Thank you Nashville community for voting me “best of houzz 2013″ for design!

Did you even know houzz.com had a “best of 2013″ for Nashville – along with some of the coolest cities in the country?  I didn’t!  Among them are some of my favorite designers and architects…..  Very proud that Nashville is in there among them!

And speaking of which, I need to give kudos to one of my favorite design teams I ever worked with (for the house above, which is getting so many “looks” on houzz):  Clients Suellen and Rick Stringer-Hye, architect Susan Hagar (sabhagerarchitecture.com), and Fred Lawrence, of the Lawrence Brother Contractors (lawrencebrothersllc.com).

For more about this house, check out my blog post, “reclaimed wood love”.  But more importantly, see what the buzz is about Nashville on houzz.com!

- marcelle

Did you know that Nashville’s downtown Public Square  is a 2.2 acre green roof, with a 57,000-gallon rainwater harvesting tank, and extensive native landscaping?

I sure didn’t – and I live here!  I found out all this and more in a book on all things sustainable in Tennessee – Shades of Green Tennessee!

It’s choc full of inspiring photos of the Tennessee’s best sustainable residential and commercial architecture, green urban spaces, as well as informative profiles on the leading Tennessee providers of sustainable products.

There’s an article on the Routon Residence (going for LEED Platinum certification) designed by yours truly and my favorite architect, David Baird of Building Ideas, featured in it.

In addition, there are profiles on the the very companies who provided the energy systems we talk about for the house:  A. O. Smith, who provided the water heaters;  LightWave Solar Electric, who provided the solar panels, and Precision Air, who provided the geothermal heating and cooling.

Shades of Green Tennessee is the first of a series of books on emerging green communities throughout the country.  When they spoke to us about the book, the editors said they wanted to feature Tennessee first, because it is one of the hottest emerging markets for sustainable architecture and industry today.  Combined with Tennessee’s much touted quality of life, they felt this made for an exciting story!

You can find Shades of Green Tennessee at Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt University, Parnassus Books, or any one of the Books-A-Million locations in the region (Nashville, Clarksville, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro, Madison and Spring Hill).   Or, of course, on Amazon

-marcelle

Happy Earth Day!  Well, the Routon Residence is finally nearing completion.  And in celebration of Earth Day, my partner, Architect David Baird and I would like to thank all of the folks who have made this beautiful, sustainable home possible – beginning with our forward-thinking clients themselves – Ed and Jan Routon!

We’d also like to thank our builder, Blair Myers of Bryan and Myers, who so diligently sourced so many of the local and recycled materials, such as the house’s limestone base and recycled brick on the house’s exterior.  And a thank you to E3 Innovate, who was our LEED rater.

Thanks to (n)Habit for providing the beautiful recycled glass veneer at the breezeway’s vaulted ceiling.

Check out (n)Habit and E3′s  booths at the Nashville Earth Day Festival in Centennial Park, and at the Living Well Sustainable Marketplace at the Nashville Convention Center, this weekend.

Thanks to A-1 Appliance for the Energystar induction cooktop…..

…..and ovens.

And a thank you to the Hearth and Grille Shop of Nashville for the high performance, energy efficient fireplace that can heat the whole living, breakfast and kitchen area.

Thanks to our forward-thinking clients, Ed and Jan again, for salvaging their fallen elm tree to make the handsome fireplace mantel.

And a thank you to Woodstock Vintage Lumber for sourcing and crafting the oak flooring, reclaimed from an century old nearby mill.

Thanks to Creekside Glass for the glass which acts as a floor on the second floor gallery…..

…..and a skylight on the first floor…..allowing borrowed light to pass through from the gallery windows above.

And a thank you to Ferguson’s for the sustainably spa bath and shower fixtures.

And for those of you who feel like they already know him – here’s the real Buddy!  Ready for his sustainably spa shower.  Happy Earth Day, Buddy