If building an eco-friendly house is a stretch, how about a green in-law cottage?
That's sustainable designer Michelle Kaufmann's latest creation: the mkLotus, a one-bedroom home that is environmentally conscious, from its 100 percent solar electric system to the bathroom tiles made of recycled glass. It will go on display next weekend at the nation's largest green building conference, West Coast Green, in San Francisco.
Kaufmann is considered a visionary in home design circles for her groundbreaking sustainable-yet-stylish prefabs. Her Glidehouse and Breezehouse drew tens of thousands of spectators when Sunset magazine hosted them during weekend celebrations.
Her latest house, the smallest of the three, "was designed as an oasis," Kaufmann says. "It can be perfect for a vacation home, or a home where you feel like you're on vacation."
The popularity of the two- to four-bedroom Glidehouse brought countless inquiries for in-law units and cottages, said Rebecca Woelke, spokeswoman for Michelle Kaufmann Designs.
"We wanted to give clients a different type of design in a one-bedroom layout," Woelke said, something that "opens entire living spaces to the outdoors and brings the outdoors in."
To do that, mkLotus' signature feature is its NanaWalls, floor-to-ceiling glass doors in the living room that fold up like an accordion to welcome nature into the home. "This house blurs the boundary between the interior and exterior,"
Kaufman said. "You feel like you are outside, even when you are inside."
And yes, screen doors are available for those who prefer to feel less outside.
The West Coast Green show home is only 700 square feet, but it is full of details designed to make it feel much larger. Besides the NanaWalls, these include sloped roof lines, windows all around, and high window placements, which make the ceilings feel higher by washing them with light.
"The lotus flower opens up to welcome light and air into the flower. That's the concept of the mkLotus, to open the home to extend the space and welcome light and air into the home," Woelke said.
Every detail on the mkLotus is eco-friendly:
• Flooring is rapidly renewable bamboo.
• The kitchen cabinetry features FSC certified wood over particleboard. (The Forest Stewardship Council guarantees that the wood comes from a certified well-managed forest.)
• Kitchen countertops by Concreteworks contains fly ash concrete, rice hull and recycled porcelain.
• The bathroom floor and wall tiles contain 55 percent recycled glass.
• Bathroom plumbing includes a low-flow shower head and dual-flush toilet (to save water when you only need a light flush).
• Energy-saving LED lighting throughout.
• Even the decorative touches inside, down to the bamboo and cork bowls on the kitchen island, will be green.
The model on display will be fully loaded with two water recycling features. A rainwater catchment system collects runoff and filters the water for irrigating the yard. A gray water system (much like what car washes use) collects water from the kitchen sink, bathroom sink and shower and filters and recirculates the water for use in the washing machine and toilets.
The roof will be one-third solar panels and two-thirds green "living" roof (usually grass, but other plants are optional). The greenery helps purify the air, as well as providing a thermal layer on the roof that absorbs heat as well as insulates during cooler temperatures.
The mkLotus sells for $125,000 (base model) to $225,000 from the factory, not including land costs and permits, shipping, setup and other site-specific fees. The version at the show, built by Xtreme Builders of Sacramento, is closer to $225,000.
As with all of Kaufmann's homes, the mkLotus is being constructed off site and will be trucked in in one piece. It will arrive at the Civic Center Plaza on Sunday, and crews will get to work securing the home and adding the decking and landscaping. It should be complete by Tuesday afternoon. It will open to building industry visitors at 7 a.m. Thursday and to members of the public with a "homeowner pass" at 2 p.m. Friday.
The post-show fate of the mkLotus hasn't been determined. Kaufmann's previous show homes were sold even before they were displayed. The company has received offers to buy the home, Woelke said, but it might remain on the traveling circuit for future green shows, including a February show in Portland, Ore.
All of Kaufmann's prefab houses, including the mkLotus, can be ordered through the company. But Kaufmann and her associates emphasize that their goal at West Coast Green is not to sell houses, but to educate and show people a better way to build and live.
"We are prepackaging green solutions to make it easy for people to go green," Kaufman said. "We are finding that people want green designs, they want lower energy bills, they want healthy homes for their families. However, it is not always easy to find the green solutions."
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