apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Is that a lovely wooden kayak hanging from the livingroom ceiling?

Total man space.

There are some nice elements here (the best being the home's low impact) but overall I don't think it's the kind of thing that is going to help green living appeal to a broad audience.

Total man space indeed; too much for me. While I like elements of this place, the first thing I noticed was how filthy the upholstery was on the white chair in the living room was. "Trash picked furniture" doesn't have to stay grubby, it can be cleaned or better yet, reupholstered. Chris has done a good job in creating a home he loves, but it can still do with some work.

I love the assemblage of windows to create a screen and I also love the handmade bookshelves. It reminds me very much of Jasper Morrison's Crate.

wow, i ...
i hate saying anything negative when people post their homes here, and i truly applaud what he's doing.

maybe it is just too much of a man space, but my overwhelming thought when i looked at the slide show was that i would be unhappy there. it would feel like i was living in someone's (cluttered!) garage.

I can appreciate his efforts, but overall, the space is too unfinished. That kitchen would drive me insane without a proper stove, and it looks unkempt.

Chris seems like the kind of guy I would have dated in college.

Besides the small size, homemade-ness and composting/drainage/garden system, what makes this place especially green? The walls don't look very energy-efficient to me, although maybe they are, if this was once a freezer...

I don't doubt that it is, but I'd like to hear more about how this house is green. I'm afraid that some people are beginning to equate 'green' with 'rustic,' and that's not always the case. For example, I rent a very rustic home in Vermont--which I love--but unfortunately, I think that the environmental pros of wood heat, local produce and salvaged furniture are offset by the remoteness (i.e. need to drive everywhere) and poorly insulated old walls and windows.

Also, I realize that no home is ever truly finished, but I would have preferred to see more 'afters' and fewer 'in-the-works' shots here.

I must agree with most of the above posters. I don't find much about this space that is visually pleasing. Maybe it will be a great space once it is finished, but to me it looks like a cross between a college dorm room and the Unibomber's shed.

Well he is a man and if this is comfortable for him hats off.

I find some of the rawness attractive. Quit the opposite of a pink room with throw pillows, vases, craft corner which says Girl's space.

This home is definitely a work in progress. But it does have some nice exposed elements to it and the windows are great in letting in lots of light. You have to give him credit for making all the built-in furniture and using trash finds. Not sure if I could do this in my home, but I applaud him for his efforts. Its nice to see a Philadelphia home on AT.

It's nice to be green and I've done little things to be environmentally conscious, but if this is the ultimate example of how to live green, I would say no thanks. It's pretty fug-even for a dude. Sorry i'm usually not so mean

I worked in a place with a bunch of raw exposed wood. I got splinters and my skirts would catch on things. I can imagine that happening there.

I kept looking for mimeographed copies of the Unabomber manifesto on his bookshelf.

That said, I really did like it (even if it does look a bit like urban camping). Yes, there could be more creature comforts, but hey, he's got a two-burner propane stove, a decent sink with the oh-so-trendy commercial sprayer, so fine home-made bookshelves and a lot of repurposed industrial equipment. (I also like the Vogelzgang DIY wood stove - that's a pretty cool item worth a mention on AT, although it's not for a typical apartment-dweller.) Plus, the *space*. I know half of AT would kill (or at least do very very mean things) to have a space like that to call our own. It's looks like a work in progress, and it's definitely a little to far toward the utilitarian end of the spectrum for much of this crowd (myself included). But nice job, Chris.

Nice knifes - strange contrast to the rest of the place.

I love beautiful living spaces. This home's beauty is in it's commitment to living lightly on earth, our fragile island home.

i'm afraid of chris - but i think that's the point

um ya i think hes going to put up the WALLS, jesus exposed insulation is not shabby chic or something people, he says he moves his bedroom as he does the construction. Please post more pics as he continues to finish the place! Where neighborhood is he in? It's super cool to see young people buying places and fixing up Philadelphia.

If you are going to talk about a bedroom on wheels, how about showing it?

If this is green living, no thank you.

I don't get all those knives.......

um...he uses waste from his compost toilet as compost for his garden? can someone who knows about this talk about it a little bit? Is human waste safe for compost? also, I happen to think that used water from the shower is perfectly fine to use in the garden, but how does the city of brotherly love feel about this? In some areas, these practices are illegal. Again...anybody know more about this and could fill me in?

with those questions out the way.... this reminds me of a guy I used to date when I lived in Philly (many, many years ago) who was an illegal squatter and had no electricity (somehow he had water, but only cold) and rigged up a pretty ingenious living place, sort of like camping indoors. I remember being impressed with his inventiveness, and green? Well, back in the day we were called hippies. Happy to see that this lifestyle is popular again.

Umm I see the concept and I like the idea, but there is something a bit Ted Kaczynski about it, and I don't understand the photograph with the gloves....does it mean he needs gloves indoors because it is so cold? Well kudos to him anyway, it takes all types and compared to some of the Ikea assembled showrooms that are often seen here, it is an interesting diversion.

Bravo to the commitment to your ideas/ideals and for actually doing something instead of just talking about doing something!

loved this house tour! now this is creativity! i couldn't live like this, but that's besides the point. i would really like to see this place again a few years from now, to see what chris has been able to do with it.

mr.cranky - right here: http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/3-12-09chrisgreentour/bedroom-doors-312-kristen

A little sprucing up and it wouldn't look like a crack house.

