Ocal Ham Beque

From reducing energy consumption to recycling waste, it seems like everyone is interested in doing their part to help the environment these days. While green living conserves natural resources and cuts down on pollution, it also has the practical benefit of saving money on your utility bills.

Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. is living proof of the power of going green. While you probably know him best from his many roles on television and film, he’s been an outspoken advocate of sustainable living for almost 40 years. Everything about his home demonstrates his commitment to treading as lightly as possible on the earth. He’s even written a book, Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life, about his experiences.

Sustainable Site

The first consideration in building a green house is minimizing the environmental impact to the site. Just north of San Diego, the green development of Del Sur is doing just that. Their emphasis on environmentally friendly building practices and commitment to preserving 60% of the development’s land as open space have earned Del Sur some of California’s top environmental awards.

Pervious paving of driveways, streets, and parking lots is another way to limit damage to the environment. While pervious paving has the look and feel of concrete or asphalt, it allows rainwater to filter through and soak into the ground. This decreases runoff that can pollute waterways and lower groundwater levels, as well as reducing the need for costly storm drains and retention ponds.

Reuse and Recycle

The Ranch House at Del Sur is both a welcome center and an example of sustainable development. Since shipping building materials long distances greatly increases their impact on the environment, many of the materials at Del Sur were obtained locally. Walls for the Ranch House were constructed from stones found on the property while the wood flooring and the ceiling beams came from structures that were being demolished.

Nonprofit organizations like the Reuse People are given buildings that have been slated for demolition in exchange for tax deductions. They then disassemble it and resell the materials to finance their efforts. By taking the building apart piece by piece, they are able to reuse about three-fourths of the total weight and recycle much of the rest.

Companies like TerraMai in California, specialize in turning high quality wood from demolished structures into lumber for paneling, flooring, and millwork. Since much of it comes from older, slow growing trees, the wood is stronger and more stable than lumber produced today.

Rather than tearing down older inefficient homes and apartment buildings, some developers like Marty Bhatia of OM Development, LLC in Chicago, convert them into energy efficient and environmentally friendly structures. Buyers are even provided with a manual that explains the building’s green features.

Green Products

Green building materials can be made from just about anything, including agricultural waste.

Environ Biocomposites produces a composite material made from recycled sunflower hulls known as Dakota Burl® which doesn’t emit harmful gases and can be used for a number of interior applications.

Kirei Board is an environmentally friendly product manufactured in China from sorghum stalks that remain after harvesting. The lightweight panels have an interesting grain pattern and can be used for anything from cabinets to flooring.

Conserving Water

A family of four uses on average 400 gallons of water a day, or almost 150,000 gallons a year.

Toilets are the largest user of water in the home. Older models require up to three times the water of new high efficiency toilets such as the Persuade™ and San Raphael™ from Kohler. Replacing an existing toilet can cut your home’s water usage by as much as 10,000 gallon a year.

Showers are another big water guzzler. Replacing a standard showerhead with a low-flow model, like the Kohler MasterShower® Ecofficient™, can save up to 20%.

Adding low-flow aerators to kitchen and bathroom faucets will help as well. Be sure to check with your local water provider to see if tax credits are available for installing water conservation devices.

Another way to cut down on water usage is by funneling the runoff from your roof to a storage tank for watering your lawn.

Some systems, such as the Deluxe Potable System from Rainwater Management Solutions, can even filter the water for use in your home.

If replacing bathroom fixtures or installing a rainwater collection system isn’t in your budget, you can still cut down on water usage by repairing leaks, limiting time in the shower, and washing only full loads of clothes and dishes.

Read about and watch Going Green, Part 2

Find out more at our Going Green webpage

Other Tips From This Episode

Yesterday, I was hard at work on the front porch again, taking full advantage of our gorgeous weather, and I finished up the ceiling. It took me a lot longer than I expected because I ended up caulking between each and every board before painting the second coat. That was tedious work, but I’m a perfectionist, and seeing the little cracks between those boards was driving me a bit crazy.

