We. Have. WALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could either stay in Richmond and be sick, achy and contagious, or I could go to the net zero off grid modern house kit and be sick, achy and contagious.
Easy choice.

I just could not bear to be away another week, knowing that Bobby Hirsh, the carpenter, had reused and built actual WALLS out of VMI's old basketball court. Honeychile, this t'ain't yer Chinese drywall...

So I grabbed a box of Kleenex and headed out, sick and feverish, to the net zero passive solar SIPs house kit.

We rounded the drive and saw the field was still covered with snow... yet in the distance, the house kit shone happily, a beacon for our car to aim for through the mud.

We tumbled out, and the children and dogs proceeded to do exactly what I feared: splash through the mud puddles, roll in the snow (and no dry change of clothes with us), and chase each other, slushing through soil and ice, round and round the prefab. *Sigh*

As I surveyed this certainly disastrous scenario, Handsome Husband slipped away to peek inside the house kit and returned quickly: "Wow."

I hurriedly went to inspect. 
So: A year ago we had purchased VMI's basketball court, and now here it would be in our prefab as walls? Creating rooms with recycled, beautiful 100% maple floorboards instead of using drywall?!? Handsome Husband warned me that due to our carpenter, who is a Mennonite minister, being called back to Haiti (where he and his family lived for five years before moving here), he had not been able to completely finish the walls. But who cares, I just want to SEE the walls!

I could tell you all about it, but... c'mon and see it for yourself.
I was taping when I walked in for the first time, and it probably conveys to you more than anything I could type. 
(I love how I keep trying to be informative, glib, and then I see the walls and GASP...)

Prefab Green Home Update: Recycled Reused Wood On The Walls!


Prefab House: Interior Walls: Recycled Reused Wood: VMI's Basketball Court!

We told Bobby to cut wood inside since the temperatures have been so frigid this month, and to leave any scraps behind so we could recycle them.  In preparation, Handsome Husband had moved all the furniture in the corner and covered it all with a sheet. So we spent the day in the prefab house kit sweeping, sorting wood scraps, sweeping some more, dragging back the furniture piece by piece, and... sweeping.

Y'know, all we do out there are chores it seems, but we are all SO HAPPY, so busily content, feeling the sun on our faces, smelling the crisp air  that only happens when it has touched snow, seeing progress as we proceed on every little thing we do in the prefab house kit.  We are so grateful to all of the craftsmen who have helped us, and it is so satisfying that we also have a hand in it, that our children will remember this slow process as we move towards our sustainable goal.

 

To refresh your memory of this journey: We started with purchasing land, then awhile later bought a 1960s camper where we would brave the spring ticks, the summer heat, the late autumn frost (all with our children still in diapers)... then the house kit was erected and suddenly we had shelter, REAL SHELTER.

And now we have walls.
And even CLOSETS.

For the first year ever, we have been out there in 1. January and 2. February, and out there, in the dead of winter, 3. *comfortably*!

If I hadn't been so feverish I would have suggested we stay and spend the night.  But I also know I need to get better and that the better thing to do is install the ERV / off grid systems so we can seek respite even more efficiently and comfortably than the makeshift ways we've been visiting for years.

But in the meantime...? We appreciate every. single. thing. 
And don't miss what we lack in the prefab house kit, because we've never had it there.
Makin' something outta nothin' is not a hobby, it's a philosophy.  I am fine with my children being raised how to be comfortable, knowledgeable and practical in raw weather and conditions, and I think these experiences make them better for it.

 

Modern Interior Design For A Net Zero Prefab : About Reuse

While I embrace clean cutting-edge new modern design, I also adore any opportunity to reuse and repurpose old items in another way, and am happily recycling many reclaimed items for our own modern prefab green home.

We really shouldn't be dragging out furniture to the net zero prefab modern house yet while the interior is under construction.  I know better, I do. Just know that.

Our most recent find was a teak modern Danish bed we found in Restore (RVA's Habitat for Humanity's salvaged materials / donated items outlet), now recycled into our bedroom in the still-unfinished prefab green home.

