Never Ordinary: A Playful Green Family Retreat that brings a Love of the Ocean into View
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“Our dream was to live in a house that was fun!” the homeowners said as we stood on the deck of their energy independent home. Floor to ceiling windows reflected a broad ocean view above the blue expanse of Monterey Bay. “After traveling in an off-shore sailboat for thirteen years, we had learned that the adventure of independent living opened up a world of exciting advantages along with efficiencies and comforts that made anywhere in the world a potential home.”
The architect/owners had completed a 40,000-mile leisurely sailboat voyage around the world and then, trading the blue wilderness of the world’s oceans for the green wilderness of the Santa Cruz mountains, they brought the energy efficient technologies and green thinking of a self-sufficient sailboat to a sunny ridge above Aptos. The result is a sustainable home engineered to include the direct functional design and, here and there, hardware of an off-shore sailboat, all in a playful and efficient variation of mountain-cabin vernacular that typifies Santa Cruz.
“The simple technologies that save energy in a free-traveling boat are easily transferable to a land-bound home,” the owners explained. “Everything on board has a function. Services like electricity, water, cooling, heating, communication, emergency mitigation are a few of the needs that all need to be sustainable and efficient. Happily, the solutions are readily available, and they are fun!”
Like a sailboat, design decisions looked to materials to withstand the elements and contribute to the near-net-zero carbon footprint of sustainable living. A galvalume roof engineered for solar, protective corrosion-free and heat-reflective siding, strategically placed doors and windows that capture Monterey Bay breezes, eave overhangs dimensioned to shade windows in summer and generate passive solar warmth in winter, Bonelli commercial doors and windows for decades of structural protection and freedom from leaking and corrosion, hands-free foot valves to eliminate water waste and, with a whimsical nod to sailing hardware, simple block and tackle yacht hoists for lifting a loft ladder, a stainless swimming ladder for deck egress, and a sea green spiral stairway leading up to a “crows nest” guest room - these are a few of the ingenious strategies cleverly transferred by this architect-couple from their ocean based sailing home to their playful mountain top home in Santa Cruz.
Living in this super-cool modern home is a green adventure that delightfully opens the door to the future and delivers endless sustainable comfort and pleasure. Let us show it to you! Call Celeste to see 831-239-4646
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THE ULTIMATE LUXURY FAMILY COMPOUND ON 3.8 ACRES WITH PANORAMIC OCEAN VIEWS! Superbly built (2010) Corralitos custom home with sweeping ridge-top views from Santa Cruz to Big Sur, to the San Andreas mountains. Above the sunny necklace of beaches that foreground Monterey Bay, the main building has cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, radiant heat, automatic fire sprinkler system, two full baths, and an open kitchen with 6-burner Wolf range, Fisher-Paykel fridge, hands-free faucets, and Miele dishwasher. This green-designed home features a primary bedroom with sunrise and moonrise views through a full-wall window, contemporary open living space, plus a sleeping loft/office. A luminous expanse of French doors open to the large redwood deck and to the drama of the site, melding indoor and outdoor spaces.
AND THERE’S ROOM FOR EVERYONE HERE: three additional multi-use structures with decks - bedrooms, office, studio, caretaker unit, potential income, or…? Plus there is a large separate workshop with integrated container storage. Passive and active solar, secure and grid-free: no utility bills, no blackouts. This is living green in style. And super fast internet is ideal for working remotely.
A PRIVATE SANCTUARY, EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO SANTA CRUZ AND TO THE BAY AREA. Peaceful, secure, a truly idyllic property of natural beauty, that offers both close proximity to urban conveniences and the privacy of a park-like haven. There’s easy access to Santa Cruz and to Los Gatos/Silicon Valley. Located in the friendly community of Corralitos, California (known for its vineyards, horse farms, apple orchards and the Corralitos Market & Sausage Company), it is only 14 minutes to Corralitos Market, 28 minutes to Santa Cruz, 23 minutes to Watsonville, 45 minutes to Los Gatos via Summit, 50 miles to San Jose, 84 miles to San Francisco, and just 5 minutes to to the hiking and bike trails in Nisene Marks State Park, above Aptos.
Eco-homes become hot property in UK's zero-carbon ‘paradigm shift’ | Architecture | The Guardian
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