Building “green” houses is a growing trend in construction but certainly not a new one. One of our SabbaticalHomes.com members, Jennifer Siegal, has designed and built her own green home and it is one of the first of its kind available on SabbaticalHomes.com. In addition to having her own architecture firm, she is also a professor at the University of Southern California.

The Siegal home is built with all durable materials such as the steel frame, roof and wall panels. Siegal chose water-efficient fixtures for faucets, showers, and toilets. All of the appliances are energy efficient and she uses radiant heat and employs a tankless water heater. It has bamboo and palm flooring, making use of renewable materials. Paints and sealants are no/low VOC. Siegal even used local materials as much as possible to save energy on transportation.

Siegal first came in contact with SabbaticalHomes.com when she was planning an extended stay in Italy. Now she rents out her own sustainable home.

The open, breezy Venice, CA home is walking distance to a bustling, trendy neighborhood and a short bike ride to the beach. “Having a green home requires no more work to maintain than a regular construction, but it uses many materials that won’t ever have to be replaced,” explained Siegal. “This home has a great indoor/outdoor California feel with lots of landscaping, even a vegetable garden.”

“Our last tenants loved the place and we have remained friends.”

by Sara Pritzkat