Now that we're installing a wood stove, I am going back to my original idea of that south-east space: grouping floor pillows around the more casual comfort of the wood stove, surrounded with old Popular Mechanics books, Countrywide Magazines, and "How to do XYZ" books where you can lounge around and... learn how to do stuff.

Facing the "view," the south end of that room will be more "ring in the cocktail hour!" - More formal, here you will find hardbound vintage books on mid-century architecture, style, as well as books on off grid living and prefab architecture.

I began to look for some modern floor pillows for the area around the wood stove. Within minutes, I discovered one modern retailer that was selling a floor pillow for...
$590. 
To throw on the floor. A pillow.

Mod retailer: You are kidding me. Oh but you aren't. You're selling $590 *floor* *pillows* and you're not embarrassed?!?

A friend jokingly responded: "Are we in the wrong businesses? We should look at floor pillows again...sounds like there's potential!"

You need to know that $590 floor pillow was UGLY.

Floor pillows. *A* floor pillow for $590.
And it would just get stained, scuffed, worn out being scraped along a floor... there must be a better way to create a floor pillow that is stylish, inexpensive, modern, yet durable.
I stewed a moment, then came up with a solution:  


1. Ok. 1st you get some scrap wood. Build a mod, sleek, low frame (preferably with a handle, and yes it needs a bottom).  For ours, I will reuse some of the VMI basketball flooring to build a low, 2"-ish high frame. 

2. Fill the frame with rows of tightly rolled old clothes that now have holes (I have 10 shirts that just died after ONLY fifteen years of use, *sob!*)...  It will give a modern effect of Missoni-ish lines/fabric while reusing clothes you can't even donate to a thrift store! The more different fabrics, the more interesting and mod the pattern!

3. Pack it in tightly so it's sleek and smooth and there ya go:
A high-end, modern, chic and didja hear it was by the *coveted brand* Green Modern Kits DESIGNER free floor pillow! ; )

[Now I can use my fave shirt (which I still never threw out despite 6+ holes, reused, at the net zero SIPs prefab!)]

THIS JUST IN: Related in being adverse to waste:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/nyregion/06about.html
Trending topic: Clothing retailer H & M destroys unsold clothes in lieu of donating. 
What a SHAME, what a waste.
I jokingly reacted with, "Think of all the *floor pillows* they coulda made!" but really, when you think of all the needy schoolchildren... WHAT A SHAME.... What a WASTE!

 

Modern Reused Bed For A Modern Green Prefab Home

We had hot soup at my parents, on an icy, sleeting, miserable downpour of a winter day.
As you could see in the previous post, even the chickens wanted to come inside!

And even better than the delicious soup, we left the children behind!
What to do with the freedom? 

Honeychile we hot-footed it to our favorite Richmond thrift stores, to browse lazily without having to scold and watch and hurry the little ones!

At Restore (RVA's Habitat For Humanity recycled and reused material goods store on Roane Street) we found a pristine Danish modern bed made of teak with drawers underneath to reuse, recycle into our modern prefab green home! We were so pleased with its simple, clean modern lines, the simplicity, the functionality, the practical uses for our bedroom in the prefab green home and... that it cost...
$349.

It did.

We also found a sink!

At another local thrift store we found some large, hardy wine and beer glasses with a thumb print design for 75 cents apiece.

Again, this is in keeping with my careful, treasure hunting philosophy that it is more fun, more stylish, and more sensible to reuse and recycle than buy out of the box.  Seriously, think of the modern prefabs / homes you visit: What are they furnished with? Ikea. Not completely dissing Ikea, but... my home looks like my home because it has no pattern, and why the heck not reuse and hunt through thrift store's treasures so they don't end up in landfills? Serious fun, folks, but it also takes patience and planning.

The patience and planning and scouring for good modern furniture finds is so much fun, and so worth it... we don't look like everybody else, and I love that by shopping at Restore in RVA, I am not only recycling and reusing materials but helping a great cause, affordable housing.

Enjoy! Here's the bed!


And here's more on Restore in RVA:

"Why Should I Shop at ReStore?
Shopping at ReStore is an adventure! Every day we have new inventory to choose from, including furniture, flooring, architectural items, cabinetry, fixtures, wallpaper, appliances and more—at prices up to 90% below retail!  Some items are new, some gently used, and others come from deconstruction.  Not only can you find some beautiful items and great bargains, but you are helping the environment and low-income families at the same time.

