Lessons from the ultimate Earth-friendly retreat: cutting-edge cabin

Sunset, Jan, 2008 by Peter O. Whiteley

TRUE SUSTAINABLE LIVING starts at home. Tom Kelly's cabin near Oregon's Mt. Hood is all about family, the outdoors, and treading lightly on the land. "It was important that our getaway be as eco-friendly as possible," says Kelly, who owns a design/build and remodeling business on the forefront of green building practices.

Inspiration came from an article in the New York Times about a loftlike concrete-and-glass house on Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Lake. "We liked its industrial simplicity, with all the concrete block and exposed electrical conduit," Kelly says. "But we didn't want to mimic a specific style. We just wanted a place that was comfortable and suited its rural setting."

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Kelly and his wife, Barbara Woodford, gave the design task to their niece, architect Liz Olberding. She organized the house around a hydronically heated concrete floor and structural walls made of Durisol, blocks of recycled wood fiber and cement that contain fiberglass-like rock-wool insulation. Terra-cotta-colored clay-plaster accent walls, exposed wood trim, and wool rugs in a similar ruddy palette add a layer of warmth. The honed concrete-block walls retain heat from sunlight; as with many of the cabin's materials, the blocks are extremely durable and locally produced to lower the "embodied energy" of transportation costs. The home boasts so many innovative components, it was the first Western residence to receive LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a rating system developed by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council.

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Efficient, innovative design

The goal was to have a compact home with flexible spaces for gathering. Cooking, dining, and hanging out all happen in one spacious, airy room on the main floor, with a dining table of reclaimed Douglas fir from Portland's ReFind Furniture. Large windows line the walls, framing spectacular views and allowing sunlight to enter.

"I'm part of a large family--I have seven brothers and sisters, and they all have children," Kelly says. "Even with everyone here, the house works perfectly. We've also had a few receptions for 100."

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Coming and going

For their outdoor-oriented family, a mudroom for boots, sports gear, backpacks, and jackets is a must. This cabin's main winter entrance is through a double-doored space called an arctic entry, which reduces interior heat loss.

Other entrances and doorways are equally well thought-out. Internal sliding doors are made from Douglas fir "sinker logs" salvaged from the Columbia River. An exterior concrete stairway features broad risers that serve as platforms for flowerpots in summer and wood storage in winter. Extended eaves over the stairs provide shade and temperature control.

INFO Design: Liz Olberding, Anchorage (lizolberding.com or 907/230-9871). Design/construction: Tom Kelly, Neil Kelly Company, Portland (neilkelly.com or 503/288-7461). Interior design: Therese DuBravac, Neil Kelly Company (see above). Resources: See page 104.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS J. STORY

*BROWSE PHOTOS OF OTHER INSPIRING HOMES: sunset.com/da

RELATED ARTICLE: What makes it Earth-friendly?

The Kelly family built their home from the ground up, so they incorporated green ideas in energy, construction methods, and material choices.

KITCHEN DETAILS Non-outgassing, formaldehyde-free wheatboard--an eco-wise alternative to plywood--was used for the cabinet shells. Inset panels on cabinet fronts are Kirei board, a product made of sorghum stalks; the fir for the kitchen cabinets is from remilled boards.

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SUSTAINABLE WOOD Kelly carefully considered the sources for all wood used in the house. The framing lumber and overhead beams are made of Forest Stewardship Council--certified sustainably harvested local wood.

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MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS The hydronically heated floors are made with concrete poured over corrugated steel panels and a grid of pipes, which circulates warmed water to keep the floors toasty. Using steel panels instead of traditional floor joists is a commercial construction technique that reduces the amount of wood required for framing.

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SOLAR POWER Located 50 feet from the house are two solar-tracking arrays with a total output of 3 kilowatts. The system is tied to the power grid, feeding excess electricity back to the electric company in a process known as reverse metering. The home is designed to produce more energy than it uses.

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RELATED ARTICLE: GREAT IDEA

CONVERTIBLE GUEST ROOMS A small office space doubles as extra sleeping quarters, thanks to a Murphy bed that tucks into an alcove in the concrete-block wall. On the other side of the wall, in the living room, is a fireplace that warms the bed before it's opened on cold winter nights.

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