If you consult for us we will post your picture on the web.

James Bedell (@jamesbedell) has been a follower of the 100K project from the beginning. He also happens to be a young and talented professional lighting designer in NYC working for firms such as Tirshchwell Architectural Lighting. He founded Build2Sustain in 2008, a consulting firm with the mission of bringing sustainable design to commercial environments.

Over the past few years James has teased me a bit in the most friendliest of ways about our exposed CFL lighting and urged us to consider more pleasant alternatives. Well we finally took him up on his offers and have engaged him to help us design more professional lighting options for our Postgreen Homes. In true 100K fashion, James has wholeheartedly agreed to sharing the design process and considerations here on both the 100K blog and his own blog.

Below is an excerpt from our email exchange when we were setting up this consultation listing the many areas we need lighting design advice:

General residential lighting tips for new construction on a budget.

Good sources for residential lighting design for DIY and budget new construction projects.

Kitchen lighting

LED under cabinet lighting on a reasonable budget (we are looking at IKEA options now)

More interesting kitchen lighting like hidden LED lights under the bottom cabs that light the floor and/or LED lights above the top cabs to illuminate the ceiling.

LED vs CFL vs Halogen – I know halogen is preferred for light quality, bit it’s not really an option for us as one of our key goals and differentiators is to have 100% energy efficient lighting in our homes where most others only go 50-75%…

Reducing number of base lights in our homes for cost while maintaining decent light in each room. We’ve actually been told that we have a lot more lights in our base model than most typical builders in Philly which drives up our electric cost.

Attractive (not bulky) track or wire lighting that could illuminate art with multiple lights plugged into one source (see #5 above).

Reasonably priced adjustable recessed lighting that could be used for illuminating artwork or closets.

Budget and modular exterior lighting systems/strategies for small urban back yards and roof decks (our back yard is 13′ x 18′).

James will be focusing on our highest priority items like kitchen lighting and affordable configurations for artwork illumination on the many surfaces in our homes that offer prime real estate for showcasing one’s art, whether it be a collection of pieces from local starving artists or your vintage collection of KISS posters.

An example of Bedell's lighting design

Stay tuned for more on this project in the coming weeks and check out James’s intro post on his own blog. If you have some time, take a look through his past posts for a designer’s perspective on everyday lighting design. One of my personal favorites from last year were his tips on lighting a Christmas tree like a pro.

We decided to take an afternoon this week to take some photographs of the 100k as it is currently being lived in by Chad, Courtney and Teague. It was a good time hampered only by a tired Teague and my very limited photography stills. Despite those limitatios, we think we got some pretty good shots that illustrate one way to use the flexible space our LOFT model provides. Here are a few of my favorites and there are plenty more on our Flickr page.

These images were somewhat inspired by our new found fascination with the Unhappy Hipsters site. So, if you have any captions you would like to give us for these pictures, have at it in the comments. I think you might come up with some particularly good ones for this pic (it already makes me laugh) . . .

I would like to remind all of you of those who have helped us out with artwork and furniture throughout the house. Artists Jon Olivieri, Chris Clarke, Marie DesMarais, Sam Wittchen, Matthew Hollerbush and Bruce Reinfeld have art featured in the 100k. Fosters was a great help in furnishing the house, as were specific designers like Kaleo Kala (kitchen stools), Bench Dog Design (reclaimed wood table) and my father Curt Darling (still need to make the man a website) who made the birch ply cat box you see in the corner of the above picture. We highly recommend the work of all of these people and thank them for their involvement.

If you have any questions or comments on the pictures you know where to put them.

The Postgreen Homes team has been kicking some ideas around with ISA for a couple more stair options for the new homes.  With the release of the new customizable website coming very shortly, it’s important that there are plenty of options for people to choose from.  In terms of the stairs, you may recognize the iconic PSL Open Riser stair.  This design has been a Postgreen staple, debuting in the 100K House.