It is estimated that Virginia landfills will reach maximum capacity in the next 5-10 years. Approximately 20% of these materials are construction and demolition debris.  In fact, a single Virginia landfill can receive over 50,000 tons of such materials in one year."

 

Another Net Zero Off Grid Weekend In The Prefab Modern House Kit

After a week of rain, the sun broke out and the skies were blue as we headed to the net zero prefab modern house kit!  Still with no systems installed, our net zero off grid prefab was cozy, and lovely to visit.

I know better but I did it anyway: I am starting to slowly drag furniture out there, knowing full well the construction dust that will soon ensue.  Years ago my Handsome Husband discovered this stackable bookcase in a thrift store. He thought it terribly expensive ($30), but loved its soft curves and that it was solid wood.

It was then reused in my home office, then reused in an infant's room, now to be reused by all of us in the prefab house!  I will give it a fresh coat of paint this spring, but in the meantime it anchors the east side of the south room, beginning the interior design and use of that area as I envisioned: the reading corner. 




When I thought we would have a wood stove (no longer necessary as we installed radiant heat in the polished concrete foundation), I mentally placed the stove against the center wall, then a circle of floor pillows and books within cozy, languid reach.  The bookcases you see are open on each side; so I envisioned mid-century Popular Mechanics, books on "How to do XYZ (insert something fun, educational, practical here)" and Countryside Mags facing the casual reading area, then on the other side of the bookcase and facing the south view grouped with the more adult furniture, you can discover high design / architecture magazines and books.

I am still mentally working on these groupings... In the meantime the bookcase will stay against the wall and be a bookcase / kitty cat climbing cave for a certain 5 year old.

The purple Steelcase chair was found for $3, a 1970s contract furniture piece. We have two in purple, and two in mustard.

I added books that we have been collecting:

- Mid-century volumes of encyclopedias and United States history for children (the illustrations are *incredible*)

- Old Countryside Mags (full of reader tips and wisdom!)
- Mid-century Popular Mechanics (again, the graphics rock AND it's fun to learn!)
- Lots of Civil War and Virginia history books, written from many perspectives
- A large volume on historic Charlotte County
- Brochures and guide books on cool Virginia state parks and history sites to visit
- The usual Dwell and Metropolis Mags

Without my having to explain my interior design intent, I turned around and the furniture and area were being used exactly as I imagined.

On Saturday we emerged out of days of cold and rain to see highs of 60ish, and dropping into the low 40something. (40-42)  Inside the modern prefab, *still without systems*, we arrived to find the temperature reading 62; and, after an evening of 40ish, awoke to find the house at 59.

We will further insulate the passive solar prefab by adding foam around the exterior of the foundation before infilling the earth around the prefab house, and adding sealant around the windows before finishing the interior walls.

Next we will add more recycled, reused furniture little by little, bringing something out with each trip; and of course start the interior walls and systems.  We thought our first quote for finishing the off grid electrical / plumbing to be high, so we are still gathering quotes. Stay tuned...

 

Prefab Zero Energy House Kit: Interior Framing Begins!

It is morning in the prefab zero energy house kit, and I am sitting here, in the middle of nowhere, typing on a laptop.

It's a little weird, good, sad... by having better internet connection (remember the boat battery hookup with the blackberry??? I'm no longer on the new boat battery for power, I'm on the old tractor battery! AND have an added device, a "personal hot spot" to better telecommute.), I can work from this rural area for longer periods of time.

However, let's face it: shouldn't I be outdoors right now?

Well there's plenty of time for that: I'm just on my first cup of coffee, so while I wake up I'll update you guys on the prefab interior framing progress!



So, now you can now walk around the inside of the prefab house and finally "see" the dimensions of the rooms. Several people have asked me if "there is enough mechanical / closet space." And, as I trace the spaces, the dimensions, I can't help but think, "who the heck needs more?!?" Seriously, folks, not only are the closet dimensions adequate, in my opinion they are generous- don't forget the ceilings are really tall so you could use that upper space for even more storage. (How many shoes do you need? ; ) )

I wondered what the spaces would feel like with framing. I do not feel confined, in fact, the front area, even with the addition of the dining table that seats eight, feels open and airy; the bedrooms are ample. The air mattresses we currently sleep on are Queen-sized; so you can now see, with the framing outlines, that there is plenty of room for desks and dressers.



