Pretty Little Green Things

Posts Tagged ‘Show house’

I have a special fondness for peeking into fictional homes – home tours, model homes, show houses, you name it.  There’s something about getting a firsthand view of the way other people could live together with seeing new design trends, furniture and materials that I find so fascinating.  And when the show houses are also eco-friendly, well, I can’t think of anything better.  This year’s HGTV Green Home 2011 is no exception, featuring great design plus the latest & greatest in green products and technology.

The Green Home was designed by Linda Woodrum with lots of eco-friendly aspects such as no-VOC paints, energy efficient appliances, organic fabrics, certified woods and an awesome net energy usage computer program that monitors the whole house’s efficiency.  In fact, there are so many more sustainable features that this house has earned a LEED Platinum Certification, a huge accomplishment for the whole team.  I’m loving the fresh, colorful, artful and young design which suits its location in the new eco-community of Stapleton in Denver, Colorado perfectly.

You’re actually getting an extra special sneak peek of the house, because it’s not open to the public until May 5.  If you live in the Denver area, I urge you to check out the house for yourself (and report back – I’d love to hear your thoughts on the design and eco-friendly integration).  Tickets are only $20 with proceeds going to Urban Peak, a non-profit that offers services for homeless and runaway youths.  If you like the house, you can actually enter online for a chance to win it.

Living Room

There’s actually a TV hidden behind those framed artworks!

Dining Room

Kitchen

The “Do” Room, which like its name suggests, is a room for laundry, storage, utility or just doing stuff.

The Loft

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom sitting area

Master Bathroom

Boy’s Bedroom

Girl’s Bedroom

Photos from HGTV Green Home

Yesterday I showed tabletop displays from the DIFFA Dining by Design event at the Architectural Digest Home Show.  If you didn’t see this post, take a peek because they’re just as amazing as today’s round.  I always love tabletop displays because they’re just raw creativity.  Since no one is actually eating at the table, there’s no need for practicality.  These designers have truly let their imagination run wild, which is why I always find them so inspiring.

Diane Von Furstenberg (yup, she’s got a home collection now)

I’m not sure who designed this one but I love the cityscape in the background.  If anyone know’s who this is, leave a comment below.

Echo Design

I’ve been trying not to comment on these tabletops and let them speak for themselves, but I have to tell you this was one of my favorites.  It was just so creative with the umbrella chandelier and rain pouring down on all four sides of the wood trellis.  Designed by Evette Rios for Hayneedle.

I’m also not sure who designed this one, but it’s gorgeous, no?

Anki Spets of Area for the New York Times

I also thought this display, designed by the students of Pratt with Alfredo Paredes (VP of Design at Ralph Lauren), was one of the most creative and unique.

Rockwell Group

Tracy Reese for Effen Vodka

Goil Amornvivat and Thomas Morbitzer of Tug Studio

Every year DIFFA hosts a Dining by Design event at the Architectural Digest Home Show with tons of tabletops by well known designers and tastemakers.  The acronym stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS and is one of the country’s largest supporters of HIV/AIDS care & education.  Merging great design with a worthy cause seems like absolute genius to me.  Plus the tabletops are fun and absolutely inspiring, so I just had to share the whole event with you.  There were so many tables and so many I loved that I couldn’t possibly narrow it down, so I’m going to show more tables tomorrow too.  Enjoy!

David Stark (swoon!) for Benjamin Moore

I’m not sure who designed this table, so if you know leave a comment below.

The students of the Fashion Institute of Technology with mentor Preston Bailey (swoon again!)

2Michaels Design for Flor

Jeffrey Brooks Design

Brad Ford for Moore & Giles

And last but certainly not least…

Coffinier KU for the NYDC

I never thought I’d say this, but Martha Stewart is going green!  She teamed up with KB Homes and Builder Magazine to create the 2011 Builder Concept Home, an eco-friendly and energy efficient concept home that debuted at the International Builders Show.  I know Martha can be a bit controversial to some people, but I’m a fan.  I wish my life could be as organized, well decorated and beautiful as hers.  But alas I don’t have any minions to help me out, so I’ll just have to do my best till I do (kidding!).  You may think I’m a big nerd, but I’ve been honestly waiting for Martha to start tackling sustainable issues and I’m so glad it’s with an entire house.

The KB Homes Greenhouse is a net zero concept home, meaning that it produces more energy than it uses.  Pretty cool, huh?  And it has just about every green certification you can possibly get.  To start off with, this house has earned the highest possible USGBC LEED for Homes rating of platinum and has been labelled a “Maximized Energy Efficient Home” by the US Department of Energy.  Not to mention the Energy Star and Water Sense qualifications, this house is truly one to watch.  I certainly hope it does get rolled out all over the country.  The model home is a bit bland for my taste, especially knowing what Martha can do, but add a few vintage pieces, some nice florals and a few accessories and we’re in business.  What do you think?

