(Welcome again to Stephanie, one of the finalists in our Editor search for the upcoming Green Therapy blog. Here's her "Green Tour". Comment away!)
Name: Chris and Nyla
Location: Scientist and Educator, respectively
Size/Type: 510 sq. ft. cottage
Years lived in: 8 (roughly half-time occupancy)
Average Gas/Electric Bill: $6 gas/$6 electric
The line between where the inside of Chris and Nyla Marnay's cottage ends and the outside begins is blurred by large windows, sunlight, a cool breeze, and French doors opened wide. The couple's home was painstakingly designed so that the sun provides most of their light and heat, strategically placed overhangs and windows provide their cooling, and highly-insulating concrete walls keep temperatures stable.
Radiant floor heating, powered by a super-efficient hot water heater makes the place cozy in the winter, and an isolated slab under the cottage keeps warmth from escaping to the patio.The cottage, which they had built at the back of their property after deciding to rent out the larger front house, is a study in efficiency — just big enough for Chris, Nyla, and their dog, Bettie — nothing wasted, not even a square-foot.
Our Style: Passive solar, quarter circle, with mixed rough-face block and framing.
The inspiration for our home: Low maintenance, low energy, small, and cozy.
Favorite Element: The easy access to the outside, the light, and the view.
Biggest Challenge: No room to entertain or accommodate guests.
Friends Say About Our Home: It's an architectural marvel.
Biggest Embarrassment: Dog hair … and dirty windows (there are a lot of them to clean)!
Favorite Green Element: Passive space conditioning and our clothesline!
Proudest DIY: We worked with the architect to develop the design, and he later converted to green construction.
Biggest Indulgence: We accepted a very high cost-per-square-foot to achieve this kind of efficiency and an attractive design.
Best advice you'd give to anyone trying to green their home:
Keep it a small and efficient, but attractive space to occupy.
Throw away the stuff you don't really need or store it in an unconditioned space.
Take advantage of passive opportunities, e.g. solar gain.
Make the space feel bigger by generous views and other connections to the outdoors — patios, etc.
A few simple behavioral changes make a big difference, for example, wash your clothes in cold water and dry them on a clothesline.
Choose the most efficient appliances, e.g. CFLs.
-Stephanie
Wow, what a wonderful example of low-impact architecture. A beautiful, warm home, inside and out!
view gregory's profile
They seem like such a cool couple-- very inspiring!
view ccs's profile
I love the many windows that let in all that light as well as the French doors that open to the outdoors. Very lovely!
view syen's profile
(Gasps audibly)
Fantastic.
view Enrique's profile
The house is lovely, the story is inspiring.....but where is it?
view Susanna's profile
Oops! Chris and Nyla's cottage is in Berkeley, Ca.
view StephanieK's profile
Is that a Vestfrost fridge? Are you happy with it? My parents are thinking about getting one and wanted some opinions on them.
view dn's profile
Yes, it's a Vestfrost. We've been very happy with it, and they still make about the most efficient standard mass production fridge around. We also have a much older (about 13 yrs) model in a off-grid vacation home that's performed excellently. The look and interior are somewhat Spartan, but being able to separately turn off the freezer is a useful conservation feature.
view Chris Nyla's profile
Gosh, this is incredibly neat. I love it. I'd be interested in seeing the floor plan. Is the overall shape dictated by the green objectives? Is the layout? How do you water all those great high-up plants - do you have a rolling stepladder? And do the owners mind sleeping with their bed seeming to shoot straight out the bedroom door? Just curious. I really like the look, and the entryway and bed space look so interesting and cozy, but I'm not sure I could face the doorway like that - though maybe the lower walls help with that. Anyway, congratulations on a fabulous home that's also impressively green!
view Sea's profile
Give us an email address and we can send a floor plan. The shape was in part dictated by the desire be far back in the corner of the lot and the desire for southerly exposure. We use a library rolling stepping stool and a regular step ladder. The bed is high because it has our only drawers underneath, which is a great space saver. We like the bed's orientation because we can see out to the night sky over the low wall, but our heads are at the point of the pie slice which is terrible feng shui.
view Chris Nyla's profile
Hi Chris & Nyla,
Thanks for your answers. I think I understand the layout now - it's like a half-open fan. Regarding the bed, it seems to me that the feng shui (leaving aside the door placement) is pretty good - because it's in the back, and your heads are at the fulcrum of everything. (Can't we just bend the rules about angled walls?) - It seems best that you are in a commanding place, which it looks like you are. Ah, and since you're at the edge of your property, too, maybe you can thus better control your dominion from there. Neat. The bed looks cozy, and how nice to see the stars from it! Lovely home, thanks for sharing it.
view Sea's profile