But then again, I'm the owner. Of course I think it's perfect! However, yesterday Dolores, a house kit enthusiast, paid us a visit. So this was our first real-live non-biased non-family/friend visitor who wants to build a prefab casa ti in New York but wanted to check it out first. (Don't forget we're having an official Open House the weekend of September 26th & 27th to coincide with a lot of fun stuff in this historic area if you want to stop by! More on that soon, mark your calendars!)

So, dear readers, meet Dolores:
Here is what a total stranger thinks about our prefab off grid house: (she doesn't want to be seen so until I can get the sound off the video I'm just going to put her text here- just imagine her talking with a cool New Yawk accent : ) :)

"Hi, my name is Dolores. I'm visiting the casa ti because we're interested in buying it, and it's a lovely place.

They have dogs around (laughs, dogs amble into camera view)... and they've delineated quite nicely the space (sweeps arms)- You can see where the rooms are, the doors, closets... and it's enough closet space for people who are not pack rats. (we laugh)

Um... (looks up) the ceilings are quite high, so you can add extra storage up above you... and (starts walking through the rooms) it has a nice feel to it. (looks down) The concrete is beautiful. And the bathroom is an okay size (nods)... I'm from New York so I don't require too much space, this is a nice house for people who want a simple life and a clean slate to come to or live in.

(sweeps hand to front room) Out here is a living room/ dining room / kitchen combination that's not complete yet but it's quite lovely- you can see the windows and doors drape across the front of the house, there's also a side door for extra light and another entrance... and it's an angled ceiling so it gives the space a greater feel.

It's quite gorgeous, I think that you'd love it!"
(Thank you, Dolores!!! We do love it!!!)

Now, 'round here parts, strangers don't stay strangers long. So after Dolores got her fill of the house kit I said, "Hey, I'm going to go find the Amish, want to come?" She did.

Everyone told me where it was (remember the original stand we visited moved), but in these parts the directions are, "Well, you go down route X and then by the guy who sells shotguns, then look over near there on your right and They'll. Be. Right. THERE."
Oh.. of course.

So Dolores and I headed out down the road until my internal navigation system suddenly deemed that "this feels close." We slowed, and there was the Amish saw mill. Dolores turned in. "Oh, no, you can't do that!!!" I warned, but Dolores is from New Yawk : ) and dismissed my being-raised-with-farms-rules with a, "Maybe we can ask some one..." and there was no one, so she turned down a drive and as my protests rang further we saw a woman by a barn. I apologetically grimaced as we approached, and as we neared, I saw she was Amish. Not only was she Amish, but she was hitching her horse to her buggy, which was loaded up with her family.

"I am SO SORRY we couldn't turn around and are lost and are trying to find the stand to buy bread..." I quickly apologized, but thankfully was met with a smile. "That would be my mother, Lydia Esh, and they are just the next road down. " We thanked her profusely, apologized again, and headed off, where we then found her mom. Now you know you can't take pictures of the Amish, which is why the house kit construction pictures never showed the crew that built our prefab house. But I wonder if Mrs. Esh will let me take a picture of her store; I will ask her next time to show y'all how nice it is... there are quilts, wooden chests, children's toys, jams, relishes, breads... and even a pet chicken named Betty, yours for $5.

Both of their homesteads are beautiful: solid, immaculate homes and structures, bountiful gardens... happy farms. And when we passed Emma in her buggy on our return, we all waved at each other... Turns out her brother, Lydia's son, with others, were the ones that helped put together our prefab house kit! Thank you, Dolores, for going with me!

Now, one thing you need to know about farms: If you do not know the occupants, whatever you do, do not go on the land. This is why I so strongly protested when Dolores turned down the drive. One of my friends almost shot an encyclopedia salesman a few years ago similarly: seriously, think about it: You're in the middle of nowhere, on hundreds of acres alone, and a stranger is trying to access your house? What would YOU think? (The poor salesman- he was peering into windows at dusk when my friend showed up behind him with a rifle at the ready... )

However, if you KNOW the farm, around here it is the opposite: People come a-callin'. Telephones are often out, cell phone coverage is spotty, so when you know someone is "at home," well heck you just go and visit 'em.

