The Airedale is adorable!

This house is awesome! Great design. Great style. And I love seeing cool houses that actually looked loved and lived in by real families!!

Just a great house, inside and out.

I'm a sucker for any southern California house tour. Great light, nice laid-back vibe. Although I agree with Jess13 that the chipboard is a bit unfinished-looking, but I guess that's the "green" look. Who won all those Emmys on the bookshelf? A multi-winner!

Nice place! Cool lamps especially. I have one of those wagon wheel hubs...would love to make it a lamp. Also that cool Kellogg phone lamp. Great stuff!

The alcove in the backyard that looks like an underground storm drain...love it!!

Are those Golden Globes on the top shelf by the stairs?!

I agree about the chipboard, Jess13. I don't get it either.

I get all itchy when people talk about green building, as there are so many false positives. I question, for instance, the true value of installing a cistern in a place that gets so little rainfall (average just under 15 inches, but as little as 5-7 is not unheard of). The classification "native plant" means little in California, a random geographical designation for a mass of microclimates. And don't I see a lawn there?

I live in California, near some uber-affluent areas where "green" is cynically misused. I will leave it at that. Props for the green intentions, for not installing a tropical garden or a pool. I lok the design of your kitchen.

I am drooling over the windows and the light in this place. Cool place.

"Architect Isabelle Duvivier had been living rentals in Venice for many years when she decided to purchase her own home."

Edit that first sentence please.

I love the air, light and space but have to agree about the rafters. But who cares what we think? I'm sure she loves it.

Count me in on the hate for the beams. I do love the open space from the living room out to the backyard. Awesome.
Can't understand why someone would be embarrassed by using native plants in their garden. You live in a desert type climate, the huge swaths of lawn in affluent SoCa areas are kind of ridiculous. Work the succulents and enjoy them!

Jaw dropping goodness!

While the inside's contemporary work shows lots of effort and care, I don't see a lot of the original Craftsman left, except in the bedroom picture. I am curious what the outside and before looked like for comparison.

I like your house but is this really affordable? For most people, NO! This must of cost a fortune. I can only imagine. Good for you though.

It looks to me like she may be using her house also as a sort of showroom for her work- perhaps that's why the OSB I-Joists are exposed? There's an original header showing over the window, and there's a section of wall out showing what looks to be multiple types of insulation. There's also a board showing the existing house. Or, maybe she just likes the look. Architects tend to have an appreciation for materials as they are.

Also, Rural and Rueful, you're right, 'Green' has become a commodity. But Isabelle is a LEED architect- I'm sure she knows what she's doing, and didn't go to all the extra effort and expense that she did just for show.

Isabelle- I love your house! Especially the stairs. Were the tiny closet doors in the attic the only thing from the original house you kept?

The trundle bed in the slope is sheer genius! And the stairs absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you so much for taking care of the butterflies etc. You go with your obsession, girl!

It's also great that you have graywater re-use technology installed. True, Southern California doesn't get much rain but that's all the more reason to use what DOES fall, rather than bring in water from far away. Commenters may not realize the really awful environmental impact that doing so has had over many decades now.

I'm now in western Oregon where it's not unusual to get as much rainfall in one day - in a few hours, actually - as we got in San Diego in a year! And can you believe the system is so inefficient that we regularly have "water shortages" here in the summer? So again, thanks for blazing the trail of intelligent water usage!

The whole house is very nice. My favorite parts are the bookshelf/stairs and the son's room. I adore that window!
I love the idea of a native garden - I'm working on including more natives in my garden as well (different part of the country) and I defend the grass, it's not easy planting natives and having a surface for a kid to play on. Succulents and soccer don't mix very well (besides - it might be some super drought tolerant ground cover that only needs 5" of rain/year).

From an architectural perspective, I can appreciate it. The interiors need work, and I don't mean staging, I mean it looks a little messy. The only thing I personally liked in the entire house was the kitchen. Surprisingly, there was no mention about kitchen cabinets, likely because they were not made of 100 yr old wood.

BTW, Bosch has a number of different models of dishwasher, and they are not the same.

