So far during Eco-Chic month, I've given you tons of easy and stylish ways to create an environmentally-friendly home. But sometimes, even when you try, it's not as simple as you'd expect. An SFGate article recently tinkered with an issue we hear little about in these days of "Green is easy.
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Since Summer is soon on its way, it's natural to think about creating functional, beautiful outdoor spaces where you can entertain and relax. In a recent LA Times article by Debra Prinzing, a family does just this, using repurposed, recycled, and found objects. Greta and Mike Jarvis, along with their daughter Annika, were tired of the awkward, unused backyard at their Manhattan Beach home, so Greta, an adept flea marketer, decided to transform their 30-x-40-foot backyard into something more family friendly.
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Over four years, Todd Biernacki and his wife Krissy renovated their small houseboat on Seattle's Lake Union to make room for their growing family. While the family saved money by using salvaged and recycled materials and doing the majority of the work themselves, they also splurged on items such as huge windows and skylights, which in turn would help save money down the road by cutting down on electricity use, thanks to the natural sunlight they'd provide. Overall, the addition cost them $250,000.
To find out details about this renovation as well as to see a gallery of photos, just read more
The extra weight from the addition required more floatation devices for the houseboat, which had been originally built on a "raft" of old-growth cedar logs 100 years ago. RSS Feed 
