ECOHAUS, a green candyland

I've never claimed that the new house on Southeast Rex Street would be completely green. My goal was to eliminate waste.

But I do want to make environmentally friendly choices.

With the new house being built at warp speed, I was biting my nails, worried about where I could find a variety of green interior products without shopping the entire metro area. It didn't take long to discover Ecohaus.

In a short time and with a tremendous amount of hand-holding from Ecohaus' Sadie Carney and Karla Martin and Abode Design's Trisha Anderson, I managed to find my dual-flushing Caroma toilets and sinks, Yolo Colorhouse paint, cork and wood flooring, tile and countertops all in one swoop.

Not only are all of the materials environmentally friendly, they are drop-dead gorgeous, too.

But, remember, these new things are replacing materials that are being put to new uses: The old carpet is the weed barrier in the flower beds, for example, and the outdated parquet flooring is turning into play blocks for children.

Each day, the pile of the old house gets smaller and smaller. I'm loving it.

Green Painters Extraordinaire at the REX Project

The crew of Paintegrity, a green painting company is in the middle of painting the interior of the REX Project. Using YOLO Colorhouse paint, a noVOC paint, they are painting nearly 20 different colors throughout the house. Plus at the same time educating me on how to paint the most perfect edge. Their secret...Appy blue masking tape on the ceiling then add a bead of clear cauking. Start painting immediately. Peel back the tape before the caulk dries and voila, you have a perfect edge. Thanks Paintegrity.

Reused original front door

The original front door of the little REX house has found a new location as the backdoor in the new house. Aspen Siding and Windows installed this 1920's dental work design wood door and it looks wonderful. But the best part is I saved nearly $400.00 by not having to buy a new door!

Stairway to Heaven

My siding company Aspen Siding and Windows who are an amazing group of guys have begun the exterior transformation of the REX Project. They will be infusing the old lath as a rain screen, incorporate my old siding with the new along with all the other bells and whistles. At times I do drive the crew crazy with my eye for detail. Mike D. from Aspen Siding and Windows knows that first hand. All in fun though. In the end we will be reusing a ton of original materials from the little house that once was there.

REX project framing

James Ray Arnold Green Building Construction (my framers) have been the most amazing group of guys to work with. On a daily basis I witness first hand the way they care for our environment. At the end of each work day they sort all building materials, reuse and recycle and even search through the scrap wood for framing construction. That saves me money.