BADASS. That's the only word that comes close.

I'm not a fan of the modern aesthetic though to each his (or her) own. It's a lovely home if that's your thing.

But as a historic preservationist, I practice the ultimate recycling and I've never been a fan of taking a historic house and making it "green". Too much of the original fabric is sacrificed. You can build any old modern masterpiece elsewhere without bastardizing a perfectly good home.

Do not get me wrong, this house is *gorgeous.* But I fail to see any preserved "historic elements" of the original house. A couple of original doors doesn't really count in my opinion. Good on your for being environmentally conscious while making your upgrades!

Great tour, love the bathroom and adorable dog. What is the source for the bathroom mirror, please?

I'm in love with the blue chairs and ottoman in the cover photo. Can anyone identify the manufacturer/designer? And I love the dog, too. Airedale or Welsh Terrier?

this is really special. well done

Brian

Love the kitchen and the pull out extra bed. Guessing those awards are for achievement in architecture. I do like the beams -- I'd move in and not change a thing. I'd like the dog, too. The black lamps are great.

Damn you got style!

Nice start. I also appreciate the rainwater use here but can't help wondering why she didn't opt to water those thirsty endemic shrubs automatically with every load of Bosch/Miele dishes/laundry or every decadent soak in that tub. That's greywater. That's reusing wasted resources.

I find it funny that there can be nationwide 'green' requirements in a nation with such vastly different environmental situations. Insulation for example -- great stuff, no doubt. But if you google the average temp in Venice you'll see that it seldom strays beyond 10 or 15 degrees either side of 60 so your heating & cooling needs are very limited relative to other parts of the country. In my native Montana, for example, we spent all July around the century mark but should still steel ourselves for 40 below this winter. In California the issues is water.

I think this home is gorgeous. The way the light flows into every room is incredible. Bravo! I too would like more info on the kitchen and even bathroom. Also, I am really curious about what is going on in the backyard with the mound over the cinder block arch. . . More description would be awesome if possible!

I stayed in Isabelle's Loft that she has listed on Air BnB in Venice and it has the same clean aesthetic and lovely charm!

I'm interested in learning more about Mary Cordaro's mattresses/bedding but can't find any info on her website. Where can you see/buy them?

Wonderful house! But, I can't figure out the traffic flow and layout of the house. Could we have a floor plan or photo that give a better idea of before and after?

Really great bathroom, especially that mirror! Who makes it and or who distributes it? Thanks!

i WANT to love a tour of a "1912 Craftsman cottage," but there are no architectural elements that resemble this.

i have never understood how ripping out an entire kitchen, bathroom (that tub!), and all the windows is considered green - that is so much waste! i would have saved all of those elements - those are some of my many favorites about old houses!!!

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has many ways to green a home and replacing the windows is NOT one of them. The R-value between old and new is minimal and definitely not a concern in a mild climate like many of you stated.

I have a 1927 bungalow. I am trying to preserve as much as possible, while making it more green and on a serious budget.

I'd hardly consider a 2,000 square foot house "green" if there's only one person living in it. What a waste of precious space! All that heating and cooling, no matter how efficient, for a single person. You could easily fit FOUR in there comfortably.

And agreed, it's easy to be green in the milder areas of California. Let's see some energy efficiency during a Texas summer!

I think we have just gotten a glimpse of The World's Cutest Airedale!

Envy really brings out the snark, doesn't it?

To the people who asked whether those Emmy's were Golden Globes or Emmys?

Emmy's.

I guess I'm alway up to gawk at someone else's tchockes. With the 'greenest' title I thought there would be more innovation here beyond insulation and a few European appliances. Maybe native plants in a green roof: http://www.calacademy.org/academy/building/the_living_roof/
or making compost with worms or even
Sunbelievable solar paint on the whole house: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/sunbelievable-solar-power-paint_n_1166357.html

I LOVE your living room, every single thing about it - the wall along the stairway included! And I really appreciate the relaxed, SoCal cool feeling of the house as a whole. What a wonderful place to call home. Thank you for sharing!

I'm interested in the source for the bathroom mirror!