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Blu Homes is Growing.
I have dedicated many posts to Blu Homes over the years and it is exciting to see the amazing growth they have achieved. They recently opened a new factory in Vallejo California and shot the video you see below. They are an amazing company and doing great things to bring affordable, green, prefab homes into the world.
Gleaning Made Easy – Neighborhood Fruit
Fruit! We all Most of us love it, but not all of us have it and it can be so dang expensive. Some of us have some, but want more variety and well, it can be so dang expensive. However, have you ever noticed how much of it litters our sidewalks in the summer? The smell of perfectly good fruit fermenting on the sidewalk is almost synonymous in the summertime.
Many people have taken it upon themselves to make sharing of fruit from their trees easier for each other by allowing gleaning. It’s a great way to get rid of that leftover fruit and also share with friends and neighbors. But it is not always easy for everyone to know where the people are who don’t mind a little gleaning. Well, Neighborhood Fruit has set out to solve that problem with a great website and iPhone app.
With the website and app you can search a radius around your zip-code for public and private trees where piking of fruit is allowed. It’s a great idea and may just help to keep the sidewalks cleaner and your bellies fuller with fruit that would have otherwise rotted on the tree. The only problem is that right now it does not appear that any trees are registered in the city or the state yet. So please register your tree if you have something to share!
One more reason Salt Lake City is so great! Best city for commuters.
We are always looking for reasons to share why are city is so great and we have yet another to add to the list. We are the number 1 city in the nation for commuters according to Forbes! I have been all over the country and I have to agree, but it is nice to see it in writing.
I have to also admit here that I am guilty of complaining about how bad our traffic is at times. I know, I need to stop. We really do have it good here.
Earthly Inspiration Brings Forth Environmentally Friendly Designs.
I struggled with a title for this post not because I didn’t know what to say; I just didn’t know how to say it. I may have to change it later when I can finally find the words to describe the work of Tyler Blaine. So for now, I’ll just tell you about and show you the work.
Last week I had the great pleasure to meet with Tyler Blaine. Tyler is a young guy making a huge mark in custom home features that you, I or anyone would find hard not to love. He works with many mediums, from concrete, to metal, to wood and derives the inspiration for his work from the deserts of Utah. Taking what are solid mediums and creating fluid representations of plateau’s, mesa’s and rivers and turning them into sinks, tables, barbecues and bicycle racks.
The funny thing is that I have been stumbling upon his work while showing homes throughout the valley. Here and there I would see a sink or counter that really struck me as amazing and beautiful. I had no idea I was witnessing the creative genius of just one person and I certainly never expected to receive a chance phone call from the artist himself, but I did and now here I am writing a post about his work.
Created from base materials of metal, wood and concrete, he molds them into functional objects that invoke the spirit of the desert.
In order to the preserve the environment that inspires him he uses reclaimed and recycled material wherever he can. His concrete can be formed with 100% recycled glass aggregate and his carbon footprint negated through the use of a fly ash blend in the concrete. Woods are reclaimed from many sources or re-purposed from scrap lumber.
“If not wandering through mountains and hills as a child, admiring the beauty of the natural realm, I could be found wandering amongst heavy equipment, concrete footings and suspended decks. May father’s passion and integrity for his architectural concrete structures, have taught me to observe the craftsmanship and design of structures around the world, thus my inspiration to design and fabricate through industrial mediums. Interactions with the world’s humbling geography and geology have provided my life with unparalleled joy.”
So if you are looking for something beautiful and creative, something that invokes the spirit of the environment and you want to bring it into your home, you cannot go wrong with Tyler Blaine. Look him up and give him a call.
Photos from Thomas Design
Why I work the way I work.
Under my profile photo on my Facebook Fan Page is a quote of mine.
My goals are simple. They are to educate everyone around me to the benefits of living well, eating well, designing well, building well and therefore leading yourself to a healthier, efficient life.
It is how I feel and what I believe and many have asked why I work that way. Well, today a friend shared a video with me that sums it all up in a short, quick and visual way and I wanted to share it with the world. This video tells you exactly why I do what I do. It is for the children, for me and for you. I do what I do and work the way I do, for everyone.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not do what I do to save the world or the planet. The world is fine. If we all disappeared today it would shake off everything we have done like a bad cold and keep turning until the sun swallows it someday. I do what I do to prolong our time here on the planet. I do it so our children and our grand children the world over can enjoy an amazing day, a beautiful sunset and snowflakes like I did.
Watch the short video below. It says it all.
Garbett Homes is building something, new, modern and green in Utah’s Daybreak community.
While spec home are just that, spec homes and typically built en masse in communities where everything looks the same, it is always refreshing to see when someone breaks the mold and does something a little differently now and then. Garbett Homes is doing just that in Utah and I love the change.
In the Southwest corner of Salt Lake County a not so little community called Daybreak has sprung up in the area where the old Kennecott Copper evaporation ponds used to be located and were subsequently cleaned up several years ago. (Click HERE for a PDF document from the EPA on this remediation) Daybreak is a community built around green living, close neighborhoods and Energy Star Certified homes, it takes an area where pollution was a problem and makes it a testament to the change that can happen. A light rail line is even being built to the community (someday…) so that residents can move easily to the heart of Salt Lake City and give those who work there an affordable opportunity for green living outside of the locales they would typically consider closer in. The concept is wonderful! However, until that light rail line is built it is a long way from being green when it comes to proximity to services and the current traffic situation.
In it’s short history the Daybreak style of home has leaned toward late 1800′s and early 1900′s styling where craftsman and Victorian homes were the norm. Something new has now come online from Garbett Homes and it is called the Solaris Collection.
