Living - July 2007 | The Global Intelligencer

Make space for your life

For most people, remodeling means building an addition; if the current spaces aren't working for them, they assume that more space is the answer. But more space means more construction cost, more material resources used, more house to clean and maintain, and more energy required for heating, cooling, and lighting. By reorganizing and rearranging the spaces you have—or just changing the way you use space—you can often solve your problems with less expense, fewer headaches, and less consumption of natural resources. Just avoiding or minimizing the need for an addition is one of the greenest things you can do.

A green remodel from the ground up: Ranch house revival

by Kelly Smith. Photography by Barbara Bourne with permission from Natural Home Magazine

When former scientist Suzanne Jones, a land conservation specialist, and her husband, Rob Elia, a mathematician, bought a home in Northern California's rolling hills near Oakland, a green renovation was simply a no-brainer. "For several years I studied global energy supply, climate change and renewable energy as an academic, so I wanted to do something tangible that implemented the concepts behind my research," Suzanne says.

The two had their work cut out for them: The 1970s ranch house had plywood siding, single-pane plate-glass windows with rotted-out frames, shag carpet, sheet vinyl and original appliances. Poor insulation kept the house cold in winter and hot in summer.