Redesigning Green
A simple remodel grew into a full renovation of this waterfront Salmon Bay home, but along the way, the house acquired several environmentally friendly features such as a rooftop solar hot water system, photovoltaic panels, sustainable wood cabinets, floors and doors, and Energy Star appliances.
To work within the house’s original footprint, Hughes and the homeowners opted to reconfigure existing spaces to make them more functional. They renovated the basement, excavating the ground on the water side and adding windows to let in light.
What started as a desire to make room for a simple studio in Deb Prince and Jerry Diercks’ waterfront Salmon Bay home eventually transformed into a plan for a fully renovated, environmentally friendly home. “The catalyst was that Jerry needed a studio to work in, and that was the whole tipping point,” explains architect Cheryl Hughes of Hughes Studio Architects. “We decided, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”
To work within the house's original footprint, Hughes and the homeowners opted to reconfigure existing spaces to make them more functional. They renovated the basement, excavating the ground on the water side and adding windows to let in light.
“Not all of the elements of the remodel appear green at first glance, but it was a shared goal from the beginning,” Hughes explains. The pool, for example, is integrated with a solar hot water system that warms the house through an in-floor system when it is cold outside and heats the pool during warmer months. Rooftop photovoltaic panels generate electricity, which powers the home.
Inside the house, all of the appliances are Energy Star; floors, interior doors and cabinetry are made of sustainable woods such as lyptus, bamboo and ipe. Many of the home's elements, such as the slide-fold doors, were available at local stores, and all of the cabinetry and interior doors were made by the contractor, cutting down on the overall carbon footprint of the project.
But materials and design are not the only elements of a green remodel: “The biggest green thing about the whole project was that they didn't move,” Hughes says. “They didn't tear down the house they already had. They used every inch of space and intend to stay there the rest of their lives.”
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2010 print edition of Seattle Homes & Lifestyles.
RESOURCES
Architect: Cheryl HughesHughes Studio Architects, 820 John St., (206) 264-1301, hughes-studio.com.
Structural Engineer: Perbix Bykonen 820 John St., Ste. 201, (206) 264-7784, pxbyk.com.
Landscape Design: Richard Hartlage AHBL, 1200 Sixth Ave., Ste. 1620,(206) 267-2425, ahbl.com.
Builder: Bellan Construction 5319 First Ave. S., (206) 329-3121, bellan.com.
Solar Design and Installation: Puget Sound Solar 5308 Baker Ave. N.W., (206) 706-1931, pugetsoundsolar.com.
Slide-fold doors: HH Windows & Doors, 9330 15th Ave. S., Bldg. D, (206) 763-3438, hhwindows.com.
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What started as a desire to make room for a simple studio in Deb Prince and Jerry Diercks’ waterfront Salmon Bay home eventually transformed into a plan for a fully renovated, environmentally friendly home. “The catalyst was that Jerry needed a studio to work in, and that was the whole tipping point,” explains architect Cheryl Hughes of Hughes Studio Architects. “We decided, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.”
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