3 Design Pros Create Their Own Sustainable Homes
These houses serve as laboratories for pros to test energy-efficient systems, healthy practices and off-the-grid living
The design professionals who live in these homes are committed to sustainable practices not only for their clients, but also for themselves. Living and learning by example, they’ve crafted homes that are sustainable and energy-efficient. And their firsthand experiences have made them better equipped to advise their clients. Here’s a look at how three design pros crafted sustainable homes for themselves.
Design and Systems
Energy efficiency is provided by the home’s tight envelope, which includes Low-E argon-filled windows, and carefully planned control of the natural light. Systems include photovoltaic panels, a geothermal HVAC system and an energy-recovery ventilator, or ERV. The latter is important because an airtight building will trap stale air indoors — an ERV exchanges fresh outdoor air for the indoor air. The house also has a heat pump water heater that dehumidifies the lower level and provides cool air for the wine room there.
Energy efficiency is provided by the home’s tight envelope, which includes Low-E argon-filled windows, and carefully planned control of the natural light. Systems include photovoltaic panels, a geothermal HVAC system and an energy-recovery ventilator, or ERV. The latter is important because an airtight building will trap stale air indoors — an ERV exchanges fresh outdoor air for the indoor air. The house also has a heat pump water heater that dehumidifies the lower level and provides cool air for the wine room there.
Other Priorities
In addition to the high performance of the building, the Sullivans had other sustainability goals, particularly the minimizing of construction waste. They wanted to preserve, reuse and recycle as much of the existing house as possible. They even invited their new neighbors over to take and transplant any plants that would have been lost during construction.
Sean knew all too well how quickly trim scraps can pile up in a dumpster, so rather than sending them to the landfill, he got creative. Here they show up as an accent texture on the kitchen island, and they were also used on an accent wall in one of the bedrooms.
Results: The house scored a 30 on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which means it’s 70 percent more energy-efficient than the average new code-built home.
Learn more about this house
In addition to the high performance of the building, the Sullivans had other sustainability goals, particularly the minimizing of construction waste. They wanted to preserve, reuse and recycle as much of the existing house as possible. They even invited their new neighbors over to take and transplant any plants that would have been lost during construction.
Sean knew all too well how quickly trim scraps can pile up in a dumpster, so rather than sending them to the landfill, he got creative. Here they show up as an accent texture on the kitchen island, and they were also used on an accent wall in one of the bedrooms.
Results: The house scored a 30 on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which means it’s 70 percent more energy-efficient than the average new code-built home.
Learn more about this house
2. Interior Designer Builds Green and Healthy in Concord, Massachusetts
Who: Interior designer Lisa Tharp and her family
Where: Concord, Massachusetts
Project: Design a sustainable and healthy home that fits in with a town founded in 1635
Interior designer Lisa Tharp wanted her new home to not only be energy-efficient and heathy for her family, but also to fit in with the traditional New England architecture in her hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. She brought her expertise to a collaboration with architect Stephanie Horowitz of ZeroEnergy Design, a firm that specializes in sustainable and healthy design.
Design and Systems
Tharp and Horowitz used architect Sarah Susanka‘s Not So Big House principles to maximize space, used energy-efficient building principles and systems, created a healthy home with excellent air quality, and anticipated future uses and needs as owners age or the house changes hands. Extra insulation, high-performance windows, radiant heating, strategic daylighting and passive heating and cooling are among the eco-friendly details.
The southern orientation bathes the kitchen with natural light. Tharp was able to reuse high-end appliances and cabinets from a nearby remodel. The pine flooring throughout the house is also reclaimed.
Who: Interior designer Lisa Tharp and her family
Where: Concord, Massachusetts
Project: Design a sustainable and healthy home that fits in with a town founded in 1635
Interior designer Lisa Tharp wanted her new home to not only be energy-efficient and heathy for her family, but also to fit in with the traditional New England architecture in her hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. She brought her expertise to a collaboration with architect Stephanie Horowitz of ZeroEnergy Design, a firm that specializes in sustainable and healthy design.
Design and Systems
Tharp and Horowitz used architect Sarah Susanka‘s Not So Big House principles to maximize space, used energy-efficient building principles and systems, created a healthy home with excellent air quality, and anticipated future uses and needs as owners age or the house changes hands. Extra insulation, high-performance windows, radiant heating, strategic daylighting and passive heating and cooling are among the eco-friendly details.
