Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Houzz Tours
Top Ideabooks
- Modern Settings for Old-School Pieces in a Pittsburgh Loft
- Remodeling Modernizes a Neoclassical Dutch Home
- DIY Efforts Transform a South Philly Row House
- A San Diego Townhouse Gets a Bright Update
- Sustainable Bamboo for a Prototype Home in Nicaragua
- 10 Acres, 3 Generations and Many Animals in North Carolina
Houzz Tour: A Seattle Home Reaches for High Sustainability
Tapping into rainwater, sunlight and natural ventilation, a Washington state home gets both green cred and a gorgeous look
I blog about small houses, community and sustainability. In 2009 I founded microhouse, an award winning design collaborative to focus on cottage housing and backyard cottage design. To learn more about backyard cottages please visit ( http://www.microhousenw.com/ or http://www.seattlebackyardcottage.blogspot.com/)
I blog about small houses, community and sustainability. In 2009 I founded... More »
Intent on following their passions of modern and green design, Five Dot Design Build decided to create a truly sustainable home for a Seattle couple and their son. The city site featured a large lot with remnants of a centuries-old orchard. Project architects Stephanie Ingram and Geoff Piper started with core sustainability measures — mainly orienting the house to benefit from solar access and natural ventilation. This approach, along with incorporating energy and water conservation systems, natural lighting and local materials and finishes, allowed them to save money and energy.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their young son
Location: Seattle
Size: 3,300 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their young son
Location: Seattle
Size: 3,300 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The architects emphasized the relationship between the site and the building by creating indoor and outdoor spaces that respond to the surrounding environment and the changing seasons. The rain garden is an important part of the storm-water management system and an integral part of the landscape design. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| "We wanted to create a house that didn't hide its sustainable features but shows them off proudly, as design features that add to its unique and intensely local quality," says Ingram. Instead of hiding the workings of their rainwater harvesting system, the designers took the opportunity to integrate them into the design, using the concrete tanks as a wall that creates an entry court and acts as a noise barrier from the street. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| For the main living space, Ingram designed an open floor plan that would lend itself to informal family interaction. Using reclaimed materials provided an opportunity to combine old with new — and add a sense of fun, too. Old doors from Seattle schools were hung with sliding barn door hardware. The designers used finish materials with sustainable qualities whenever possible. Bamboo floors take advantage of a rapidly renewable material. The cabinets and shelving are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified wood. The tile all contains recycled content, and the bench top and fireplace surround are made of Paperstone — a solid-surface material made from postconsumer recycled paper. Exposed concrete floors on the main level are 15 percent fly ash, a by-product of coal production that can be used in place of cement. Bench top: Paperstone |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A coffee table of reclaimed fir by urbanhardwoods is the centerpiece of the living room. The cabinets were built by the local company kerfdesign. Low-VOC paints, formaldehyde-free plywood and prefinished floors all combine to minimize the amount of toxic off-gassing that typically occurs in new construction. With radiant floor heat there are no forced air ducts accumulating and redistributing dust and other particulates throughout the house. Coffee table: urbanhardwoods; cabinets: kerfdesign |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The kitchen, oriented toward the back of the house, blends into the main living space. The space opens out onto the back patio. Cabinets, laminate countertop: kerfdesign; shelving: Rakks |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Ingram and Piper chose natural and reclaimed furnishings to soften the modern lines. A huge slab of salvaged willow tree trunk from a skate park site serves as a vanity in the half bath.
A superefficient boiler heats both the domestic hot water and the radiant floors. The house is plumbed for solar hot water preheat, which any future homeowners can easily add to further reduce utility costs.
Vanity: urbanhardwoods
A superefficient boiler heats both the domestic hot water and the radiant floors. The house is plumbed for solar hot water preheat, which any future homeowners can easily add to further reduce utility costs.
Vanity: urbanhardwoods
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| An old claw-foot tub and sink were refinished and reused, adding old-school texture to the modern bathroom. Some of the rainwater falling on the house is plumbed into the home to supply water to the toilets and the laundry room. The remainder is captured in a rain garden and allowed to slowly infiltrate back into the ground. The city storm sewer system doesn't need to connect to the home, which allows the homeowners to cut their water bill in half. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Skylights above the stairway bring natural light deep into the house and add drama to an otherwise dark and narrow space.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Built Green gave this home their four-star certification. The vertical circulation is designed to provide stack ventilation, keeping the house cool on even the hottest days. The building layout makes sure all the rooms except the media room get abundant natural light. Most have a southern exposure, ensuring maximum daylight in winter and reducing the need for artificial light. |
Ideabook published on Sept. 14, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
I wrote an article that I title 'Eco-Warrior Home' where the occupants live a very sparse and natural existence - lots of solar panels and almost nothing in the way of modern conveniences. http://hometipster.com/eco-warrior-home/
There are so many ways to help the environment with very little effort or cost. I've tried a number of things over the years and these really do help cut down the cost of running my home.
counter top in the bathroom,the sliced log,i love it !!! Thank you for sharing.
It's way over-sized (including 3 levels - one each maybe?) and features like the solar water heating aren't even installed? And the light globes - I think I count 10 in the part of the kitchen visible, same in the lounge.
The water tanks out the front really sum it up - they want people to *think* they are being sustainable. Is there a Prius in the driveway?
(Now Bobbi P, this is a real diatribe). Or maybe I am jealous as my house is smaller. Footprint envy. But we have a 5000 litre rain water tank (divide by 4.5 to convert to gallons) and passive solar heating.
not so sure about a window with no shades in the shower.
Bobbie P, a socialist would want someone else to pay the bill. Just saying.
Point was why stage the home in a way that it appears to not be lived in?
toilet paper, leaves; as a psychologist I really dont want to go there.
http://www.microhousenw.com
SPU Customer Service at 206-684-3000.
its beautiful.