Look at That

I have to admit that this links are mostly from last week. Sue me. I’m busy and going on my first week long vacation in four years tommorrow. I’m off to Sunny california for some scenery, mud baths and a lot of wine. See you in a week.

• The NY Times reports that 93% of home buyers won’t pay more for green. While I don’t think the stats backing this report are the most solid, it is another good arguement for our belief that green homes should cost the same as other normal ones.
• I like the idea of composting at home. How about composting with a bit more style and a bit less smell?
• I have a love-hate relationships with refrigerator designs. They are so big and bulky! Here are some of the best fridges on the market today. I could see the Conserv model from Texas making it’s way into a 100K House near you soon.
• I like silvery gray paints, but it can be hard to pull off with low-VOC’s. Here is a company that got it right with a thick, yogurt-like paint that only requires one coat and illuminates your walls.

I’ve been pretty lax with my weekly links post lately. I have missed my Friday deadline twice so I am just going to throw this out there this morning since I have a few extra minutes. I hope to get back on track and stay there from now on, but I’m not making any promises.

Everyone loves prefab and now that MoMA has their prefab exhibit, it’s everywhere in the blogosphere. Here some interesting prefab links I found recently on the subject:

• An excellent video on MoMA’s Home Delivery exhibition was created by Scribe Media last week. via Treehugger.
• Books on Prefab! We love books here at Postgreen and we think our readers probably do too. Two new books on prefab are the Loblolly House by Kieran and Timberlake and Marmol Radziner’s Book on modern design-build and prefab in LA. Check ‘em out and let us know what you think. I hope to order my copies shortly.
• This post on Zamore homes has a lot of good background info and links to others who have covered them. Zamore is trying out a business model that I very much like where they charge a smallish fee ($3K - $7K) and provide you with full plans and a detailed list of components to have your own home of their design built in the location of your choosing. You’ll build this type of kit home cheaper than any prefab offering out there, guaranteed!
• Ideabox - Good idea now come is small boxes. Cool. Check it out.

I’m headed out the door for a short weekend respite at the South Jersey shore, so I’ll make this week’s green links list short:

• I found this great viral video a while back from an alternative energy company. Can you guess who the star character is before the end?
• Cut your insurance rates by driving less! New “green” auto insurance!
• Think 1,000 square feet and $100K is too much. Try a Tiny House out for size.
• We need more green DIY links here. How about starting with this simple way to keep those plants growing with a minimum amount of effort?
• One of my hobbies is (or was) audio equipment. Check out these sustainable speakers made of what else? - Bamboo. Nic will also enjoy the url and logo of this site.
• I know we’re supposed to specialize in modern and affordable, but sometimes I really like to look at expensive toys for the home. Appliance manufacturers - Hire better industrial designers, pay them well and listen to them when they suggest offering more colors than SS, black and white. Please! For the love of Pete!

That’s it for this week. I’m outta here!

It’s only my second links post and I missed my Friday deadline by three days. Well here it is in abbreviated form:

• Video of Wind Turbine Exploding. Very Cool!
• MoMA opens Prefab exhibit in NYC. Go see it if you can. K&T from Philly have a home there also made out of Saran Wrap.
• Spotlight on Philadelphia modern architecture firm - Qb3
• Guide to recycling those hard to recycle items like packing peanuts.
• Gore challenges the US to become energy independent by 2018.

This is a new weekly series (Look at That) that Nic told me I have to do. Every Friday I’ll post some of the best and more interesting green links I’ve found in the past week. So sit back, grab a pint and kick off your weekend with a few green links:

1. I got really excited about this fantastic method of controlling and monitoring home energy usage with an iPhone. Then I realized it is just a concept. Still worth checking out though.
2. We’ve been looking at different solar thermal setups at the 100K House blog over the past few months. Here is a great article on someone who designed and installed their own solar thermal setup for only $3,000 and are already saving up to $100 a month. Not bad.
3. Want to have your home rebuilt to LEED Silver standards after a fire? Check out the latest in insurance - Green Insurance.
4. I can’t think of any company that could build prefab homes better than my favorite auto manufacturer. Kaizen!
5. Lastly, we are looking at Frigidaire appliances over at the 100K project and I stumbled across this Frigidaire model that includes a built-in kegerator and tap on the front where a water dispenser would usually be found. I hope they have an Energy Star version!