Great Room

Another view of the Great Room

Kitchen

Another view of the Kitchen looking towards the garden

Outdoor Patio

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Backyard and Garden

Solar Panels (by the way, do you see how the solar panels are integrated into the shingles?  Very innovative.)

Photos from Builder Concept Home & KB Homes

So have I convinced you yet to give it all up and move to Serenbe?  If not, I have one more plug for this eco-friendly and beautiful housing community in Georgia – a peek into what could be your home.  Recently opened is a model home of the latest part of the development, called the Nest Cottages.  I’ve always loved wandering through model homes, mostly because I think it’s interesting what these designers think a fictional family would live like, complete with pictures of said family.  But I digress.

Designed by architect Lew Oliver and built by Martin-Dodson Homes, the Nest Cottages are not only EarthCraft homes, they are the most energy efficient home in the green building program to date.  Geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, efficient site location, Energy Star rated appliances and materials selected for clean indoor air quality are all aspects that make this house very eco-friendly.  At just over 1,000 square feet, 2 bedroom and 2.5 baths, they’ve packed a lot of features into a little space.  Now that’s what I call smaller living! There are 15 cottages including the model home (so get yours fast!).  I have to admit that the decor of the cottage isn’t totally my style, but it’s well done, super cute and I figured you would enjoy taking a peek.

How refreshing to be surrounded by that much green!

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I have a huge soft spot in my heart for front porches.  Maybe there’s something of a Southern Lady in me because what I really want to do is sit in a rocker, sip my coffee and talk to the neighbors.

The aforementioned solar panels

Here’s a view of the living room from the kitchen.  Beautiful and simple color scheme.

A fireplace AND a front porch.  I’m sold!

The kitchen (I know, I know, duh)

Master bedroom

Photos from Serenbe and EcoHome Magazine

If you remember, I wrote a post a few months ago about the Country Living 2010 House of the Year.  The magazine teamed up with New World Home to create an eco-friendly model home open to the public for two weeks.  What I love is that they plopped this pre-fab green showhouse in the middle of the financial district in Manhattan.  Small living amongst tall skyscrapers.  I got a chance to tour the house, but unfortunately they didn’t allow photos to be taken inside, so all I could do is give you a good look of the exterior.  But no longer!  The pictures are finally online so here goes.

I’m a big fan of Farrow & Ball so it was great to see it being used in the Entryway.

Here’s the living room.  As I remember, it was a bit more red than the picture shows.  But I’m loving the contrast of colors.

What a great idea to keep the walls simple & solid and put the wallpaper on the ceiling.

White kitchen, my fav!  And they grey island is super chic.

Even the mudroom is well designed.

This isn’t my favorite wallpaper but I love the use of bold pattern in powder rooms.

What a bright stairway!  And I’m loving the walls full of framed pictures.  This is a great idea to do in your own home.

Master bedroom with four poster bed!

Hello lover… (the walk-in closet that is, not the dress)

Not quite sure how the beadboard would hold up after a particularly splashy bath, but it’s a nice country touch.

Pretty guest bedroom

What a lovely porch.  I can just imagine enjoying summer mornings here with a cup of coffee and the paper.  Maybe I need to get myself a eco-friendly pre-fab home for the country!

Photos from Country Living

If you saw last week’s post about Cisco Pinedo’s gorgeous home in California, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of his company, Cisco Home.  Their furniture is not only well made and stylish, it’s also eco-friendly!  So when I saw that one of the furnished model units at the W Hollywood Residences was done in partnership with Cisco Home, you can probably guess that I got pretty excited about it.

The whole project is a mixed use building comprising hotel rooms, residences, a restaurant, spa and many other facilities, all operated by the W.  But what’s even more impressive than the legendary first class service from this hotel chain are the eco creds.  The whole building is slated to received LEED Silver for environmental initiatives including: energy & water efficiency, proximity to mass transit, use of local & green materials and more.  In order to show off their commitment to sustainability, W has turned one of the seven model units into an inspiring example of stylish eco-friendly living, designed by econnect grp. and Kelly Van Patter.  I’m loving the mix of luxurious materials and furnishings with bold modern touches – true W style.  Enjoy!

I must find out where that wallpaper comes from.  Love!

Such a nice color scheme.  I’m loving the mix of cool & warm tones.

