1.7 Ocean on Apartment Therapy

Chris + Erica over at 1.7 Ocean have their home profiled on Apartment Therapy!

From AP:
Who Lives Here: My husband, Chris and I. Oh, and our canine son, Omar!
Location: Costa Mesa, California
Size: 850 square feet
What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? Our small, cool home is GREEN! When we first moved to California from Idaho we knew little about the green movement, but we quickly caught on to the importance of green living. Our home is a mid century bungalow remodeled with green features. We recently planted an herb garden and plan to expand to an organic vegetable garden soon. Our toilet and shower are low flow. We have Energy Star appliances and low maintenance, native California landscaping with underground drip irrigation. We keep energy use/costs down by taking advantage of all of the natural sunlight and fresh air we get through our windows and doors. At least 75% of the new decor/furniture we have purchased for our home is second hand. We've found some great pieces at local flea markets, craigslist and thrift stores!

See the whole story here

Green Genius

As seen in Riviera Magazine.

More Green Awards Photos

Work by FYI children

The wishing tree

YUM! Courtesy, Urban Bake

Eco-Friendy Houses Open In Costa Mesa

Article in Orange County Register that ran a few days ago!

Great Article In Daily Pilot Today

Great article in Daily Pilot today on 12@ELDEN!

How Green is 12@ELDEN?

Q: What is so “green” about 12@ELDEN?
A: We have incorporated many features into 12@ELDEN that are green. Among those features are: tankless water heaters, solar panel compatibility, low flow faucets + toilets, native Ca landscaping, underground drip landscape irrigation, “bio-swale” feature, organic community gardens, dual paned windows and doors, FSC hardwood flooring, recycled stucco material, color coated stucco on exterior walls (no paint), low VOC glue for flooring and recycled bathroom glass tile. 90% staged furniture is vintage. Additionally, all wood, metal and pipes that were taken out of homes during construction process were seperated and recycled. Much of the wood taken out was put back into the homes as a way to reduce waste. We were mindful not to increase the square footage of homes, thus creating a home that is more energy efficient than a typical American home. Smaller homes use less energy.*
*The average American home grew from 1,700 square feet in 1970
to over 2,400 square feet in 2004.
In contrast, typical size of a family home in European Union nations is currently 970 square feet.
As our natural resources dwindle and become more expensive, home size plays a role in being green.

12@ELDEN Models Ready-They Look Great

Surterre Properties broker preview today from 10:30am-noon.
If you are in area, feel free to swing by!
If you would like to view property another time, please email me.
steven@bettershelter.com

The Next Little Thing?

A great article in the New York Times on the small house movement.
The Times says that the small house movement has "adherents who believe in minimizing one’s footprint — structural as well as carbon — by living in spaces that are smaller than 1,000 square feet and, in some cases, smaller than 100. Tiny houses have been a fringe curiosity for a decade or more, but devotees believe the concept’s time has finally arrived."
Ahem, have you seen 12@ELDEN?
bettershelter says: KEEP IT SMALL!

12@ELDEN Models Almost Ready

The appliances and carpet were installed this week, Nathan has been working on the hardscape and landscape, we are this close to models being finished!

We Love This Guesthouse

Coldwater Canyon guesthouse a green-hued retreat in a box. The color trick “was to get three colors of equal values so one hue didn’t pop out at you.”We at bettershelter agree, getting color right can be hard. From an article in LA Times.
bettershelter says: PAINT IT!

You Read It Here First!

From an article in Barron's titled : "Bottom's Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short Lived."
Says Barron's: "This real-estate rout has been more painful than prior ones, but it may be shorter-lived. Indeed, there are early signs of recovery."
Of course there is. And it is called 12@ELDEN!
Read the whole article HERE.

Small Is Beautiful!

From House Beautiful, a quintessential Los Angeles bungalow is profiled.
Says the owner: "Small can have such a negative connotation, but smaller spaces have great qualities that bigger rooms don't. For years now there has been a trend to make everything oversize, but in doing this I think we've lost some of the qualities that make a house feel like a home and not an airport hangar."
We agree. See 12@ELDEN in Costa Mesa for our take on great small homes.
bettershelter says: SCALE IT DOWN!

1.7 Ocean In Los Angeles Times!

1.7 Ocean was featured in a photo gallery in the Los Angeles Times titled "Cute Houses That Don't Cost A Fortune-In LA?"
The photos were a sidebar to Christopher Hawthorne's article "Fledging Home Projects Emerge From L.A.'s Small-Lot Ordinance". Mostly it was about the Maltman Bungalow project, which yours truly has blogged about in the past. Great project.
Thank you for thinking of us LA Times!

12@ELDEN Update

The wood paneling is in, it looks good, COMPLETELY transforms the space. The next step is to paint the wood bright white, oh yeah.....
Who doesn't love a wood paneled room?