Home Innovation

With so many resources available today, as well as a struggling economy, it is no wonder that unconventional, sustainable and less expensive housing options are beginning to make a grand appearance. People are shifting their way of thinking from living in oversized, wooden frame boxes with vinyl siding, a picket fence and four car driveway to things such as old industrial loft buildings, trailers and even shipping containers. It is all in the perception of a person’s imagination to redesign these unconventional spaces into sustainable, green homes.


Right here in the Boston area there is a community called Forbes Park that takes sustainable living to the ultimate level of luxury. Built inside an abandoned printing facility from the 1800’s, Forbes Park dubs their homes as Hybrid lofts because they garner over fifty percent of their energy from renewable resources. Most notably is their use of wind power from the turbine located right on the premises and passive solar through the two walls of windows located at the end of each loft space. In addition the structure features a rain water collection system for use in toilets, radiant floor heat, thermal-mass passive heating and cooling, low flow toilets, energy efficient appliances and the use of durable, natural materials to reduce needs for replacement.


Sometimes there is a negative stigma attached to certain forms of housing, for example a trailer, but Charmaine Manley has taken this view and buried it so deeply beneath bamboo flooring and Paperstone countertops that her home in Oregon has been photographed as a show home. The double wide trailer started out as many do with chintzy carpet, paneled walls, aluminum windows and no character but through sound design principles Charmaine has created a comfortable and livable home for her husband and herself. In addition to bamboo flooring and paper countertops the home boasts low to no VOC paint, repurposed antique furniture (as a bathroom vanity and closet solution), lighting acquired from second hand stores, green kitchen cabinets, energy efficient window and so many other repurposed or sustainable options a list would be virtually never ending. As a final nod to the planet all materials that were removed were either recycled or donated to various organizations. To view all of the before and after photos of this amazing transformation please visit her blog posting at High Desert Diva.


Many people would not look at a shipping container as a viable option for a housing solution but through a little innovation and conceptualization these small metal boxes can be transformed into some very modern housing on a tighter budget than one might think. With a large surplus of such material simply taking up space at ship yards across the country it is possible to snag one of these containers for as little as $900. In 2006 Peter DeMaria of DeMaria Design Associates took the concept to a second level and constructed a two story home in Redondo Beach, California out of multiple containers with great success. The home is inherently resistant to bugs, mold and fire and in a location such as this where construction to withstand earthquakes is a priority, it is comforting to note that a pre-fabricated metal box is virtually indestructible.

The opportunities are endless for creating functional, comfortable and gorgeous, unconventional housing options, as evidenced in this small sampling of homes. Due to their creative innovation and attention to environmental awareness I am giving each of these designs (including the small woodland house featured in the first photo, click to read more about it) Four Green Leaves!

Keep up the great work bucking the norm and proving to all of us that irregular is just another word for exceptional!

Geographic Space

Hello again faithful readers and I am so sorry to have let you all down with nothing to tear through yesterday but after literally being “trapped” in this house sewing, amping up to show off my upcycled bags at the FUMC Craft Fair this upcoming Saturday Matt and I decided it was high time to reclaim the art of the road trip and get me out of here before I turned into Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

We used to be insane travelers, every weekend we were taking off for somewhere we had never been before, photographing our journey and getting the chance to see the expansive country of ours over some fantastic tunes and conversation. Over the last couple years that all changed when we tried to become responsible adult types but yesterday we threw our responsibilities right into the recycle bin and headed off for the literal hills.

Now some of you might be saying, “yeah how’s your carbon footprint with all that gas you burned” and while I do admit we went through one tank of gas yesterday, we actually did think about our overall impact and tried to offset with some other choices. For example we:

☼ Planned out our trip so we did not burn through more gas by getting lost.
☼ Brought our own tap water in lidded cups.
☼ Brought a few pieces of the homemade banana bread I cooked Saturday.
☼ Stopped for only one meal on the road.
☼ Did not do a lot of stop and start.
☼ Used the passive heat off the engine to warm us most of the day.
☼ Traveled to a protected state park to get in touch with nature.
☼ Recently washed, waxed and cleaned out my car as well as performed light maintenance (tire pressure, oil change) to ensure she was running top notch.

We went to the Adirondacks yesterday, a round trip of about 500 miles, but considering I work from home and Matt takes public transportation every day to and from work this was the most significant miles we have done in about a year. So enjoy the photos below of our Sunday adventure in nature!

I start every road trip with a picture of Matt driving.


Lake George was our first stop and this is the summer theatre area. I dipped my toes in because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Next up, Adirondack State Park! Not as impressive in photos as in life; the mountains are enormous! I dipped my foot in the Hudson River as well and that time I did snap a photo. We encountered some of the larger mountains after it was too dark to take pictures and although I was really hoping we would, we never saw any wildlife like deer, moose or bears. I was really hoping to see a bear. Bears rule. Especially when safely inside the car.

In order to maintain a lessened carbon footprint we will not be able to do as many road trips as we used to, and certainly not the random trips we loved to take where we just got in the car and drove all over for an entire weekend, but the occasional day of travel when we generally maintain eco-conscious lifestyles can be a nice break from the pressures of adulthood and really helps get back in touch with the important parts of life -- good music, great conversation, nature and love.

Because, after all, how will we know what we are working so hard to protect if we never get out there and experience it?