2006 C.A.R.E. Award Winner

Elements of the original floor plan kept the residents of this half-century-old home from enjoying the potential benefits of its strong southern exposure. Additional challenges included a dark, cramped living room; an outdated, inefficient kitchen; and an overall need for more – and more intelligent – space. We moved a poorly placed staircase, remodeled nearly every room in the house and replaced the small covered porch with a large and open sunroom designed to be 96% solar heated. We added solar panels, improved the insulation and replaced the inefficient single-pane, metal-framed windows. The result is an elegant home that happens to be incredibly energy efficient; today, it’s comfortable and attractive (and it uses two-thirds less energy than it did before the remodel).