ft
Years lived in: For Sale!
Located in the picturesque and historic Chicago neighborhood, Ravenswood Manor, this home is a future forward ‘American Four-Square’ house, updated to be green with a super insulated envelope, passive and active solar elements, a green roof and lots of reused and reclaimed goodies…
Location: Hudson Valley, New York
Size: 3 bedrooms, 1,400 square feet
Years lived in: We’ve lived in the house full-time for about 8 months, but it’s been in my boyfriend’s (Patrick's) family since his grandfather, Harry Cooke, bought it in 1924. He used the proceeds from selling an invention and turned it into a camp for underprivileged city kids.
Who else lives here? My boyfriend Patrick, his sons Harrison and Logan, and Emily, our summer farm apprentice.
>>Enter Hudson Valley Fiber Farm Gallery
After Hudson Valley Fiber Farmer Susan Gibbs, a former CBS News producer, and Patrick Manning started the first ever Yarn CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) on Martha's Vineyard, they expanded to Patrick's family farm in the Hudson Valley. The couple currently goes back and forth from the Vineyard to the Hudson Valley managing their flock of sheep and goats...
Name: Matthew and Emma McGregor-Mento
Location: New York, NY
Size: 650 sq/ft
Years lived in: 6 months
When Matthew and Emma bought their 6th floor apartment in the East Village, they knew they wanted it to be filled with natural living things and to convey the sense that "nature was taking the apartment back, like a small plant growing from a crack in the sidewalk." Inspired by the Japanese notion of multi-use and transforming spaces, their home is a tribute to environmentally-friendly design in every aspect, from the custom formaldehyde free, FSC-certified wood cabinets to the amazing plant wall...
Our friend's family have a house up in the Berkshires, and we feel lucky to visit them each summer (Here are pics from last summer). The house is one of a small bunch which originally formed a Shaker village...
This isn't a typical tree house - rather than tear down trees on the existing site, designer Jeremey Levin chose to include three trees as central parts of this outstanding renovation and addition. The lines between interior and exterior are blurred by using the tree canopies as a ‘roof’ and providing direct access to the exterior from every room in the house…
This large beach house on Cape Cod is the weekend and summer home for a large Boston family — the home owners often share the space with their adult children and grandchildren. By meeting the needs of seven couples and children, the design maximizes communal spaces with a large open kitchen, dining and living room in the half of the home with the master bedroom — dubbed "The Living Bar." The other half — "The Sleeping Bar" — is home to all the extra bedrooms and bathrooms for the extended family and can be shut down in the off season when not in use, saving energy...
Name: Jora and Bryan
Location: San Diego, California
Size: 3500 sq.ft.
Years lived in: 1
Owners Jora and Bryan remodeled a hillside home into their MidCentury-style dream home with an evident focus upon its greatest asset: the unbelievable view. The house is quite a showcase, filled with a tasteful assortment of thoughtfully chosen furnishings and an open-space floor plan that extends out into their expansive backyard where surprises like a hanging hillside deck, organic garden and even a chicken coop take advantage of their property expanse. We're wholeheartedly envious, but we're glad to be able to share a peek inside such a showcase home...
Name: Marcella de Boom
Occupation: Artist
Location: Cullinan, South Africa
Type: Cob house
Size: 970 sq.ft.
Years lived in: 9
Marcella de Boom is no ordinary woman, she has built her entire home with her own two hands. The inspiration was "creative poverty", a wild dream of building a home, without spending more than $5000! The dream started to materialize when she met Interior Architect and Cob lover; Dawn McAdam by coincidence. Dawn is a conceptual genius and the two creative souls masterminded a plan in no time.
Name: Chris
Location: Philadelphia
Size: 1750 sq.ft.
Years lived in: 2, Own
Chris may wear a size 11 shoe, but you wouldnʼt be able to tell by the size of his carbon footprint. Chrisʼ Green Home was originally an industrial Ice Cream Factory and Freezer. Chris purchased the freezer and converted it into a work/living space, which he built with his own two hands. We got a preview of his kitchen last week and now for the rest of the space — his bedroom is on wheels, he sleeps above his computer, he makes his own compost, and even grows his own food. Thereʼs nothing this handy green man canʼt do!
This unique home was designed by Gigaplex Architects for a single person living in Woodland, Utah. The home is constructed of two linked corrugated-metal grain silos making for some great circular interior space.
Name: Erica Tanov
Location: Berkeley, CA
Size: 3,500 sq/ft
Years lived in: 2 yrs. (owned)
Erica Tanov is most well-known as a women's clothing designer, with stores in Berkeley, San Francisco, and New York City. But we were first introduced to Tanov's eclectic, organic style through these photos of her home, which is decorated and furnished almost exclusively with secondhand items.
Yes, we'd certainly wear the clothes she designs (they're beautiful) — but if we had our choice, we'd live in her house.
We came across this house on Anemone, and thought we needed to share! Simple and un-flashy, the owners moved out into the New Zealand woods to build their house with recycled lumber, windows and doors. An organic vegetable garden and a wood-burning stove are just a few of the ways they intend to live as simply and sustainably as possible...
I'll be the first to admit that it's a little sad that this beautiful natural cave that used to host performers such as Bob Seger and Tina Turner is now a private residence but from a green building perspective, this cave-home is an amazing residence with natural rock walls and unbeatable geothermal and passive solar properties.
Name: Vhouse
Architects: XTEN Architecture
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
We've always had a love and hate relationship with the Valley. Growing up on the northern most part of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, our experience with residential architecture began and ended with a "T" with a "RAC" inbetween. But as we've become older, and perhaps a wee wiser, we've come to appreciate the Valley's hidden charm. Whether it's the secret enclave of Eichlers in the north eastern section of Granada Hills, or the showcase homes dotting Encino's mountain side, or even the run down apartment complexes that line Reseda Blvd., there are sections of our childhood Valley which reward curiosity...
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