The southern orientation bathes the kitchen with natural light. Tharp was able to reuse high-end appliances and cabinets from a nearby remodel. The pine flooring throughout the house is also reclaimed.
Creating a versatile, flexible floor plan where spaces have multiple uses is part of the smart and sustainable design. While Tharp’s family planned to use this first-floor “away room” as an office, she and Horowitz set it up so it could serve as a bedroom should her family or future owners need to age in place here. They even outfitted the doors for window treatments for privacy should this become a bedroom someday.
The room connects to an ADA-compliant, wheelchair-accessible full bathroom. For now it mostly serves as the first-floor powder room, but it can become a master bathroom should the need arise.
Tharp looked to European-style wet rooms when planning this versatile design. Arranging the tile as wainscoting on the lower half of the walls with contrasting white tile above kept the room from feeling like one big shower stall. Energy-efficient elements include a dual-flush toilet and scrap marble for the counter. And the bathroom borrows natural light through a window that connects to an adjacent seating area.
Browse more wet rooms
Tharp looked to European-style wet rooms when planning this versatile design. Arranging the tile as wainscoting on the lower half of the walls with contrasting white tile above kept the room from feeling like one big shower stall. Energy-efficient elements include a dual-flush toilet and scrap marble for the counter. And the bathroom borrows natural light through a window that connects to an adjacent seating area.
Browse more wet rooms
Other Priorities
A healthy environment for her family was Tharp’s top priority. She and Horowitz promoted healthy air along with energy efficiency by using a fresh-air ventilation system with energy recovery and a HEPA filter, mold-prevention techniques, radiant and radiator heating (forced air circulates allergens while these methods do not), contamination controls during construction and low-to-no-VOC materials.
Fitting into the neighborhood was also a priority. Because the area is full of older traditional homes, the designers looked to local farmhouses for the house’s form and to quintessential Cape Cod homes for smaller details. The metal roof is durable and will last for many decades.
Results: Tharp and her family enjoyed this house for a few years, but when she moved her studio into the city in Boston, they decided to move with it. (Her new walkable commute is about as sustainable as commutes can get.) The healthy aspects, energy efficiency, pleasing style and versatility of the house she and Horowitz designed made it an easy sell.
Learn more about this house
A healthy environment for her family was Tharp’s top priority. She and Horowitz promoted healthy air along with energy efficiency by using a fresh-air ventilation system with energy recovery and a HEPA filter, mold-prevention techniques, radiant and radiator heating (forced air circulates allergens while these methods do not), contamination controls during construction and low-to-no-VOC materials.
Fitting into the neighborhood was also a priority. Because the area is full of older traditional homes, the designers looked to local farmhouses for the house’s form and to quintessential Cape Cod homes for smaller details. The metal roof is durable and will last for many decades.
Results: Tharp and her family enjoyed this house for a few years, but when she moved her studio into the city in Boston, they decided to move with it. (Her new walkable commute is about as sustainable as commutes can get.) The healthy aspects, energy efficiency, pleasing style and versatility of the house she and Horowitz designed made it an easy sell.
Learn more about this house
3. An Architect and His Family Go Off the Grid in High-Desert Backcountry
Location: Northeastern Washington
Who lives here: Jesse Garlick of Platform Architecture + Design; his wife, Susan Elliott; and their 2-year-old son, Theodore
Project: Build a vacation home off the grid and test ideas to use with clients
Architect Jesse Garlick and his wife, Susan Elliott, discovered a dreamy spot for a getaway home on a camping trip in northeastern Washington state. They knew the rocky high-desert backcountry on the edge of the Cascade Range foothills would be a great spot to take breaks from their busy urban lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. And they took the remote location’s challenges as an opportunity to learn more about going off the grid, something Garlick knew would come in handy with his clients.
Design and Systems
Garlick used 3D modeling to orient the house in a way that would harness the sun’s power (and catch the best views of the peaks and lakes). The family was used to living in an 850-square-foot apartment in Vancouver, so they knew that size worked for them. Keeping the home limited to a small footprint made it more efficient to heat and kept costs down.
The exterior is made of rusted steel, which makes it resilient in a place prone to wildfires. It also fits in with other structures in the area.
