Microhouse has a range of backyard cottage plans.

In November of 2009 the City of Seattle voted to allow homeowners in neighborhoods across the city to construct accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property. These “backyard cottages,” as they are commonly known, have the potential to transform our communities in many positive ways. Not only do they offer individuals a way to create urban density, they can also provide housing for aging parents, grown children, and renters! Legal in Seattle and Portland, backyard cottages are also common in San Francisco, where vacationers can even rent them out by the week or weekend for a cozy retreat in the middle of town!

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Because by nature it  must be small, an ADU can provide a manageable opportunity to experiment with a building project that incorporates efficient and creative space design, sustainable practices, eco-friendly materials, and implement recent energy saving innovations! There are a number of architecture firms around that specialize in backyard cottages – and help with all aspects of the project, including the often-perplexing permitting process.

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Microhouse, a collaborative firm of architects, designers and landscape architects in Seattle, is even offering construction-ready plans which come standard with Ecohaus materials and finishes!

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You can see some other nice examples of backyard cottages in Seattle by clicking here.  

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Backyard chicken coops are becoming more and more common in our urban centers – and chicken owners are coming out of the woodwork to tell us they have found the perfect finishes for the structures that house their hens – Osmo Park Lane and Osmo One Coat Only!

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These finishes, available in a full range of colors, are engineered from natural oils and waxes. They go on easily, dry quickly, and once dry, are completely non-toxic – making it extra safe for the birds. The oils in the Osmo allow the material to penetrate into the wood grain and you end up with a  finish is breatheable and has flexibility to it, so it won’t crack, peel, blister or crack the way regular paint will over time.

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People love these Osmo finishes as a quick way to bring long term protection – and a splash of color – to their backyard coops (and fences, and railings, and wood trim, and the siding on houses, and interior woodwork… the list goes on!) 

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If you want some inspiration, or if you live in an apartment and can only dream of having your own backyard chickens, here is a fun chicken-cam! And here is another one!

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Thanks to Christine for sharing this photo of her OSMO coated Chicken Coop! (Scandinavian Red)

You can find some more great chicken coop tips at these websites!:

http://www.thegardencoop.com/
http://www.urbanchickens.net/
http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php#coopdesign
http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/city-chickens

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The Toto Washlet is a bidet in a toilet seat that you can attach to just about any toilet! What makes a bidet so eco-friendly? Using less toilet paper means saving trees, saving water, and avoiding the pollution associated with pulping, bleaching and shipping the countless rolls of the stuff that we consume every year.  The production of toilet paper takes literally billions of gallons of water on the front end, and then once it’s been flushed, it takes a lot of water to sort it out at the sewage treatment plant! By comparison, bidets use just a tiny jet of water to do the same task.  But don’t take just our word for it,  A couple of years ago now, Justin Thomas at Treehugger posted a great article on the subject, including some shocking statistics:

“We use 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper in the U.S. each year, this represents at least 15 million trees pulped. This also involves 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to produce the paper and 253,000 tons of chlorine for bleaching purposes. The manufacturing process requires about 17.3 terawatts of electricity annually. Also, there is the energy and materials involved in packaging and transporting the toilet paper to households across the country.

Toilet paper also constitutes a significant load on the city sewer systems, and water treatment plants. It is also often responsible for clogged pipes.”

For health and environmental reasons, households around the world are using  bidets like this one – and as we are with Dual Flush Toilets, the US is finally starting to catch up!

For those looking for an on-the-go solution, we just spotted this handy number: the Bidet in a Bottle!

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Zero Energy Idea House at Bass Cove

A new project has just been completed in Washington State that strives to push the envelope of energy conservation – the Zero Energy Idea House – built by Donna and Riley Shirey. Their goal was to build a house that generates all the electricity that it requires. Combining solar panels, and a solar powered water heater – along with built-in efficiency they nearly got there. In the end they did opt for an efficienct, gas-powered, in-floor radiant heating system. Even with that, however, they expect the energy bill for this house to be under $500 per year.

Other energy efficient and green features of the home include use of SIPS (structural insulated panels), a green roof, salvaged wood, rainwater collection systems and much, much more! Click here to see the full list.

