Tom and Kathy were committed to minimizing the home’s environmental footprint every step of the way. As the self-appointed “waste manager” for the construction site, Tom kept busy cleaning up and sorting material for reuse, recycling, or disposal. He even repurposed some of the scraps into makeshift furnishings for the porch and hired a local craftsman to fashion leftover beams into a bench for the entry.
Kathy oversaw the finer points of the interior, which features exposed, rustic beams that were reclaimed from a 100-year-old church in Portland and other natural, local materials, like a river-rock mantle around the wood heater and madrone flooring. Throughout the home, natural linoleum and eco-friendlier countertops made from recycled plastic, glass, and paper make colorful conversation pieces. Energy Star appliances, low-flow fixtures, and dual-flush toilets and urinals in the bathrooms pair up for good energy and water savings in the home. Kathy also tended to the xeriscape landscaping plan, which utilizes drought-resistant native plants to minimize watering.
