Green Building Design

Using natural design concepts such as passive solar (using the sun as a natural resource), site orientation, cooling with the inherent wind patterns, appropriate technology, efficient use of smaller buildings and products with low embodied energy & healthful composition, we design comprehensive systems to let nature work for you. When you treat a building as a living system, taking cues from the larger living system it is a part of, spaces heat and cool efficiently, maintaining comfortable consistent temperatures using minimal energy with simple technology. Enhancing a house’s performance with energy and water efficient products and renewable energy technologies provide shelters that return a greater long term economic performance. Natural design and building places importance on relationships, including relationships with clients. Supporting you to prioritize needs optimizes the best use of resources. But to truly reflect nature, one must always consider beauty. Homes using natural design and build principals are light, comfortable, livable and beautiful. They promote health and an opportunity to connect with our greater environment. This new generation of homes with its forward thinking ideas create spaces that give back to individuals, families and the world.

Join the Global Community.

Save resources…that saves you money.

Increase your resale value.

Get money back…Federal and State tax incentives and rebates for energy efficiency.

Residential Design

Building naturally assumes a home has integrity that goes beyond personal preference. Whether remodeling or building from the ground up, sustainable building and design modernizes, clarifies and upholds the vernacular of a house, implementing natural design principals & resource saving technologies to create a defined vision for the life of a building.

This is the future of design and can be implemented on a project of any size, often creating a blueprint for future direction. Naturally designed and built homes feel calm and harmonious. Imprinting our current likes and dislikes over and over onto the buildings we inhabit without the support of trained professionals can be an expensive practice. Construction is a major material user, perhaps one-third of all material flux per year in the US. Buildings also require massive amounts of energy, consume water, and are a source of toxic and ecotoxic waste . As our needs as a nation change, these practices are being called into question. They are becoming obsolete in the new vistas of housing, replaced by redesigning for a home’s life span, taking into consideration future as well as current needs and greater long term economic performance without compromising future generation’s ability to do the same.

Enter the new generation of homes.

Green Building

As Green Builders we are responsible for maintaining integrity while creating healthful environments. In order to do this we tend building sites responsibly by deconstructing instead of demolishing, reusing whenever possible and by minimizing waste. We use nontoxic materials, reclaimed and certifiably harvested wood, recycled materials, products with low embodied energy and nontoxic composition. These practices cultivate healthful working environments for homeowners as well as employees.

Even in the most efficient and mindful building environment, a home takes tremendous resource to build. Emphasizing quality, longevity, efficiency, use and beauty, we strive to offset these costs by increasing a home’s value both economically and environmentally.

Addressing the intrusion of moisture or mold, eliminating drafts, insulating, using quality windows, energy efficient appliances and proper ventilation all contribute to the overall performance of a house. In our efficient, well built homes we hope to create living environments that are easier to maintain, long lasting and provide a sense of comfort so you get the most out of your investment and live your life in a supportive environment.

New Construction

New Construction allows you to maximize the use of green building materials, principals and technologies throughout your project to create a comprehensive environment of interlocking systems that maximize comfort and minimize cost of living for you and the planet.

Additions

Long term economic performance of a building is defined by how the built environment functions, efficiently heating and cooling itself without complicated technologies, longevity of the active systems installed in the house and how a home can grow in time to incorporate the needs of families without expensive cosmetic remodels.

Additions are a great opportunity to apply natural principals to your house.

It is important when implementing Natural Design to take available resources into consideration. This doesn’t imply just the cost of building materials from cradle to grave and the embodied energy of products. It incorporates your own financial resources as part of the whole system. Additions can be way to grow your home with the growing needs of your life.

Kitchen and Bath Remodels

Remodeling is considered a green practice, recycling and reusing existing resources to create enhanced living environments.

Most homes are in need of, or can be improved by, the remodeling of kitchens, baths, laundry rooms and more open floor plans to create better use of space and more graceful living.

Transform your home into a beautiful sanctuary with a company you can trust.

Decks and Trellises

We use nontoxic materials, reclaimed and certified sustainably harvested wood, recycled materials, products with low embodied energy and nontoxic composition.

Project Consulting

“Consulting” most often means “educating” in the “Green Building” field. We think of it as giving back, planting seeds, creating stepping stones towards a more harmonious future when we are truly giving back to nature as much, if not more, than it gives us.

We are available as Green building educators and demonstrators. We are guest lecturers at Cabrillo and DeAnza Community Colleges. One of our customers offers monthly tours to the public of their solar strawbale home. Please contact us to schedule a tour.

As experts in Strawbale building, we are available for “Bale Raisings” and preparation.

We also offer consultation and implementation of upgrades for the buying and selling of homes. Please see our Interior design section below.

Project Management

In the building phase, we strive to be mindful of the homeowner’s experience and make this opportunity a great journey for everyone involved. We communicate and care about your project.

Solar Electric, Rain Water Catchment, Grey Water

Earthen Plaster

To truly reflect nature, one must always consider beauty. Homes using natural design and build principals are light, comfortable, livable and beautiful. They promote health and an opportunity to connect with our greater environment. This new generation of homes with its forward thinking ideas create spaces that give back to individuals, families and the world.

Interior Design

Interior designs services:

Support with all decisions regarding details on the interior and exterior of a project in the design and build phase to create a coherent atmosphere that exudes the personality of the individual clients while remaining true to the vernacular of the built environment increasing its value, longevity and grace.

Help for homeowners incorporating natural building principals with guidance in choosing and procuring all fixtures, lighting, appliances, hardware, etc. in the build phase.

Remodeling detail design consultations

Whole house green makeovers

House rearranging

Color consultation

Consultation for the resale or buying of homes

House dressing and staging

Re-inhabit your revitalized home with our comprehensive interior design and green building makeovers.