So we had several friends stop by yesterday, including James Scott, whose family used to own this land and whose parents still live two doors down. Mr. Scott tells us so much history about the area, about the land we now own, and what he thinks we should do with it, and we listen: he knows all about the things we have discovered, and more. He thinks we should put a pond in near the old tobacco barn and knows all about the spring-fed stream and old breached pond...

We were all sitting there, enjoying nice breeze and the view inside as we discussed the prefab construction (he was very interested in the structural insulated panels) when, suddenly, there was a buzzing and bumping heard against the clerestory windows.
"Dag," I thought, "that's one big horsefly!" It wasn't.



We then decided to install the rest of the window screens...

...Our adventures continued further yesterday, but I wouldn't want to bore you.

It was an unusually cold summer evening, so we closed the windows.

I awoke this morning, then, sleepily, after awhile, thought out of curiosity to check and see what the temperature was inside the prefab house kit, it read 75. (Handsome Husband says the weather service said it was in the 50s last night...) And that's with NO SYSTEMS installed yet to heat the house other than the energy efficient SIP and passive solar design!

Now I have finished my coffee, so am off to play outside this prefab-ulous house. : )
...Off to pick blackberries for breakfast!

P.s. Interior design:

• You may have noticed we added a reused dining table originally from our local modern design store, La Diff, to the house kit - it seats eight, and we also are reusing some Xylon chairs by Giancarlo Piretti, which we bought after being used originally in the cafeterias of Circuit City. We picked them up for a very good price to reuse in the casa ti!

• ...Handsome Husband also nailed up more sconces to the walls. #designfight

Ok, ok, maybe they're looking rather cool now... and heck, we only have one camping lantern and no lights yet, so any illumination is welcome...
Hmmmm...

 

Passive Solar House Kit - In it, we camped!

Still no interior walls (Ron is off building his pastor's house who needs to move in by Easter), but that did not deter us from camping in the house kit.

After four years of camping in the tiny-but-fantastic 1960s aluminum Scotty camper, I have to admit it was nice to lug a bunch o' the camping equipment from the Scotty to reuse in the open, spacious off grid modern house. As I pulled the practical, necessary camping equipment we had relied on for years from our beloved camper, I looked at it anew and realized that a lot of camping equipment is not eco-friendly! When we bought the necessary equipment years ago, it was because the folding chairs, storage tubs, cutting boards, machete knife cases, blaze orange hunting hats/gear were IMPERATIVE to have in an isolated place when camping through all seasons.

Now, in the comfort of the house kit, I'm looking at all this and thinking, "Man. If someone made environmentally friendly affordable camping gear they would make a FORTUNE!"

(Hmmmm. HMMMMM...
...
Nah, I already have too many jobs. But YOU do it!)

I was gone all Saturday at a social media conference nearby, so when I returned the mattresses had been blown up, the sheets and blankets were on, the "solar soldiers" (as we call the solar exterior lights) charged from a day in the sun, and two happy pipsqueaks were jumping and playing in their new passive solar living space.

Just seeing the queen-sized air mattresses in the still-not-framed-in bedrooms gave me a better idea of the room dimensions. Setting out the beds, the card table, chairs along the east side, really gives us a sense of the future finished space. It's perfect. It's open, filled with natural light, yet warm, cozy, interactive without being cramped. I can't wait to see it more furnished. It's getting very hard not to jump ahead and move in.

It had snowed over ten inches earlier this week...
The ground was wet and there was mud.
Oh, was there MUD.
A LOTTA mud.

I swept muddy dog tracks, children tracks, my tracks, his tracks.
(This is starting to read like a Dr. Seuss book, no? Say it ten times quickly.)
Aaaaaand was grateful we had chosen the smooth take-it-all concrete instead of frou-frou bamboo.
(I would have spent the rest of my life trying to protect that floor. It would have been awful. I would have been miserable.)