 The Zero Energy Idea House will be open for self-guided tours every weekend through November 8th. For more tour info, click here. While you’re there, check out the Handscraped Hickory Flooring, rubber/cork floor tiles, and Marmoleum that they picked up from Ecohaus!

The eighth annual Build it Green Tour of Homes and Information Fair is coming up this Saturday (September 19th, 2009!)

Between 11am and 5pm nearly 20 eco-friendly homes will be holding open houses around the city. Ticket holders will be given the locations – and can go from house to house learning innovative and sustainable ideas Portlanders are incorporating into their remodeling and building projects. The sustainable solutions on display will run the gamut from exterior things green roofs, natural landscaping and solar panels to interior concerns like healthy indoor air quality.  There are even some great examples of community-design with different ideas for co-housing.  Tickets are available at the Ecohaus store in Portland:

When you’ve seen all the houses you can fit in a day, come to Ecohaus Portland store for the Build It Green Information Fair! It is free to get in and we’ll be partying from 3pm until 7pm  with over 50 green exhibitors, refreshments from Artemis Foods and live music by local band The Wicky Pickers!

For more information on this fun, informative day click here!

Ecohaus Portland is located at 819 SE Taylor Street at SE 8th.

On Saturday, August 29, 2009 several hundred people gathered in front of our Seattle store to welcome HGTV’s David Bromstad, and to hear him talk about design.

As he answered questions from the audience and shared experiences he’s had working on Design Star and Color Splash, he painted one of his signature art pieces. At the end of the event, the piece was raffled off – and, through the raffle, we raised $1200 for Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County.

David recently became the spokesperson for the 0-VOC, toxin free paint line Mythic, and everyone who came to the event recieved free copies of his color cards. Though his special palette has many vibrant colors, he says that he is especially drawn toward the color gray. He says that  is suprisingly versatile and, depending on the shade, it can bring a real feeling of warmth to a room.

When asked about his other favorite eco-friendly products, David listed salvaged materials because of the history and stories that they bring to a space; and recycled glass countertops.

Here are some more pictures from the event. Please check back later! We hope to add video to this blog post soon.

David Bromstad paints a picture to be raffled for Habitat for Humanity

This year, David Bromstad teamed up with Mythic Paint to put out two innovative and fun color palettes – one of which is specifically designed for children’s rooms. In July, he began exclusively using Mythic in his projects for HGTV. Mythic Paint is a completely zero-VOC, carcinogen-free paint for interiors and exteriors. In addition to David’s signature colors, Mythic is available in ANY color and custom color matches are easy.

Come learn more about Mythic Paint and see David Bromstad live on August 29! RSVP to davidbromstad@ecohaus.com.

Ecohaus Seattle is located at 4121 1st Ave South in Seattle, Washington.

This is great news, and on Saturday, August 22^nd, the ladies from YOLO will be making an appearance at Ecohaus Portland to celebrate! From 10am until 2pm they will be in the showroom to share information about their new Green Seal 2010 Certification and what that means for your indoor air quality – and they will also be showing off their new color line, The Color Of Hope.

Since Ecohaus started selling eco-friendly building supplies back in 1992, we have never been satisfied with the status quo of the market. We diligently pursue new levels of “green,” seeking out companies with strict standards, and encouraging our suppliers to innovate – to push beyond their previous achievements.

YOLO’s attainment of the Green Seal 2010 certification is a perfect example of a company that was already extraordinairly eco-friendly continually seeking to go further still. The newly certified YOLO Colorhouse paints work harder to protect indoor air quality, contain less hazardous chemicals, and reduce VOC (volatile organic compound) levels. All YOLO Colorhouse coatings are completely free of carcinogens, formaldehyde, phthalates, hazardous air pollutants and ozone depleting compounds.

“YOLO Colorhouse has demonstrated that the challenges posed in the revised standard can be met,” said Dr. Arthur Weissman, president and CEO of Green Seal. “We are proud to put our mark on such innovative and environmentally responsible products.”

So, come on in to Ecohaus Portland on August 22^nd to learn more. And if you think their new certification is dazzling, just wait until you see their bright new color palette!  You can also visit them online at www.yolocolohouse.com.

Ecohaus Portland is located at 819 SE Taylor Street in Portland Oregon.