Location: Northeastern Washington
Who lives here: Jesse Garlick of Platform Architecture + Design; his wife, Susan Elliott; and their 2-year-old son, Theodore
Project: Build a vacation home off the grid and test ideas to use with clients
Architect Jesse Garlick and his wife, Susan Elliott, discovered a dreamy spot for a getaway home on a camping trip in northeastern Washington state. They knew the rocky high-desert backcountry on the edge of the Cascade Range foothills would be a great spot to take breaks from their busy urban lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. And they took the remote location’s challenges as an opportunity to learn more about going off the grid, something Garlick knew would come in handy with his clients.
Design and Systems
Garlick used 3D modeling to orient the house in a way that would harness the sun’s power (and catch the best views of the peaks and lakes). The family was used to living in an 850-square-foot apartment in Vancouver, so they knew that size worked for them. Keeping the home limited to a small footprint made it more efficient to heat and kept costs down.
The exterior is made of rusted steel, which makes it resilient in a place prone to wildfires. It also fits in with other structures in the area.
Solar panels harness energy from the sun and store it in eight batteries. These power the refrigerator, all the lighting, the water pump system and the couple’s electronics. They have a cellphone booster so they can get internet access through a 3G connection.
The home’s heat source is this wood-burning stove. A propane tank powers a gas stove and an on-demand water heater, as well as a backup electrical generator.
The home’s heat source is this wood-burning stove. A propane tank powers a gas stove and an on-demand water heater, as well as a backup electrical generator.
Other Priorities
Garlick wanted to be able to complete the bulk of the construction with his brother. So he had all of the exterior’s steel plates laser cut to a size and weight the two of them could handle — 80 pounds. They also did a large portion of the interior construction themselves, then hired subcontractors to complete the plumbing, electrical and cabinetry.
The couple dreamed of an outdoor tub, but it didn’t make practical sense. Instead, they created a creative nook off the living room. It serves as a guest sleeping nook, a reading nook and, thanks to a smart winch system that raises the bed, a great place for a soak. The adjacent window gives them the feeling of bathing outdoors, while a curtain provides privacy.
Results
With the help of all that sweat equity, the cost of the house, dirt road and land totaled just $250,000. The family is able to live off the grid here no matter the season. Garlick says that when he and his family arrive in the dead of winter, it takes about an hour and a half for the stove to make the home comfortable. A few times when they’ve been here for extended periods during the winter, they’ve needed the backup generator. It takes the generator’s batteries about six hours to charge enough to get them through several sunless days.
Learn more about this house
More on Houzz
Tour other sustainable homes
Read more about green building
Browse millions of home design photos for inspiration
Garlick wanted to be able to complete the bulk of the construction with his brother. So he had all of the exterior’s steel plates laser cut to a size and weight the two of them could handle — 80 pounds. They also did a large portion of the interior construction themselves, then hired subcontractors to complete the plumbing, electrical and cabinetry.
The couple dreamed of an outdoor tub, but it didn’t make practical sense. Instead, they created a creative nook off the living room. It serves as a guest sleeping nook, a reading nook and, thanks to a smart winch system that raises the bed, a great place for a soak. The adjacent window gives them the feeling of bathing outdoors, while a curtain provides privacy.
Results
With the help of all that sweat equity, the cost of the house, dirt road and land totaled just $250,000. The family is able to live off the grid here no matter the season. Garlick says that when he and his family arrive in the dead of winter, it takes about an hour and a half for the stove to make the home comfortable. A few times when they’ve been here for extended periods during the winter, they’ve needed the backup generator. It takes the generator’s batteries about six hours to charge enough to get them through several sunless days.
Learn more about this house
More on Houzz
Tour other sustainable homes
Read more about green building
Browse millions of home design photos for inspiration
Who: Sean Sullivan, owner of Living Stone Design + Build, and Laura Sullivan, owner of ID.ology Interiors & Design
Location: Black Mountain, North Carolina
Project: Repurpose and expand a 1960s ranch while making it energy-efficient
Design pro couple Sean and Laura Sullivan decided to downsize after two of their three children left for college. They found a 900-square-foot 1960s ranch house in their community of Black Mountain, North Carolina, and transformed it into a space designed for their family’s specific needs.
This photo shows the original house. In addition to living smaller, the Sullivans wanted to keep as much of the original structure as possible, minimize construction waste by using recycled materials whenever they could, and install energy-efficient systems. Now the main level of the house is 1,450 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They dug two additional spaces out of the crawl space under the house — one for Laura’s art studio and the other a potential accessory dwelling unit, or ADU. This kind of versatile space can be used by their college-age kids when they visit, serve as an in-law suite or be rented out.