I ended up adding some white paint to the blue that I selected (Behr Air Blue), and then added just a touch of green by adding a little bit of Behr Mythic Forest (a dark teal that I’ve used inside our house in several places) to the mix. It turned out perfect!

Now I need to go back and touch up the white trim. Really, all of the white trim on the front porch could use a quick touch up.

I’m still working on the painting and repair projects, but of course, my mind is drifting to the fun decorating projects. And this year, I finally want to get some chairs for the front porch. This area by the windows is just calling for chairs, don’t you think?

I’ve looked high and low, searched on Amazon, Wayfair, Home Depot, and just about everywhere else I could think of, to find the perfect outdoor chairs for our front porch. Since the front porch is only 68 inches deep, I ruled out rocking chairs almost immediately. I knew I wanted some sort of outdoor rattan/wicker looking chairs with cushions. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

But after looking at just about every possibility on the internet, I’ve narrowed it down to two options, both of which I found at Amazon. (These are affiliate links.)

The first style is one that I would consider more traditional. I love a dark wicker chair on a front porch. Don’t these look comfy? I love that they have those thick cushions, and not thin, wimpy cushions. This set of 2 chairs is $399.

I did a (very bad) mock up to see what they might look like on my front porch. I’m sure I didn’t get the proportions right, but I just wanted to get an general idea of what they would look like.

I like those a lot! My porch is 68 inches deep, and the chairs are 35 inches deep. So there would be 33 inches (three inches shy of three feet) between the chairs and the front edge of the porch. I think that’s plenty of space.

The second option has a distinctly more modern look, with an overall lighter and airier look to them. This pair costs $313.

These are 31.5 inches deep, so that would leave 36.5 inches between the chairs and the front edge of the porch. And here’s another very bad and out-of-proportion mockup 😀 …

So this seems to be a recurring theme with me, and has been for years. It’s a pull between traditional and modern. I love both, and I try to incorporate both into my decorating. But for the front porch, I just can’t make up my mind which direction I want to go. This is, after all, the first impression that people will have of our house. I want it to be a preview of what they’ll find inside. So which pair do you think gives a better preview of the interior of our house?

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!

Today I have a kitchen renovation update for you! Things have been moving right along over the past two weeks! The addition is also coming along but more of the attention recently went to the interior projects. The next two weeks will be fun to see as the addition will start to take shape, too! I promise to share more in an upcoming post.

The fun thing about this project so far is there has been a LOT of progress already! Yet there are still so many details and design elements we are looking forward to (such as trim pieces, crown molding, glass doors, bookcases, lighting and ceilings!). We are very pleased with how beautifully it’s coming together already, so we’re feeling very good about each decision.

I will share more specifics on our design decision process in future posts, but for now I wanted to give you a peek at where we’re at so far and a few hints as to what is to come!

WOOD FLOORS:

Once the interior spaces were gutted (kitchen, dining room and living room/entry flooring) the new European White Oak flooring went it. It’s STUNNING! We are thrilled with the casual beachy look and feel the floors brought to our home. The first thing we noticed was the pleasing indoor outdoor connection we felt between the wood tones inside and the organic beauty of our surroundings.

DINING ROOM WINDOWS AND WINDOW SEAT:

The existing windows from the back of our home were relocated to the new dining room. Not only did this change bring in so much more light, we also got a new unexpected water view! In my last update I had said the windows were for light and no view would be opened up, but I WAS WRONG!

While it’s not a sweeping view from that side further back on our home, any view of the water and islands beyond makes me happy. Plus, this new view can be easily seen through the dining room windows as you walk around the kitchen, so it’s a pretty fun surprise!

It isn’t easy to show the new view in a photo or video, and we definitely need to trim a large bush that is blocking probably half of it, but you can kind of see it below! Once the bush is trimmed down a bit it’ll be more apparent. I love to get a glimpse of water as I walk through the house, simple joys for this sea-loving gal :).