The idea for the Storage Stair option was conceived as a solution to the pack rat lifestyle.  The three panels in the center of the stair act as doors, opening to reveal space and closing to hide your clutter and nicely blend into the well-crafted framing.  An awesome solution to the unused space below stairs, let us know how you feel about this option:

Another idea we had been thinking about was creating a Steel Stair design.  A bold option, the metal stair has a certain awe factor for people just entering the room.  It is for the bold homeowner who isn’t particularly happy with the mundane activity of walking up plywood stairs day after day.

These concepts are still under development, so definitely let us know what you think of them or what you’d like to see in the comments.

A while back we posted on a bunch of pieces of modern, green and/or affordable furniture that we were looking at to furnish the 100K House. For the kitchen table, we chose a few items we liked. One of which was the darjeeling dining table from CB2 seen below.

Well, we got lucky and were able to do quite a bit better. One of our local green developer friends, Christopher from Southern Liberties, just happened to be starting a new venture around the corner from us. The company is Bench Dog Design and they specialize in building custom furniture from locally reclaimed lumber and recycled steel. We had one meeting over a couple brews and they came up with a great design that can be seen in the images below.

The wood for the table top comes from reclaimed floor joists and beams from both a house on 7th and Catherine as well as SoLibs’ own LEED rehab on Montrose St. The steel is from Fazios in NJ and is recycled. Check out more images below or go straight to our Bench Dog Design Flickr Set where we will be adding more images soon.

As we are nearing completion of the 100K House, we have started posting a bit on the interior design and furnishing of the home. Since we will be living in the house, we intend to make the house a model show home of sorts to walk prospective buyers through that may be interested in future projects prior to or during their construction.

This post has been a work in progress for a few weeks now, so forgive me if the formatting is not completely consistent. This list is intended to be a sort of wish list of furniture only that we would consider purchasing for the home. It is organized room by room and tries to focus on functionality, modern style and affordability.

We tried to get a few sustainable pieces in there as well, but currently we are a bit disappointed by what’s available. There is not a huge selection out there in sustainable furniture and what is available is often very pricey or not very appealing design wise. I could go on, but we’ll save that for another post.

Please peruse our list and feel free to offer other suggestions. We are very interested in your feedback on this post as we have already started sourcing some pieces for the home.

Living Room

Couch

Desire: Mid-Century Modern look and feel with legs. Convertible sleeper sofa for guests.

Blu Dot – One Night Stand Sleeper Sofa – $1799

We looked long and hard, and this is the best option to get a comfortable and inviting looking sofa with arms that converts into a bed. Having a sofa bed is important given the fact that we don’t have (or need) a guest room.

Coffee Table

Desire: Simple, wooden, clean lines, possible storage for magazines. Thrift store, salvage or craigslist find may be best.

Here is a possibly vintage boomerang coffee table listed online for only $150.

STRIND Coffee Table from IKEA – $139

IKEA has a couple of options including this guy that aren’t too bad. We like the idea of something non-square that has room for storage. Finding pieces with extra storage is going to be a common theme in this house.

Chairs

Desire: Compact, comfortable, durable, classic.

OFFI – Perch Lounge $499

The wife and I are in love with this chair. It’s not at all cheap, but we just keep coming back to it. Between the molded plywood with a comfortable, yet simple covering to the beautifully integrated storage underneath – it seems to have everything we are both looking for in the perfect living room chair.

IKEA – Tobias Chair $99

This thing comes in clear also which could be cool. This is more of a dining room chair, but I really like the design. It passed the comfort test and there are a few more chairs in this price range we like from IKEA we’ll consider as well. A thrift store find could also take the place to add a bit more character into the room also.

IKEA Jakob Swivel Chair ($139) and Bernhard Chair ($119) could also work

pause stool from CB2 – $14.95

This is fun option for additional seating when one or two extra friends are around than seats. Folds up flat for easy storage in a closet when not in use. Recycled cardboard.

