Green Building Goes on a Budget Wall Street Journal “Casa Feliz is one of a growing number of affordable-housing projects nationwide that have been built “green”—that is, with nontoxic materials, highly energy-efficient appliances, and features such as green roofs and solar panels. Thanks to tax credits designed to attract private capital and aggressive cost-cutting on [...]

In honor of, well, nothing in particular, today’s industry news round-up is focused on a series of news items about “green” homebuilding and design. We hope you’ll find something interesting and informative in the stories below. Home Appliance Industry to Develop Sustainability Standards Builder Online “Interest in greener appliances is moving beyond measurements of energy [...]

Our friends at Re-nest have posted a very useful life cycle assessor. Looking at it, you realize that there’s a lot to think about when acquiring a new item. When you purchase a widget, it’s helpful to think about it all the way from the raw materials to its disposal. And there are other questions [...]

Last week, we asked how important “green” is to your business and your customers. This week, a post from Charles & Hudson’s Green Building site shows that green building is on the rise. C&H cites a thorough report from NPR that examines the trend and the impact of LEED-certified construction. While much of the U.S. [...]

We want to know: How important is green to your customers, really? Most everyone would agree that green can be an attractive selling point — for some people. But how do homeowners feel about green? There can be a difference in perception between “green” and energy efficient.” Most people will eagerly replace appliances and devices [...]

In 2004, Potomac Yard Development, LLC (PYD) collaborated with the City of Alexandria to execute a mixed used project, developing 167 acres on the edge of Alexandria, Virginia, into a walkable, urban community.  This now thriving neighborhood is enhanced by its unique town center, convenient office and retail space, affordable housing and 24 acres of [...]

The Web is full of valuable information about green building, home improvement, the housing market and first hand homebuilding experience and more. Today, we thought we would weed through some of those resources to compile a list of some of our favorites. No list like this could be comprehensive, but you should find some of [...]

Two recent articles from Twin Cities-based news site MinnPost have focused on the future of the urban landscape — on the suburban one, too. The first viewpoint comes from Richard Florida, author of the book “The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity.” In a nutshell, he believes that when [...]

EPA’s Paint Law Frustrates Hardworking Contactors Home Construction Improvement “Here on our Home Improvement site we’ve been covering the EPA’s new Lead Paint Law closely since early spring when it went into effect. We’ve written lots of articles on the new law, training, fines and cost implications. So far we’ve met very few people that [...]

Via Trends Ideas comes this case study of a master suite. One of the main goals of this project, according to the designer, was to make a green suite that doesn’t sacrifice style and comfort. Jack Poles of J Poles Interiors says, “I wanted to show that an eco-friendly design does not have to be [...]