What sets these homes apart is that they are in a modern design and a wide and welcome contrast to the the typical Daybreak craftsman redux. Actually, it is exciting! Very Exciting! Now if they could intersperse them amongst the other styles a little more, so it doesn’t just end up as another overabundance of homes that all look the same.
Some other noteable information on these homes is the materials that they are using here as well. From Hardi Board on the exterior, solar included in the price and r38 insulation in the ceilings, they are also making good strides in green building and energy efficiency with these homes. That and the base price is $206,000! Please note that I did not say GREAT green strides. These homes are Energy Star rated so please take that for what it is worth. It is a start and not the top.
Photos of the homes can be seen on the Garbett Website and through posts over at Grassroots Modern and Jetson Green. Once I have a chance to head out that way I will share some of my own photos and tell you more about the homes and my impressions.
Blu Homes – Continued Growth in A Down Economy
It is no secret that real estate has been in a state of decline for a while now and that decline has extended into what seemed to be a booming rebirth of prefab homes. The loss of MK Designs was a good example of this when she ceased marketing her prefab homes. This loss was soon turned around when Michelle Kaufman sold the rights to her designs to Blu Homes. So from these ashes Blu Homes, a company I have had the pleasure working with, has risen to carry the torch and continued to market and grow in a declining market.
This rise has been noticed by the Boston Globe who published a wonderful article on Blu and shared a video of one of their latest designs. The folding prefab home. Basically, the entire home is built and folded offsite and then move to the final location and unfolded. With prices ranging from $75,000 to $250,000 Blu Homes is moving toward a very innovativeand unique product that will appeal to many. Very exciting!
Check out the video below for a great piece on the unfolding home.
Living Green in 9th and 9th. – 1048 S. Lake, 84105
UPDATE: A Home Energy Rating was recently conducted on this home and it came back with a HERS score of 55! Click here to learn more about what a HERS rating means.
Living green in the city is not always easy to do when the inventory of green homes is as small as it is. Well, your opportunity to live green, while enjoying the convenience of one of Salt Lake City’s most walkable neighborhoods, is here with this home at 1048 S. Lake Street.
Designed by A. K. Smith Architects this home was built with the environment in Mind. With an exterior of Structural Integrated Panels (SIPS) this home is already 65% more energy efficient than standard frame construction and 2 1/2 times stronger! But the exterior is only the beginning, an emphasis on green living was made throughout this home with everything from home automation systems to carpet made from soy and corn oil.
So what makes this home so green?
-ICF Foundation and Insulated Slab: An insulated concrete foundation excludes the interior of the home from the temperature fluctuations of the outside world. The slab maintains ambient temperature of Earth, 55°.
-Radon Gas Removal System: Ensures healthy air and proper vetilation to the outside.
-SIPS Panel Construction: With the walls and roof made up entirely of SIPS Panels this foam features strong walls with an R40 insulation value. The ceilings, being twelve inches thick have an R80 insulating Value.
-Solar: This home has been built with passive solar features to reduce heat gain in the summer and optimize sunlight in the winter. Natural daylighting is featured with optimal window placement, skylights and unique translucent panels in the upstairs hall that allow daylight to move between floors. To top this all off the home has been built with the future in mind and is ready now for your future active solar needs.
-Radiant Heating: Powered by a tankless water heater, the highly efficient , 3 zone radiant heating system will not only heat the home, but your hot water. A highly efficient secondary forced air system will take the chill off of the second floor on those super cold winter nights, but the open stairs and living area will allow the radiant and fireplace heat to rise throughout the home on most nights, without the need of the forced air system.
-Pella High Performance Windows and Doors: These ultra efficient windows protect you and your home from extreme heat and cold along with blocking UV rays.
-Low Flow Water Fixtures an High Efficiency Hallogen and CFL Lighting.
-Interior Finishes: With no or low VOC finishes throughout this home you know that the air you breath is free of harmful compounds. The Timbercreek cabinetry is custom made of bamboo and feature Blum softclose hardware, the kitchen counters are IceStone and made up of 70% recycled glass and the clear glass backsplashes are also recycled. The Mohawk Carpet throught the home has been manufactured from Soybean and Corn sugars and is 100% recyclable.
-Home Automation: Control everything from the fireplace to the thermostats with your Control4 Home Automation System. Not only is this extreme convenience it is also energy efficient. Wouldn’t be cool if you could control everything in your home with your iPhone? Well, you can with this home.
Control4 uses dimmers, timers and occupancy sensors to reduce energy waste. A typical 3-bedroom home with a Control4 system will eliminate over 850 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. That’s like not driving a car for a month! Control4 also lets you control the amount of wattage used by light bulbs, which not only saves electricity and reduces energy bills but extends the life of bulbs as well.
Appliances: In your kitchen you will find highly efficient Bosch Appliances with an EcoSense Dishwasher and Energy Star rated refrigerator along with a Bosch gas cooktop and Bosch Convection Oven.
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1048 S. Lake Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
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Want to garden, but your thumb isn’t so green? Help is on the way.
There is a new trend in the world and it is an exciting trend to me. People are growing their own vegetables again! From the die hard gardeners to the White House and everywhere in between American’s are picking up their shovels and their rakes and growing again!
It isn’t so new to me since I have had a garden everywhere I ever lived, but to many they are hearkening back to something their grandma did or perhaps, great grandma did. Many don’t know where to start or what to do and that is where folks like Salt Lake City’s D&L Urban Farms come in. Continue reading