Yet, just days after a major snowfall, it was so warm this weekend we opened wide the doors wide and WOW could you feel the cross breeze- I can not wait to spend time here in spring! The dogs naturally gravitate to the passive solar sunbeams in the concrete thermal mass- and love surveying their kingdom from the open doorways while listing against the frame, half awake, in the sun.

I went for a nice long (muddy) walk with the 4 year old, watching while she measured creeks with her stick, surveyed the breached pond, and climbed hills with the dogs. A lot of trees had been downed from the heavy snow, so we had to cut some. Don't worry, the ones that fell were scrappy young ones that weren't part of the crop tree release strategy we have. We will never timber; but are trying to help prune and encourage healthy growth of the woods through selection so they can grow strong vs. competing for resources with weed trees.

It was good to hear the frogs.
They, and the bees, have had a rough few years. So to hear them peeping so exhuberantly in March was glorious. (Listen to video, below...)
I remember a few years ago on my family farm noticing that the pond was quiet, the 35' deep pond where I grew up fishing and canoeing and swimming and... listening to peepers. It was so strange to hear the blowing of the wind, the water, and, on that day, no frogs.

Frogs are loud. My entire life had, until then, been filled with the cacophony of peepers and bullfrogs. So to hear the frogs so loudly happy on "the land" gives me hope.

On Sunday, I spent a good bit of time curled up in a chair, reading fifteen year old issues of Countryside Magazine given to us by Ron & Judy while the children and dogs played.

Now HandsomeHusband, I will remind you, is from a large European city. He delighted in the scouting camera he had erected on a nearby tree and what it revealed: two deer stopping by to check out the off grid house kit! I'm including some of that here too.
: )



Here are more pictures, below, than you would EVER want to see of our fun weekend camping in the off grid zero energy modern house kit!
Just click on 'em to get the large version and captions!
(And some videos o' frogs and passive solar musings, below.
Hey, it was a fun, muddy weekend. : )
)

 

Wanna See My Basement? A Preview Glimpse Of Modern Design Crafty Finds For Our Off Grid Modern House!

Shhhhhhh!
C'mere!

Want to see my BASEMENT?

Aw, ok, maybe it's not that exciting to YOU, but for ME, it is the depository of years of thrift store crafty finds that we will recycle and reuse in our off grid passive solar house kit.

We will start in my lovely, dusty pantry, where I am on my last jar (sob) of brined tomatoes from the garden (and check out the beautiful Amish pepper jelly! I love that stuff!), head on down the stairs where Handsome Hubby has been rearranging and cleaning all day, to view the disheveled and in-dire-need-of-repair-but-glorious reclaimed finds.

Well, guess we have quite the project while we ready for the house kit completion!
: )

 

Justin Anthony of Materialicious.com visits Green Modern Kits! And I am Richmond Tour Guide Extrodinaire. ; )

Justin Anthony of Materialicious.com is in Richmond!
So I thought I'd give him a tour of Richmond-land.
We headed over to Manchester, which has been undergoing revitalization of old warehouses being rebirthed into wonderful spaces for entrepreneurs.

We started by touring the wonderful world of Grace Street / 3North.
You may recall that Grace Street's San Francisco office designed our beloved R1 Residential!
They bought an old warehouse, renovated it, and now it houses architecture and design oriented companies along with a wonderful cafe, Savor, below.

Then we visited Tektonics, who is launching their cabin line of pods with me, AND who will be fabricating Akemi Tanaka's furniture kit for Green Modern Kits. Justin is actually going to meet with Akemi in New York later this week to review her almost-final designs!

Finally, we ended at La Difference, the local modern furniture store, where three floors of mod awaited our perusal.

Come along for the tour! Welcome to Richmond-land!
(Click the slideshow below to see the large version of the pics with all the comments to go along with them...)

 

VMI Basketball Floorboards Are Invading!

For those of you interested in reuse of local materials, my husband is SO obsessed with the VMI basketball floorboards we purchased to line the interior of our modern off grid zero energy house kit that he actually took a day off of work to go out there and play with his giant crossword puzzle, trying to put the VMI logo pieces back together, because he can't stand the thought that there is a logo in that pile o' floorboards.

Yes he did.
And yes I'm rolling my eyes.
Enjoy.