08 Jul

my green renovation

I’m renovating a townhouse I bought in Santa Cruz, CA in 2005. It was my first purchase of any kind of property and I intended to live there indefinitely, but life intervened and my partner and I ended up buying a house together in Mountain View, CA. Since my townhouse is worth 20% less than I paid for it (or worse), I decided to renovate it and rent it out rather than sell it and take a big loss.

I also made the decision to do a completely green renovation, from top to bottom, including:

  • FSC-certified hardwood floors from EcoTimber
  • New cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms that are custom built from FSC-certified plywood with FSC-certified cherry exterior and a low-VOC clearcoat from AFM Safecoat
  • New countertops in kitchen and bathrooms made from recycled glass and concrete from Vertrazzo
  • New no-VOC paint from Yolo
  • New windows and doors from Marvin, a company with a strong green committment and has the good sense not to bring any more vinyl into this world by not making any vinyl windows.

Although the final bill has not yet arrived, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that even though I’m paying a premium of about 20% over my original estimate, I’m also getting higher-quality products that will last longer, are more beautiful, and have very low impact on the environment. I know my investment will pay off in the end and I’ve learned a lot in the process.

But I couldn’t have done it without the assistance of a company called Greenspace in Santa Cruz, CA. They not only are supremely knowledgeable about green building practices, they also sell pretty much everything you need for a renovation (countertops, flooring, paints, stains, etc) or can point you to the best local sources for other things (like lumber). Visit and bring your contractor and you will both be amazed. They have classes and workshops and a great showroom that really highlights that you can be kind to the environment and end up with something beautiful as well.