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Attack of the Dome Homes

Attack of the Dome Homes published on 2 Comments on Attack of the Dome Homes

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An old article on Hudson Valley Magazine lead me to singer Peggy Atwood’s site about her monolithic dome in the Catskills. She decided to have it built after nearly losing a house to a tornado in Tennessee and another near miss Upstate due to a forest fire.

Granted, all dome homes are awesome, but when I came across the Solaleya website, I knew I had discovered my latest obsession. These homes, which have the added plus of totally looking like a spaceship, actually rotate with the sun. Need I say more? THE HOUSE ROTATES WITH THE SUN!

Solaleya homes are made with FSC wood and are insulated with cork. They are earthquake and hurricane resistant and can be equipped with solar panels. Unless I’m reading the brochure wrong, prices don’t seem to be insane. For $64k, you can get a 420 square foot “guest room”. $ 834k will buy you a 6307 square foot home with 25 foot ceilings. Of course, options and land not included.

Although I’d love to see one of these under my Hannukah menorah this season, I still can’t overlook the fact that, as green as this is, it is still new construction.

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Dome Home

I’m Starting to Groove to Cork

I’m Starting to Groove to Cork published on 1 Comment on I’m Starting to Groove to Cork

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Back in November I did an article on cork flooring. I listed the pros and cons, but my own hesitation with cork is that it reminds me too much of the 70’s. I don’t know why I can’t get passed this since my sense of style terminated in the 80’s. But I’m trying.

I just came across cork mosaics at Habitus NYC. They look great, they are waterproof and best of all, you can stain them some funky ass colors! Since they’re waterproof, they can work perfectly in a bathroom or kitchen. I was also informed that they have antibacterial qualities.

The cork mosaics look like penny ceramics and need to be grouted same as any other tile. They’re made from recycled wine stoppers. Since they start at $12 per square foot, I’m thinking of drinking more wine (lots) so I can make my own mosaics.

NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair published on 1 Comment on NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

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Our trip to Florida last week was strictly for visiting purposes. But in between installing ceiling fans for my mother and meeting the Jack Klompus of The Greens of Tamarac, we did get a chance to surprise our friend Liz at the Aqua Art Fair in Miami.

Aqua Art Miami is part of a week long contemporary art fair in which various hotels in Miami Beach transform themselves into galleries. The main event, Art Basel Miami Beach, sister event of Switzerland’s Art Basel, is now the most important art show in the United States.Continue reading NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

Town House Living: It’s Torture

Town House Living: It’s Torture published on 5 Comments on Town House Living: It’s Torture

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NY Times revealed the pain and suffering behind owning a town house in the city. “Town House Living: The Untold Story” a gripping exposé of whiny ass rich folks who can’t do anything for themselves left me saying “WTF?”

The Manhattan town house owners interviewed complained of vertical living challenges and the fact that they actually had to maintain their own homes.

A 30 something couple had diaper changing stations installed on every floor and doubled up on kitchens, laundry rooms and espresso machines because they couldn’t handle the stairs. I wonder how much they pay for their gym membership.

One woman complained “You have no idea how much the garbage controls your life”. She spoke of the street people rifling through her trash leaving an “ungodly” mess. Another gentleman wakes up at (gasp) 6am three days a week to haul his own trash to the curb. And on top of that, he has to clean the front of his house. The horror.Continue reading Town House Living: It’s Torture

3 Form Eco Friendly Material Solutions

3 Form Eco Friendly Material Solutions published on

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Via Moco Loco

3 Form is the manufacturer of many products: beautiful countertops, backsplashes, room dividers, furniture, hardware and even jewelry. Furthermore, they use a variety of materials, such as resin, glass and gypsum, which makes it difficult to roll into one tidy blog post.

So let’s just focus on the company. 3 Form is on a path to achieve zero waste and low emissions. They’ve recently eliminated the use of all PVCs and their ecoresin products are Greenguard certified. Panels can be returned to the company at the end of their life cycle for recycling.

Design is decidedly modern. Collections include “Storm” (complex and moody hues), “Fresh” (refreshing and calm aquatic tones) and “Flirt” (optimistic and extroverted) to name a few. There’s even “Custom Imagery” or “You Create”

Samples can be ordered directly from the company.