Credenza

Desire: Mid-century or industrial style, legs, new or vintage, capable of holding A/V equipment

IANNONE – Signature 2.0 Dandelion Graphic Console $2,775

I absolutely love IANNONE Designs as they are local, modern and environmentally conscious. Unfortunately, we will most likely not be able to afford one of their pieces for some time. They ain’t cheap.

IKEA – PS Cabinet $99

I’ve always liked this basic high-school locker inspired cabinet from IKEA. It’s uber cheap too.

IKEA – Torsby Sideboard $299

In case we want to match our dining room table and the white cabinets in the kitchen there’s always this option.

Another option is this Open Source Storage unit that can be made with only $200 in materials

Side Table

Desired: Compact with storage, preferably wooden.

OFFI – Mag Table $169

Back to OFFI again. Not cheap, but beautiful, timeless and functional.

Lamp

Desire: Capable of lighting most of the living room area without using overhead lighting. Appropriate scale for a compact living room area in an open floorplan.

Pablo – Umbrella Light $220
This baby reminds me of the Fortuny Lamp that retails for a cool $5K.

IKEA – Kulla Floor Lamp $89

Simple and fitting with what seems to be a black and white scheme developing in the downstairs. If the shade was oversized a bit more, I think I’d like it even more.

Bauhaus arc floor lamp from CB2 – $199

CB2 has a couple of floor lamps that we really like for $200. This arc lamp reminds us of the classic Arco lamp without the painful price tag. It comes in white as well.

Dining Room

Stools

Desire: Makes a statement without breaking the bank. Comfortable for guests, but not too comfortable.

Blu Dot – REAL GOOD Counter Stool $199

I liked the REAL GOOD chair from the day it came out. I have a soft spot for flat-packed furniture that reduces the impact of shipping. This one out of metal takes the idea to another level over most wooden flat-packed furniture. Coming from Blu Dot, you can’t beat the price and they offer a counter height model that we will need.

Dining Table

Desire: Sleek (metal/glass) or warm (reclaimed wood), one piece, rectangular or oval, seats 6.

I really like the matte black glass and steel table below from BoConcept. The only problem is the price for a seemingly simple table. We turned to IKEA to see if they had something similar and, lucky for us, they did. The table is very similar with the exception that the glass is frosted and not black. A carefully applied can of spray paint on the under side of the glass should do the trick and we’ll still have saved about $1,130.

BoConcept – Dining Table $1,339

IKEA – Torsby Dining Table $199

darjeeling dinging table from CB2 – $899

This option made from reclaimed railroad ties could add a bit of warmth to the back half of the ground floor. It’s not too cheap, but I really like it. CB2 had a few other 6-seaters that we like at more reasonable prices also.

Custom Scrap 2×4 dining table? – Mr. Darling $0

Another idea we are considering is having our master carpenter, Nic’s Dad, design and build us a unique dining room table out of scrap 2×4′s left over on the construction site. The end result could be poly’ed or painted with a high glass paint. We’ll have to see how Mr. Darling feels about this idea when he arrives next week…

Dining Chairs

Existing IKEA black rubber and steel tube chairs. Our current dining room chairs will have to do for now. They seem to be discontinued, so I’m having a hard time finding a good stock image. They are comfortable, stackable and will work nicely with the dining table chosen above. If we replace them in the future they could also work in the back yard or as guest chairs in the office.

We are also scouring craigslist for viable options to replace the current chairs. It really depends on the type of dining table we end up going with. I don’t mind mixing and matching used chairs for a dining table but the wife does not always agree. We’ll see how it plays out.

Bedroom

Bed

Desire: Minimal platform bed with integrated storage in the base.

MANDAL bed from IKEA – $349

This bed is the most economical option and with some paint over the cheap wood, it could look pretty sharp.

harmonica bed from CB2 – $799

A slightly classier version of the platform bed with storage is available at CB2 for just over double the IKEA model. No painting required though.

Dresser

Desire: Low and wide, 6 or more drawers, simple aesthetic.

IANNONE – Green Mod: Wood Stripe Tall Dresser $3,995

Again, not cheap but beautiful. Check out his site for more furniture. I guarantee you will love it.

