Throughout the interior of the house, the designers struck a beautiful balance of warm woods, whites, and plenty of windows, including a clerestory that flooded the 520-square-foot home with light. An unexpected touch? EcoClad bio-composite cladding used on the interior. It totally worked. Dark cork floors by Wicanders grounded the palette.
I particularly loved the kitchen, which was small but extremely efficient (at least according to the guy who was baking cookies for the crowds that toured the tiny space). I was already a big fan of Modwall’s small white subway tiles made from recycled glass, and they looked stylishly subtle here. If I had the budget, I'd be very tempted by the induction cooktop from the high-end Electrolux ICON line. Apparently it doesn’t scratch or stay hot after use.
Joaquin laid out the space smartly, arranging the middle of the prefab as a living area, divided from the bedroom by a custom Plyboo unit from Neil Kelly Cabinets. Plyboo, by the way, is such a promising material. It’s renewable and looks really modern, especially the way it was used in this wall unit -- on the edges and sides the stacked layers were left exposed, lending the wood a striped appearance. A bonus: built-in closet space on the bedroom-side of the unit.
Speaking of sleeping spaces, the bedroom was very cozy and outfitted with a rubber latex mattress and pillows from Organic Mattresses Inc. and ultra-luxe Coyuchi linens. (I won't lie -- I had to fight the urge to crawl beneath the covers after a long day at the conference.) To the side of the bed, a closet-size space housed an exposed energy-efficient washer and dryer, which would normally be neatly tucked away behind a door. For small layouts, this is an inspired choice. No more lugging laundry, that’s for sure.
The bathroom was textbook eco-cool, with glass tiles and energy-efficient faucets and fixtures. But it was the “backyard” that really won me over. A few chickens were pecking about in the coolest coop ever by the L.A.-based 100x Better. The structure would look amazing in my backyard if I could ever convince my man to indulge my chicken-coop fantasies. Maybe good design will sway him?
By the way, the entire house is up for auction on eBay, in case you’re interested. I'm not sure I'd want to live in something like this full-time, but as a second home, this would be an ecofabulous dream come true.
• The prefab's exterior. Photo: ecofabulous
• The kitchen. Photo: ecofabulous.
• Zem Joaquin and architect Jonathan Davis discuss the house's features.
• A closeup of the live-edge table, sourced from a tree at Davis' wife's childhood home.
• Joaquin says she was unconvinced about the interior cladding until she saw it in action.
• The living room. Photo: ecofabulous.
• A closeup of the Plyboo wall unit.
• The bedroom.
• The bath.
• The chicken coop.
Images: AnnaMaria Stephens unless otherwise noted











Sheex Bedding
I appreciate the whole project except the location of the washing and drying machines (in the bedroom). I know one can program them a cycle during the day while you're outside the room but this seems to be awkward IMO as this is a constraint instead of a progress...
Agree - not to detract points from this project - but it is an akward place to install the W and D...
I lived in a very small townhouse with a similar setup (w/d just outside bedroom) and it didn't bother me at all. The only thing that I hated was the black gunk that always seems to form on those front-loading washers. Yuck.
I really liked the washer and dryer in the bedroom. Ours is outside in a little shed like thing thats attached to our house, I hate doing laundry when it's raining now :( Oh how wonderful it would be to take off your clothes and throw them imediately in the washer. Bye bye laundry hamper!
I think w/d placement is genius! I never understood placing them anywhere other than the bedroom or bathroom.
I'd put the laundry in the bedroom in a heartbeat: but I have no kids. I like picking fresh underwear off the underwear tree to wear in the morning.
Gorgeous, well designed small space and it retains a sense of thoughtful details in the design and material installation. I love the material and color palette; earthy but sleek. Love the washer/dryer placement, particularly in light of a small space where circulation is at a premium, why would you waste it carrying baskets of clothing around that need to be folded. Keep the actions in the appropriate rooms and the lack of space and circulation freedom has minimal effect. Well Done!
The w/d placement makes sense, it just needs something to hide that cubby... a door, or something.
Great looking little home!
Is there room for three chickens to roost in that coop? It looks terribly small. (Three chickens is the recommended minimum to provide a flock dynamic - chickens are social critters)
Beautiful house! Small, but feels spacious. I'm really like the w/d placement, but I agree with Sam I Am... it's in desperate need of a door.
Is there anywhere that is linked that shows a floor plan for the house? I don't see one above, and the eBay auction page is just a placeholder until the auction opens, I guess.
My washer and dryer is in the closet of my master bathroom. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Why is it that green design is always synonymous with NO COLOR?
I would love to see an eco designer find natural ways to incorporate vivid colors.
Just wanted to point out that the w/d does usually have a door. It was removed for the sake of display.
Also, there was a bit of color in the living room -- the work of art (can't remember the artist) has a stunning palette of blues. But yeah, I agree, eco tends to be a bit too serene for my personal style. No reason cheerful accessories and artwork can't be green -- and red, blue, purple, orange, etc.
I love all of your comments! Funny thing is that I usually do tons of color. This is my 3rd year designing the Dwell on Design showhouse and I wanted to do something different so I restrained my usually use of color and focused on texture. The blue washer & dryer dictated the colors. And speaking of the w/d, there is a door both there & in the bathroom that were taken off due to heavy traffic. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Love the AT community. You guys rock! P.s., you can see the past 2 years of projects on www.ecofabulous.com
Oops, usual use of color. Still in recovery from days of tours.
I want a W & D in my bedroom, my kids room, the bathroom & the kitchen. :D
Ooops forgot to add, I looove the bathroom!