If you’re lost read this for a quick run down: Will $100,000 Build A Good Green Home?

Post from: Blisstree

Have You Been Following the 100K House?

In any case it seems like it’s been simply years since the show ended, but finally, Kim, last year’s winner, has her show coming out. I figured I’d post about it because we did all follow along, and also, well, HGTV is always nice to me. They send me ideas, and tell me about events, and I don’t mind sending them some promo love.

Kim’s new show is called Myles of Style and there’s a special promo on tonight (March 16) at 10pm. The show picks up regularly on Thursdays at 8:30pm starting on March 20th.

Now, it’s no secret that I was not a huge Kim fan, that said, her show looks kind of fun. One, she seems nice, not fake, and two, I like the whole, let’s decorate on a budget slant. Take a look:

It looks alright, no? I say give it a whirl.
Secondly, right before Kim’s new show starts tonight, HGTV is announcing their HGTV Dream Home winner, plus the at-home winner who is getting a prize package during a live television special. That’s on tonight as well, at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. I’m not a big fan of this year’s dream home. I liked the home in Jackson Hole better. It’s a little tropical and large for my taste, but if you want to see one excited winner I’d tune in.

Lastly, there is some HGTV news I am excited about:

The HGTV Green Home. I’m excited in a, “I’m glad they’re doing a green home, and it will be nice to see some green building” sort of way. I’m not excited that they didn’t try for a more realistic budget slant. Most of us make less $ than what it would take to build this sort of green home. The upside; according to the email I was sent, “The home has received a significant Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and the Environmental Media Association’s (EMA) Green Seal Award for the production of the HGTV Green Home 2008 television special.” Not bad.

Pretty soon you’re going to be able to enter to win the green dream home, including all the furnishings, and a new GMC Yukon Hybrid. Total prize worth = $850,000.

This is a cool prize I suppose, but if you’d like to see how to live green on way less (WAY less) visit me over at Tree Hugging Family.

The national sweepstakes to win the green home, kicks off via the HGTV Green Home 2008 special hosted by Carter Oosterhouse on March 23, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Carter is cool he worked on the Red, Hot, and Green HGTV show that I reviewed here at Offbeat last year, and he always seems very eco-knowledgeable, so it should be a good special. Hopefully lots of green tips.

So to round up:

Tonight at 9pm – Dream Home winner.

Tonight at 10pm – Kim’s new show.

March 23 at 9pm – HGTV Green Home 2008 special.

Check your local listings for actual times.

Post from: Blisstree

HGTV Has All Sorts of Stuff Going On – Starting Today

Around the start of the month I posted this; Blue and Green Pittsburgh Home. It was a cool home and a good post except I said this, “In the usually not-so-green nor innovative Pittsburgh…” yup, me just not thinking.

Honestly, I was thinking. I was thinking that many things I read about Pittsburgh report that much of the architecture is stuck in the past; and is not uniquely eco-friendly. However, have I been to Pittsburgh — no. Also, when speaking of the building process my experience is Northwest and Southwest based so that’s me off base as well.

So, I get a comment after I posted from a concerned Pittsburgh citizen who tells me,

“Your comment “the usually not-so-green nor innovative Pittsburgh” couldn’t be more wrong. Pittburgh is a leader in green building. There are more LEED certified buildings in Pittsburgh than most other cities in the country — it ranks #7. Additionally, a first-of-its-kind program in the country–the Green Building Products Initiative–is beginning its second year at the innovative Green Building Alliance in Pittsburgh.”

Yikes. So I email said commenter and tell her my views and the fact that I’m not so keen on LEED standards because they do make it a smidgen more complicated than need be (you know they do). She emails back and was super nice. Turns out she’s working with Green Building Alliance and the Green Building Product Initiative. She gave me some of her points about where Pittsburgh is making waves in green building and she wasn’t off base so I told her I’d adjust the post. This is my official adjustment though because I felt it deserved it’s own post.

It took me longer to do this though than I told her it would because over the last two weeks I’ve been looking up green building issues in Pittsburgh and to tell you the truth websites covering the green building movement there are few and far between. That said just because Pittsburgh doesn’t have green homes featured every which where doesn’t mean that they are not in fact making headway.

I did check out the Green Building Alliance and the Green Building Product Initiative and both were useful sites if you are interested in eco-friendly building. What I was looking for were a few more unique home examples. I did see some and will likely be showing a few soon I just didn’t see many. However, because of time constraints I haven’t had time to search for architects at places like Low Impact Living.

I was going to post this today and then low and behold but what should appear but a press release about the $100k house. I’ve been talking a while so I’ll just list the main points.

A team consisting of a developer; Postgreen, Interface Studio Architects, Level 5 Construction, Hyperion Bank are attempting to design, build and possibly sell an affordable modern and green home in Philadelphia, PA. Hmmm, speak of the devil right.

Stats from their site include:

• “new construction home on infill lot (18′ x 60′)
• 2 stories and 1,000 square feet
• 2 beds and a bath
• $100,000 or $100 per square foot construction budget
• conforms to LEED (silver?) and possibly other”green guidelines””

I have a few thoughts on this but this post isn’t about that so I’ll fill you in later. For now you can check out their blog 100k House to get the low-down and form your own opinion. I’ll absolutely be reading their blog — it should be interesting.

Anyhow, the gist of this post is that it’s a good deal that many places are trying to build in a more eco-friendly manner; Pittsburgh as well. I appreciate the original commenter who made me think and who was exceptionally nice even though I put down her city. Also, I do apologize if that comment upset anyone else — sometimes I just type while I’m thinking instead of thinking before I type.

Hopefully, we’ll see more green building coming from everywhere in the future and ideally we can dump all the standards because people will build green as normal not the exception and we won’t even need to discuss it. That to me sounds good. I don’t like how green is so “in” it should just be; you know.

Ok, as always if you have thoughts, hate me or adore me; I like all comments so go ahead and say what’s on your mind.

Post from: Blisstree

When you apologize to Pittsburgh are flowers appropriate?