Right below the windows our new dining bench (with drawers below) was installed. Not yet in are the two bookcases, one will be on each side. I wanted to add a few spots with open storage/display for books or seasonal pieces. And of course we can’t wait to add a comfy bench cushion and have fun with color, pattern and seasonal pillows, too. I’m really loving the arrangement here as each room feels like an extension of the others, but also has a sense of its own unique place in the home.

WHITE APRON FRONT SINK AND POLISHED NICKEL FAUCET:

The new sink was set into place so the counter people could come measure! I’m in love. I don’t know if I’m the only weirdo who does this but as soon as the contractors leave every day, I’m walking around gazing at everything, setting up little vignettes because I love seeing all the PRETTY things together! I shared the details about our faucet in this post.

INSET CABINETS AND ISLAND:

I am in love with the cabinets. They turned out just as I dreamed they would! They just feel so homey, light and happy, and have beautiful details (many of which aren’t even in yet!). We chose traditional cabinetry with a mix of styles and details like beadboard, inset drawers and doors, slab and beaded shaker profiles.

The finish is so smooth and GORGEOUS, I’m really happy with them. There are more cabinetry details to come like some feet and trim pieces, brackets, glass doors and a pretty dish display area, too.

We’re also thrilled with how the layout feels to be in the space. We didn’t have a lot of walls to work with as it has wall to wall doors/windows on one side and the opening to the dining room on the other, but it is coming together just exactly as I wanted it to. It just feels so cozy and inviting! We also made the most of our storage and counter space, too, which was important to us in a smaller home!

Our floors are covered but I found a few discarded scraps to lay out along with other elements that will be represented in the space. It’s fun to dream about each new element that will be added!

Speaking of the cabinets and layout, I’m so glad we put the sink here. The windows you can see all around are just lovely as is the light that comes in. I love that you can look over and see the dining area, too. Lifting and widening the two openings between these rooms really was a dramatic change that we’re loving, too. (By the way, I shared our kitchen design floor plans in this post if you want to look back at the before and plans.)

The Queen Bee Range Wall:

While the Queen herself has not yet be set on her throne here :), this little art represents her color palette. I’m excited for the pop of color! We’re still missing one cabinet that goes on the right and the hood and some other details here, but I can already tell Beatrix will be so pretty and fit right in.

I shared more about our stove choice (lovingly named Beatrix, ha!) in this post.

This cabinet wall is going to be special too, you can only see part of it so far :). You can see the spot for the fridge to the right of this space, too.

HARDWARE AND LIGHTING:

The hardware arrived, too (along with our lights!). We love it! I wanted a timeless classic look for our kitchen, so we chose a mix of traditional hardware with a warm antique brass finish that is just so beautiful (as well as glass knobs and some touches of nickel).

Sources: Oval Knob // Drawer Pull // Appliance Pull // Glass Knob // Bin Pull // Cupboard Latch

I don’t have photos of the lights yet, but you can see them HERE (and our whole kitchen design mood board here).

We ordered these adorable coastal solar lights for outside, I just love them! Next I have to choose exterior lights for our new back porch!

So much more to come, but I hope you enjoyed this peek at our renovation! I can’t wait to share more about the addition, too.

I try to share regular updates on my Instagram, so if you like to keep up with the dailies, that’s a good place to be.

More Posts about Our Kitchen Remodel:

My New Kitchen Floor Plan + Parents’ Addition and Exterior Elevation

Our New Kitchen Design Mood Board (and five questions that helped me make decisions!)

Adding Character in a Kitchen Remodel: The Tale of Our New Range and Faucet

Kitchen and Dining Room Renovation Update! Projects Have Begun!

The difficult thing about having a lot of tools is keeping up with them. Some people have a great organization system for their garage or shop, but that goes out the window when they need their tools somewhere else. This is where a portable toolbox comes in handy.

Ridgid’s new and improved 2.0 Gear System keeps your gear organized wherever you go. 