I really liked it. True, it reminded me of camping at times. But I thought a lot of it was artfully arranged. I am much more drawn to the messy-looking lived in kitchens than the Orwellian modular type kitchens that look like no one ever actually cooks in them. I admire what Chris is doing. It certainly appears that he has done a lot of re-purposing, which can be greener than going out and buying new the latest energy star rated whatever.

i'm also curious about which neighborhood this is in. i'm guessing fishtown, but perhaps it's west philly? it looks pretty rough now but i'd love to see updates as he works on it...

LOL to clivechristy. This place is creepy. Again, props for being self-reliant and living on your own, but this is least representative of a HOME.

@ traceymariel, I'm guessing Fishtown/Upper Northern Liberties too. I can't think where in West Philly such an industrial-type space would be. I suppose it could be in Germantown or parts of South Philly too...

As an interior design, it isn't very organized or clean.

As a way to live, I think I speak on behalf of some men out there who don't read this blog when I say this place is AWESOME!

I'd really like to see how this place grows up.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. I can't really get a feel for the place with the pics. There are far too many vignettes, and, as a result, I can't get a feel for the place as a whole. (How many close-up pics of coffee cups dangling from the wall do we need?) The raw-ness of the place is cool. The idea is cool. I like it, but I just can't grasp it.

Man space, unibomber, ex-boyfriends, crack house...
Best AT comments thread in ages :)

Chris,
Great job. It sounds like the space has come a long way and it looks like a comfortable place to be. I appreciate your diy esthetic. I redid the first floor of my house and now I'm afraid to bring my bicycle inside (since it may fall over and mark the floor or walls). I dig that this is not the issue with your space. I also envy your wood stove, and the utility and simplicity of your kitchen.

I'll refer everyone back to AT Survey at the top of this page. I guess I did not go into enough detail about the state of my home. I am trying live amidst my own construction. That is a challenge. I cannot afford a team of workers to complete my home while I sit comfortably in the Hamptons. Most of what you see are TEMPORARY solutions to common conveniences. My end goal is not to live with exposed insulation, or to construct mail bombs. As the price of building materials have skyrocketed, I have to take projects very slowly, as I do not believe in living in more any debt than necessary.

So the timeline goes something like this:
1: Insulate, Insulate, Insulate
2: Windows and skylights
3: Floor
4: Then start to address the aesthetic elements and build the permanent elements into the space

So what you see are simply solutions to get by, and some of my friends have found those solutions to be interesting, and one thought it worthwhile to share.

Thanks for the glimpse into your home.

well that makes sense... i know someone who lived thru a similar renovation in n.libs... in fact:

www.nliberties.com

I love the little garden and the cabinets & shelving.

I applaud you! Your space is incredible & I can see that it is on its way to becoming even more so. Good for you. Sorry so many of these AT posters are too dense to realize that yours is a work in progress.

It's really refreshing to see a space like this on apartment therapy. Kudos Chris! You walk your talk.

uh....wellllllllllll......at least it's not another rich person attempting to compensate for their own lack of any design sense or personal style by purchasing many official "design classics" from DWR.

However, it looks like a homeless person squatting in an abandoned building mixed with ad-hoc student squats that i remember from college. Not exactly a showplace of decorating. More like a demo on how to make temporary shelves from random plywood you found in an alley.

Not sure what makes it "green" other than the fact that he apparently shits in a bucket?

Thank you for the clarification, Chris. I think the problem the readers are having is due to the fact that all the home tours we see on AT are finished spaces that have been years in the making. At first I too was turned off by the chaos, but I got the impression from the intro that you were nearing the end of your construction process, not the beginning.

Knowing now that you've still just barely started, I find it fascinating to see how you're living through the construction. It does remind me a bit of indoor camping. I think I'd find it fun to live like this for a little while, but the novelty would wear off quickly.

Definitely keep us posted about how it all turns out. I'd also like to hear more about what's going to make this such an eco-friendly space.

Wow, this house is really amazing. While I'm very interested to see how it evolves, I disagree with all the posters who are hating the "under construction" look. It's definitely not going to be featured in Southern Living any time soon, but I know a TON of people who would go crazy over the utility, unfussiness, and frankly, the apocalyptic/artistic look of this place. Chris, did you go to RISD? Something here says RISD grad to me (not Unibomber)...

How impressed I was with your space and your commitment to the environment, and how dissapointed with the people who have posted negative comments. They have missed the point entirely, possibly they were distracted thinking about their next west elm purchase.
what a shame there arent more people like you in the world.
For all the judgemental people with no vision...chill out... we dont all need to live in bland cookie cutter spaces.
Chris, Thank You.

I kill for this space. Although it's a work in progress, it'd be very nice to see some of the unfinished elements in the final design.

I'd* kill for this space.

I like it. I found looking at this home gave me more to think about than a lot of home tours on AT. Although I may not share the whole esthetic, I found some of the storage solutions and use of space really inspiring!!

As for using your own pooh and pee on a compost heap... Yes you can and moreover, human pee breaks down the matter into compost more effectively than anything. I've heard it recomended by heaps of gardeners, much to the shock of everyone else. See, God's designed everything to be re-used, clever chap eh?