IKEA – Mandal 6-drawer chest $249

Guess which one we’ll be able to afford? The Mandal from IKEA gives us the 6 drawers that we need with some flair to the drawer fronts. I’m not crazy about the type of wood used on this model, but that could always be stained or painted to give it a different look.

Closet

This is a custom clothes storage option seen in a vintage clothing store in Old City. If we can clean up our closet enough, I’d like to recreate something similar with plumbing pipe and plywood.

Rocking Chair

Desire: Eames Molded Plastic Rocker. Period.

Eames Molded Plastic Rocker $449

Office

Desire: Something that looks nice and keeps Nic and Chad’s blood from pooling in their limbs or requiring weekly full body massages to live. Our current IKEA chairs just aren’t cutting it…

Office Chairs

Herman Miller – Celle Chair $450

Wall Shelf

Desire: Maximum storage with minimal impact on the small office it will occupy.

Italic Shelf – Kadushin Open Design

This design of this shelf is available for free via a Creative Commons License. We could use the same plywood that will be used upstairs and send the files to our local CNC shop for fabrication. I think it would make an interesting piece in our office to store books, files and office supplies. We may even try to incorporate a dart board into one of the shelves openings if possible.

Whiteboard

DIY Glass Whiteboard – $??

Here at Postgreen, we tend to use our tiny 2′ x 3′ whiteboard quite a bit. It’s normally in a completely full state that often hinders us from brainstorming more lousy to semi-brilliant ideas that may or may not ever go anywhere. We have been discussing the possibility of making our own huge glass whiteboard and are determined to make this happen when we move. We have a local glass shop that should be able to help us out or there is always the possibility of using a glass table top from IKEA. Either way, it should be considerably cheaping than buying one online.

Guest Chair(s)

We currently have eight of the dining chairs we will be holding onto, so that leaves two extra for the office and back yard to fight over. Also, my IKEA Jules molded plywood chair that is currently destroying my back on a daily basis will probably stay around for those guest that like added mobility in their seating.

IKEA Jules Swivel Chair FREE ($39)

The future of the 100k Homes is something we have been relatively quiet about. We realize that this is unlike us, but if we tip our hands too far we will ruin all the great surprises we have planned. Also, we honestly aren’t entirely sure what all those surprises will be yet. Just trust me when I say, we’re working on it.

Proof of that work is in our newly announced partnership with Greenable to help us outline finish options for future homes. Greenable is a local Philadelphia green building supply company that has provided many of our materials for the current houses. With their help we will design a range of finish options that will allow for more flexibility in style and sustainability.

While I am going to remain somewhat quiet about the full scope of our future plans, I will tell you that we intend to build a whole mess of homes. The 100k project was designed to create a sustainable, affordable, repeatable housing model. In a way, we hope to remake the idea of production housing with our concepts of quality and sustainability at its core.

Needless to say, we don’t want to build the same exact home all over Philadelphia (or other cities?). This is where partners like Greenable come in. By specing out different finishes, in addition to the facade and window configuration options coming from the architect, we can build variety into our product line. The quality of the envelope and efficieny of the mechanical systems will remain the same, but the homes will all be able to have a different look and feel.

Check out the full press release announcing our partnership with Greenable, and stay tuned for more on the future of the 100k House. We have some exciting ideas for home customization that we are looking forward to sharing soon. Oh, and be sure to visit Greenable if you’re in Philadelphia.

I was tossing this stuff out on Twitter all day yesterday, but I figured there are probably a good number of you that don’t use Twitter or follow me, Chad or 100khouse. Don’t worry, tweeting is not a prerequisite for knowing what’s going on . . . yet.

We are getting to the point where the imminent completion of our first homes and the promise of PR to follow is making us really start to think about the inside of the 100k House. Basically, we are going to be taking this home out on the town, and we need it dressed to impress. This means cool furniture and impressive art. Not much to ask on a low budget with little time, right?