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product from these links, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Organization On-The-Go

The Ridgid 2.0 Pro Gear System 22-inch toolbox’s newly perfected 2.0 attach and detach design allows for effortless transport and storage. Its heavy-duty latches and handle allow for a firm grip when you’re on the go.

Integrated organizers inside the portable toolbox keep small parts at hand and a removable utility tray is a perfect solution for bringing only the tools you need to your job site. 

A padlock eye keeps your tools safe, and a water and dust seal keeps them clean and dry when you’re out of the shop.

Stationary Storage

In the shop, you can install the system’s wall hanging mounts on 16-inch centered studs and hang each box directly on the wall.  

The included Pro Gear Mount gives you full access to the box, even when it’s hung.

Listen to learn all about this Best New Product!

Find the Ridgid 2.0 Pro Gear System 22-inch toolbox at The Home Depot. 

Further Reading

First things first. Thank you so much for all of your feedback about the studio cabinets! I haven’t had a chance to read through all of them yet, but I’ve read about 75% of them, and I’m starting to get some clarity on what I want. I’ve narrowed it down to three options, and I’m going to try to do some mock ups this weekend to narrow those three down to the best option. All three options include white upper cabinets, but differ on the color of the lower cabinets. I’m leaning very strongly in one direction, so the mock ups should clarify everything and make the decision very easy.

Now on to the home gym progress. I’ve been checking things off of my punch list, and I’m really feeling like I’m on the home stretch now, so that’s exciting.

If you’ll remember, I ordered four frames from Michael’s, and they all arrived broken or damaged. Every single one of them. So they shipped me four more, and these arrived safely. So I got those stained last night. I wanted them to be walnut to match my WaterRower and dresser. I had already stained two of the frames Dark Walnut, but I wasn’t really satisfied with that color. It turned out way darker than the actual walnut in the room. You can see that stain color on the two frames in the picture below.

So I ended up sanding that stain color off of those frames, and using Varathane Special Walnut on all six frames. The color was much better, and a truer walnut color, but it was still too light and too red.

I finally added just a little bit (maybe a teaspoon) of Dark Walnut to the Special Walnut and mixed those together thoroughly. They were different brands, but both oil-based, so they mixed together just fine.

I gave the frames a light sanding with 220-grit sandpaper and then applied a second coat with the mixed stain, and it ended up looking very close to the real walnut. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close!

I left them to dry overnight, and I will be able to get the pictures framed and hung today.

I got my neon “Sweat The Crazy Out” sign this week, and was very anxious to get it hung in the closet area. I absolutely LOVE it! 😀 I ordered the gold yellow color, but I’m pretty sure they sent me orange. I don’t care, though. The orange on the sign (when the sign is turned on) is actually the same orange on my Bellicon rebounder. So that worked out perfectly.

I also got the TV hung on the wall, so now I just need to wrangle the cords. And as you can see in the picture above, I had an idea to add metal shelves on wheels to each side of the dresser and TV. I thought that might be a better use of space, and then I’d find a place to hang the mirrors in the main part of the room.

Well, I didn’t like how the shelves looked in there. And while I do think that shelves would be helpful, I don’t think that I need that much shelf space in this room. So I’ve decided to use the shelves in the storage closet in my studio, and I’m going back to the plan of hanging the mirrors on either side of the dresser.

I do want some shelves in there, though. So I’ve decided to add some shelves at the ends of the closet going perpendicular to the back long wall of the closet, as shown below. (That picture probably would have been clearer to understand had I not leaned the mirror against the end wall, but hopefully you can understand what I’m talking about.)

So things are starting to wind down in here. The biggest things I still need to do are to paint Matt’s exercise bike, and then to stain the bars for the Swedish ladder and get it installed. There are still lots of little projects, but I’m calling in reinforcements on at least one of them. My mom has said that she’ll hem my curtains for me, so that will be a big help. And then I’m thinking about hiring a handyman to come and install the ceiling fan and light in the entry. Those are just busy work kind of projects that I can hand over to someone else so that I can focus on other things and move this process along faster. But it’s getting there!

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!