Madison, Brooklyn

Madison, Brooklyn published on 3 Comments on Madison, Brooklyn

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Author: Brett

My in-laws and I take a stroll around the neighborhood, Madison, in Brooklyn, with the babies everyday. The name “Madison” is no doubt the wizardry of some enterprising real estate office put in place to give the area some caché. James Madison High School is nearby, so maybe that is the source as the area used to be part of Flatbush.

Marine Park, which is not far from Flatbush Avenue and the Kings Plaza Mall, is a welcome oasis for runners, Young People’s Day campers, and stroller-pushing moms. The attached houses on the streets surrounding the park run in the 500Ks and are along bus routes to the nearest subway stop at Kings Highway.Continue reading Madison, Brooklyn

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives published on 1 Comment on Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives

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The final two speakers of the Anatomy lecture were from the energy community. Although they spoke separately, I’m rolling them into one post because both had to do with energy incentives.

Mark Wyman of Energy Smart Communities educated us on NYSERDA’s energy audit program. He went over tax incentives, rebates and how to find energy star contractors and products. All of the information can be easily found on the getenergy website.

Mark covered the Association for Energy Affordability, a program that assists low and moderate income people with making their homes healthy. He also touched upon Power Naturally, NSERDA’s renewable energy program.

Take the pledge to do your part to conserve energy! For more information, contact Wendy Fleisher. wfleish AT pratt.edu

Finally, Judy Torres from Keyspan spoke. FYI, Keyspan is now National Grid after the UK based company bought them out, turning it into the second largest utility company in the world.

Judy covered the Energy Analysis program designed to help people analyze and improve their energy consumption. It’s free and fun to do the profile.

National Grid offers rebates for energy star products such as thermostats and up to $800 in rebates for high efficiency boilers.

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Salvage Design

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Salvage Design published on

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Debra Salomon, the principal of 408 Design Group who organized Anatomy’s events, presented with Pietro Calabretta, owner of All Renovation, NY. The two have partnered on several projects.

Pietro spoke of the Greenstone Project, at 695 Degraw, which he worked on with Eitan Baron.

The home features Caesarstone countertops, dual flush toilets, energy star appliances and Fireclay shower floor tiles. We’ve covered all of those items in the past.

What we found most interested was the hot water return system Pietro mentioned. If we understood correctly, the system reuses the cold water wasted while waiting for the hot water to become hot.

Although all of the speakers shared valuable green building information, we found Debra’s subject matter closest to our hearts: old home restoration and salvaged materials.

She presented a design for an air conditioner cover which is an elaborate Victorian pier mirror housing the wall a/c unit. See photos for details.

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Debra also showed us an antique butler’s pantry she and Pietro recreated in a brownstone as well as some gorgeous salvaged cabinets that are sitting in someone’s basement because they can’t use them. (Oy, I’ll take them off your hands.)

Anatomy of a Brownstone:A&K Tile

Anatomy of a Brownstone:A&K Tile published on

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A&K Tile Studio in Park Slope has allocated 20% of their showroom to recycled tiles. Before sitting down in the lecture hall, I had a chance to speak with Gerrard Owens, the managing partner. He later presented with Jennifer Napoli.

I also saw some of the samples they had on hand. We’ve covered some of the recycled products here in the past, such as Brooklyn manufactured Ice Stone and Teragren Bamboo, but it was nice to see some other items in person that were new to us.

A&K carries lines from the following companies:

Sandhill Industries, 100% recycled glass tiles
Ekobe Coconut Tiles
Wicanders Cork Flooring

We’re On Vacation: Sort Of

We’re On Vacation: Sort Of published on

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We’ll be visiting the folks down in Florida this week. Think more Seinfelds in Del Boca Vista/ early bird specials than the above photo.

We’ve prepared some posts in advance to keep you occupied, but it might be hit or miss….publish when we can. We’re too cheap to go for an iphone right now because we’re bound to Verizon for awhile. So we’ll be schlepping around the laptop looking for Starbucks. Just wanted to warn you.

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