Blisstree » small homes

Find your best green community

Jennifer Chait — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:28:54 +0000

When it comes to living green, a major component is your actual house or apartment. Making sure your dwelling is green includes the materials used to build your home, (a long story in itself) and another issue is home size. When it comes to green homes, smaller is better if you’d like to lower your footprint. The last component of green housing is the community you live in.

Community and where you live in said community goes a long way toward being or not being green. If your home is green, but in a terribly un-green community or you live so far away from everything that you’re driving all the time, it’s just not so eco-friendly. If you’re moving or building a home and want to keep it as green as possible, look for the following community features.

Plenty of green spaces and a home location that’s close enough to these green spaces to walk or bike to them. Green spaces can include parks, hiking trials, community gardens, and so on.
Bike paths and some sort of community biking laws. There are some places that are more bike friendly than others.
Nearby markets, libraries, and other places you frequent.
Good public transport options – bus, subway, or rail system transport for example.
Community recycling options and it’s best if your neighborhood offers curbside pick-up.
A location that’s not heavy on traffic so that there’s less pollution near your home.

You don’t need any of the above to actually commit to a green lifestyle, but when possible these choices will help you live greener and healthier.

More information that can help you choose a green community:

[image vis stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Find your best green community

Like tiny spaces? Like blogs? Visit Small House Style…

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:00:25 +0000

Well you know I do love me some small spaces, and accordingly I bookmarked a blog I found, Small House Style, a while back. Then promptly forgot about it (as I’m known to do). I recently went back for a look, and it’s so very cool. Actually, it looks a little like a website, not a blog, but I’m guessing blog because you can comment (if you look hard enough). Secondly, it’s got some weird lags between updates – I’m talking weeks. But blogs are a work in process so it’s a-ok.

Also, take away the bad, and you still have a whole lot of good, because there are small houses galore for you to enjoy. They’ve covered basics like Tumbleweed, other killer small space designers like ARCHTEAM, who I love, and there are even some things I’ve never, ever seen before like Arvesund’s small Hermit’s Cabin. LOOK:

Awesome little space.

Visit Small House Style to see many more small structures. Bonus – lots of small space resources.

[image via Small House Style]

Post from: Blisstree

Like tiny spaces? Like blogs? Visit Small House Style…

I had this weird dream…

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:03:20 +0000

In the dream, I was dating some famous person (not going there), but the dream took place in Florida (I’ve never been) and the kooky part was that a bunch of people, including me, were visiting this museum of tiny Pennsylvania. It was just this oddball museum, where you’d walk through the halls looking at tiny versions of all the parts of Pennsylvania. In the dream, everyone was very impressed. It was really strange.

Long story short, it got me thinking about this link my friend Marye sent me – Tiny Texas Houses.

These tiny houses are made from 95% recycled vintage materials, but the electric, plumbing, and insulation is new. This is a perfect way to reuse, semi-used resources. Plus the houses are totally cute, and leave a small footprint.

There are all types of tiny houses to see, from rustic to antique and more. Visit Tiny Texas Houses to see all the adorable little homes.

[images via Tiny Texas Houses]

Post from: Blisstree

I had this weird dream…

The Best of Offbeat Homes: February 2008

Jennifer Chait — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:26:39 +0000

Sorry to be absent yesterday. I told Cedar I’d take him to see Kung Fu Panda – which was totally fun by the way. Jack Black is just as funny as a cartoon, as he is when he’s a real person. Then Cedar wanted to continue the movie madness at home with Chicken Little. When did my life turn into one long-playing cartoon?

In any case, we’ll wrap up this year anniversary celebration tomorrow and then I have something very cool planned for next week. First though let’s round out the year; here are my four favorite posts from Offbeat February 2008…

Sustainable Beauty for Your Sunday Morning – This home is so utterly lovely, even though it’s dark.

Life in a House That’s Smaller Than Some Closets – because Tumbleweed rocks. No question.

The Most Sticky Sweet Pink House of All the Pink Houses in the World – Not that I’d live here or anything, but come on, it’s sort of so bad it’s passed into cool.

Teepee House & Road Trips – I LOVE the Teepee house!

Post from: Blisstree

The Best of Offbeat Homes: February 2008

The Take Out Menu of FlatPak Homes

Jennifer Chait — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:36:28 +0000

We haven’t seen much prefab recently, but we should. Although it’s not normally favorite type of home, I’ve been having these new found feelings for prefab lately. That said, I think we should visit with FlatPak; I mean, if you’re going prefab, why not order from someone who makes it as easy as ordering a pizza.

FlatPak is a terribly amusing company which I’m betting makes your home buying experience way more fun that it might otherwise be. How they roll is by offering a take out menu of sort; you start with a basic foundation, an 8′ ft wide wall. Every 8′ you make choices such as glass, no glass (or choose from other options). It helps to grab the concept if you check out the Mrs. Jones home creation example they have listed under their “How to FlatPak section” – really you should read this little story no matter what, because it’s pretty fun.

FlatPak is also oh so pretty. While the configuration of course, relies on your decisions, each of the homes I’ve seen from them is really nice.

FlatPak house – Catskills

FlatPak house – Aspen

To see more visuals visit FlatPak house’s photostream. To learn more about getting your very own FlatPak or for a fun read, visit the general FlatPak site.

Post from: Blisstree

The Take Out Menu of FlatPak Homes

Offbeat Quick Shot: Mayne Island Beauty

Jennifer Chait — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:40:25 +0000

Just some quick shots, because I love this little house so much, I’ll never be quiet if I get going. That said, this was built by cobworks.com and cob cottage. Once you see the interior this home just gets better and better. You can check out a multitude of wonderful photos of the home above at cobworks.com, not to mention that you’ll see many other beautiful structures. If you’re really impressed (and have some free time) you might want to check out cobworks.com’s summer workshops.

See this was a quick shot, and I’ve said too much. But do check out the sites above – useful info if you’re interested in cob homes, clay, or straw bale.

[photos via cobworks.com]

Post from: Blisstree

Offbeat Quick Shot: Mayne Island Beauty

Offbeat Homes Week in Review

Jennifer Chait — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:27:24 +0000

This past week we had the server issues – but we still managed to see some pretty fine homes and structures.

Two new and exciting issues - Residential LEED & the mkSolaire Cool flowers for offbeat homes.

Couches made of nickels, chairs made of baby food jars, and other Offbeat Furniture Finds!

The Gilmore Trail House Update – which rocked. Interior shots and everything.

My Valentine to Offbeat Homes – yes I write Valentines to blogs now. Sad.

A rock that’s a house, or maybe a house that’s a rock. Hmmm. Well, it’s a house and a rock mashed together.

What I Did While the Servers Were Wacky…

Super tiny homes and a video tour of them.

A very cool Copper Chapel, possibly the first chapel I’ve posted. That was a switch.

The best ever little mod bird house.

The short list for the WAN House of the Year for 2007 was announced – I picked my choices for the win. Tune in Friday the 15th to see who actually wins.

Stay tuned for the upcoming Offbeat week – or even subscribe so you don’t miss one offbeat shingle.

Post from: Blisstree

Offbeat Homes Week in Review