Hello balcony!  How I wish I had thee… (although c’mon if you’re selling this unit, wait for a nicer day to take the picture.  Or is that smog on the horizon?  Hmm, looks like someone needs some photoshop help.)

Such a bold red wall against the distressed wood.

I am LOVING those wood hooks.  If anyone knows where I can find these, let me know!

Photos from W Hollywood Eco Residences

If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m a huge fan of color.  The reason that I don’t have much color in my own house is purely because I’m too indecisive to pick just one.  So when I saw this room in a showhouse from designer Tobi Fairley, I was immediately drawn to her use of color.  I’m not sure if I would do something like this in my own home, but I applaud her commitment to boldness and for dispelling all notions that eco-friendly must equal drab.  Way to go Tobi!

The room she designed is a master bedroom with an attached sunroom in an energy efficient showhouse near Hot Springs, AK.  There’s not a ton about the house online, but I do know it’s the  Richmond Symphony Orchestra League’s 2010 Designer House.  I also know the event finished up on October 16 so hopefully we’ll start seeing more pictures of the rest of the house soon.  If you went to it or know more about it, drop me a line.

I mean, c’mon, even Tobi is in bold bright colors.  Now that’s commitment!  You can see a few of the repainted vintage pieces here.  A fresh coat of paint transforms most anything.

I love this shot.  It’s the perfect mix of bright bold color with peaceful and neutral bedding.

Here’s the view of the room in the other direction.  Again, I probably would never put this color combo together but it totally works here.

I love the use of the Rubie Green fabric.  The light turquoise color against the lamp is just gorgeous.  And you know I’m a fan of Rubie Green!

I think this is my favorite part of the room.  I love when designers use empty frames as art.  And painting all of the frames in the same bright coral color here makes a dramatic statement.

Here is a picture of the adjoining sunroom.

The opposite view of the sunroom.

Photos from Traditional Home

On display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago since March of this year, is the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibition.  It’s a modular home that was original built in 2008 to showcase the best of green building.  Originally designed by Michelle Kaufmann, an architect and designer from San Francisco, it has since been transformed by Midwest Living.  It’s a gorgeous, bright and airy home built according to these five principles:

1.  Smart Design with a smart technology system that “enables homeowners to control heat, window coverings, lighting, security sensors and cameras, as well as track electricity, gas and water consumption in real-time.”

2.  Material Efficiency with prefabricated modules created off-site and the use of renewable and recycled materials.

3.  Energy Efficiency with a green roof that helps cool the house in the summer and insulate it in the winter.  Plus solar panels, Energy Star appliances and large windows to let light in.

4.  Water Efficiency with low flow plumbing fixtures and the incorporation of gray water (rinse water from the clothes washer, shower, etc.) for toilets and outdoor landscaping.

5.  Healthy Environment with the use of non-toxic, low-VOC finishes and air filtration systems.

I think the home is beautiful and fresh and I love the natural woods contrasted against the white walls.  What do you think?

That table is my favorite piece in the house.  According to Smart Home, it was designed and created by Barefoot Design and made from concrete and bur oak wood from a fallen tree in the Smart Home Park.

This is the living room.  The colors of this room are just beautiful.

Here’s another view of the living room.  And yes, that’s a working fireplace.  It comes from EcoSmart Vision Fireplace and is portable, ventless and runs on denatured alcohol.  Very cool.

The open stairs are an beautiful architectural feature.

The kitchen cabinets are made of FSC-certified oak veneer with an espresso stain

This is the master bedroom.  I have to say that this is my least favorite room, but I do love their use of reclaimed wood throughout the house.

Photos from Michelle Kaufmann and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago

I went to the opening gala for the House beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2010 last night and have some quick sneak peeks for you.  It was crowded, so these aren’t the best pictures, but hopefully you get the idea.  You can also take a look at the kitchen in this clip from the Today Show of Al Roker interviewing the designer, Flipping Out’s Jeff Lewis or see House Beautiful’s pictures here.  I am disappointed that they didn’t try to incorporate more green elements into it, but it’s a beautiful kitchen nonetheless.  If you live in the New York area, you should definitely try to get to Rockefeller Center to take a look for yourself.  As I said before, it’s open to the public from July 19-23.  Here’s the schedule of events.

Here they are interviewing Jeff Lewis.  You can sort of see him behind the branches.

Here’s Jeff Soderbergh’s GORGEOUS dining table.  It’s even more gorgeous in person, so you’ll definitely have to make it down to check it out for yourself.  I love the contrast of the rough wood against the sleek metal.  Well done!

Here’s Jeff with his lovely wife Natasha sitting at his amazing table.