by jennae on April 26, 2010

I like to think of myself as a pretty huge fangirl for HGTV’s Green Home. Every year, I wait with eager anticipation to see where the home will be, how it will be laid out and decorated and what will be green about it. This year, I hate to say it, but I find myself a little disappointed. So much so, that I hesitated to post about it for about a week after the entry period for the home began. Take a look at these photos of the home along with my observations.

by jennae on October 1, 2009

Remember a few months ago I blogged my despair when Michelle Kaufmann shut down her green prefab architecture and home building firm? I was devastated as my husband and I watched our dreams — however far off — of owning a Michelle Kaufmann home go down the drain. So I am happy to report that Blu Homes, a growing eco-housing company, has acquired the assets of mkDesigns, including the designs of the Glidehouse, mkLotus, and Sunset Breezehouse. Michelle Kaufmann will serve as a design consultant to Blu and join its advisory board.

by jennae on August 31, 2009

Last week, I was admittedly feeling a little uninspired and in desperate need of a few shots of creative juice. So on Saturday, the family and I made a day trip to Marietta, GA, about an hour and a half away, to seek out some of that needed inspiration — and we found that and more at the Greenhaven 2009 show house.
The name Greenhaven is absolutely appropriate for this home. It is 8,140 square feet of eco-innovation. Yes. I said 8,140 square feet. This is no “average” home — definitely more of a mansion (I couldn’t bring myself to add the word “mini” to the description of a house this size). Truth be told, its size left me suspicious of how “green” the home really is, but more on that later.
by jennae on May 28, 2009

The news has been reverberating throughout the green building and design community since yesterday, but it still hit me like a sledgehammer when I found out this morning. Michelle Kaufmann, known as the queen of green prefab architecture, has been forced to close up shop due to the crappy state of the economy. I have featured her work before — her mkPURE sink is made of concrete and recycled porcelain. What I never wrote about, much to my regret, is her beautiful green, pre-fab homes. My husband I spent a lot of time at her firm’s website going through the floor plans and planning our life in one of her homes. I’m not kidding. We had it picked out and were just waiting for our financial situation to catch up to our dreams.
I’ve always coveted a modern, stainless steel fireplace. Not that traditional brick and stacked stone fireplaces aren’t beautiful. They’re just not me. So if and when I ever decide to get one, I’m happy to hear from the team over at Alternative Consumer that EcoSmart fireplaces now qualify for federal tax credits for energy efficiency. Any consumer in the U.S. who purchases (or has purchased) an EcoSmart fireplace between 1/1/2009 and 12/31/2010 can receive a tax credit of 30% of the purchase price up to $1500. Sounds like a win/win situation to me! You get a beautiful, energy-efficient, clean-burning fireplace, and you get a decent chunk of your money back. Learn more about the tax credit here.