Central Florida is becoming a haven for green living. The latest addition to our cache of green homes is “KB Home Green House: an Idea Home Created with Martha Stewart” at Lake Burden in Windermere, Florida. Unveiled in January 2011, this dream home is stylish, affordable, and livable.  It brings the green revolution to the masses, with an interior size designed to fit the average homebuyer at 2,667 square feet. I can actually imagine myself living in this house. Previous green homes have been large, luxurious and expensive, and… out of reach for most homebuyers.

 
KB Homes and Martha Stewart demonstrate that a GREEN home can be stylish, affordable, and extremely livable at the new “green dream home” in Windermere.

Classic Style:
Martha Stewart has impeccable taste and style and this home reflects the elegance and class that is her  signature style. You have to get past the mediocre street view of this home to see the beauty. The front door is rather hidden,  which reminds me of a face with the eyes covered by long bangs. Like Martha Stewart you should look beyond the first impression.


Classic lines, painted baseboards, crown molding, wood paneling, and high level of trim evoke a level of sophistication reminiscent of the elegant homes of my childhood stomping grounds in New England. But, unlike the old homes of New England, this one has an open feel achieved with long site lines, and partial walls. I am seeing a high demand for homes with a formal dining room, an office, a bright and open great-room replacing the formal living. That is exactly what this home delivers, the look that today’s homebuyers are asking for.

The kitchen is a dream for the gourmet cook! There are cabinets galore for all those special cooking tools and serving platters. It’s perfect for making my homemade preserves, cooking a roast, and baking some homemade bread. I have a compost bucket in my kitchen, and it is always in the way, taking up precious room on the counter. KB/MS cut a hole in the countertop to make the stainless steel compost bucket recessed, hence a cleaner looking countertop. For fresh seasoning there is a raised herb garden outside the kitchen. This home is a good thing!

Since the kitchen is open to the great room, everyone can be in the kitchen (as they always are) and simultaneously enjoy the living room. The kitchen has a huge island (7 ½ x 4 ½ ft) and a separate large kitchen table. Just past the table is the beautiful living area with fireplace focalpoint. So from the kitchen you can enjoy views of the fireplace as well as the back yard.

The back wall of this greatroom opens to the large lanai, with another fireplace and 2 more sitting areas giving this home the entertaining space of much larger homes. I love the layout!

Affordable:
Priced at $380,000 this is well above the average selling price for a house this size, BUT the additional cost was used to take it the next level. It is a NET ZERO home! That means that it generates electricity, selling it back to the power utility. The income from the power generated is expected to equal the amount used, so that over a year the TOTAL POWER BILL SHOULD BE ZERO! Wow! Sorry about all the caps. This concept just gets me going. I love the idea of paying a big $0 for electricity. That works out to a savings of $250-$350 per month.  

GREEN:
How did they get to NET ZERO?
-The envelope: cement block walls with ¾ in rigid insulation, sprayed foam on the roof deck insulates the attic, cool roof tile reflects a larger amount of solar energy
-19.5 SEER Energy efficient 2 ton A/C, energy recovery ventilator ventilator in attic
-solar hot water panels on roof
-photovoltaic solar cells on roof for production of electricity
-LED can and pendant lights
-light tunnel in laundry provides natural daylight
-control system for lighting, recepticles, and temperature, plus vacancy sensors shut of lighting in unoccupied rooms

Photovoltaic panels on roof produce electricity

What makes it green? There are so many factors. Most of us only think about energy efficiency, but there are also health and environmental aspects. Man-made Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are of concern for health reasons. So a primary goal of green homes is reduction of VOCs. Tile and wood  flooring is much better, in this regard, than carpet. The home is tastefully painted with Martha Stewart paints with low VOCs.

Other Green:
-Reduced construction waste: pre-engineered trusses, floors, panelized wall systems reduce waste lumber at site. Waste from jobsite was recycled.
-On demand hot water recirculation system, low-flow faucets, dual-flush toilets, rainwater collection system augments irrigation, irrigation system measures soil moisture to determine actual need for water
-Computer in kitchen monitors water, electric, and gas usage and suggests techniques for lowering usage.

Other cool features include Electric plug for your electric car in the garage. A central vacuum system vented to outside removes 100% of dirt, dust mites, pollen, dander and other allergens from the house.

Electricity, water, and gas usage are monitored by a computer in the kitchen. A visual realtime monitoring system is an effective way to modify behavior. Most of the construction techniques that result in energy efficiency are undetectable to a homebuyer. The monitoring system helps to visualize the benefits of living in a green home.

Livable:
It seems like they thought of everything. An emergency generator provides power if a storm interrupts service from the utility provider. In Florida you typically don’t find mud-rooms. Yet if you garden or have kids, where do you put those dirty shoes and store backpacks? KB/MS combines a laundry with mudroom, just enough room for Florida. (We don’t have all those heavy coats and boots like y’all up north.) Custom closets help to put everything in its place.  I feel at home in this house. Its organized, functional, comfortable, beautiful, green and budget-conscious. Is it time for tea?


Lorraine and Betty Burch relaxing on the lanai.

Lorraine Burch
Lakefront Homes Consultant
www.HomesCentralFL.com