Many of you probably read Chad’s recent post on interior design. If not, take a minute to read it and the comments that follow. Done? Good, you should have a pretty good grasp of the basic concept behind the design and the types of pieces for which we might be looking. But, how do we get them at a cost we can afford? I’ll give you my thoughts and then I’ll be wanting yours.

Furniture:
We are looking for furniture designers, manufacturers or retailers who might have an interest in exchanging discounted rates or loaned pieces for PR exposure. We have a number of print and television outlets already interested in covering the finished project, and we expect more as the finish date approaches. While we are not the biggest deal beneath a roof, we feel like their might be some value in tying a couch or chair to the 100k House.

This might also be a good opportunity for the right interior designer to make some noise. We are shameless promoters of everyone who works with us or helps us out.

Art:
We have beautiful expansive walls and great natural light in the 100k House. What better environment for displaying art? Naturally, it will have to be modern, minimalist work to fit with the decor and our general aesthetic.

Our idea right now is to offer artists the chance to display work on our walls for a month or two at a time. With all of the open houses, parties, meetings and other happenings this should give the artist good exposure while allowing us to display real art at a rate we can afford (free). We would also promote the artwork through our various online channels.

Your Thoughts:
How do you feel about these ideas for stocking our interior? Do you know any furniture folks who might be want to work with us? Any artists who might be interested in showing their work? Can you think of any other avenues we could use for acquiring interesting pieces at an affordable rate?

Help us out in the comments.

As we are nearing the completion of the 100K House, we have been giving more thought to the interior design of the home. After all, now that we are moving into the home, it will become somewhat of a show piece for those interested in purchasing a future unbuilt project based on the same concept. We’d also like to get some good professional photos taken of the home for PR purposes, so the interior design is not something to take lightly.

So what is the appropriate what to design the interior of the 100K House. First of all there is the budget. It just wouldn’t seem right to put $25K worth of furnishings into a house whose claim to “fame” is it’s low construction budget of $100K. At the same time, it would be shortsighted and irresponsible to fill it completely with IKEA and compromised thrift store finds. There needs to be a balance.

In our minds, the balance is between carefully selected thrift store/flea market finds, custom made pieces, reasonably priced new furniture and a few designer splurges. The thrift finds could be from local thrift stores and flea markets, but they could also be from ebay or craigslist. The custom pieces could be simple items made by our cabinet maker, Pappajohn Woodworking, or ourselves. The reasonably priced furniture could come from internet stores, local shops and the ever important IKEA. Finally, if budget permits, we could afford to splurge on a few classic design pieces from today or 50 years ago.

Interior Designers

• Greenable
• Busy Bee Design
• Minima
• Recommendations by local furniture stores you like

Thrifty Vintage Furniture

• local thrift stores
• local flea markets
• local salvage stores
• craigslist
• ebay
• Lushpad

Affordable, Modern & New Furniture

• IKEA
• CB2
• modern furniture decor (replicas)
• inmod.com (replicas)
  

Modern, Green and/or Classic Furniture Splurges

• Design Within Reach
• mid-century-modern.com
• roomandboard.com
• Zinc Details
• Fosters Homeware (local)
• BoConcepts
• 2modern.com
• vivavi.com (modern & green)
• Habitat (UK)
• Iannone designs (local)

Your Thoughts on Modern, Green & Affordable Interior Design?

So now that you’ve made it through out less than thorough list, we have some questions that we are interested to here your thoughts on. Hopefully this will be a starter post on the subject of modern and affordable interior design with a green tint here at 100K. Now is your chance to influence future decisions of ours and others reading. Feel free to answer all or none of the following:

1. What are some other key sources or modern interior desing and furniture that we missed?
2. What is the right balance of old and new furniture? Is 100% in either direction unacceptable?
3. How do the three factors of modern, green and budget rank in your personal scale in regards to home furnishings?

This post is a tough one in that I have to admit I have too many clothes (specifically t-shirts) and make an attempts to reduce my wardrobe down to only the bare necessities. I think this minimalist post, more than any of the others, makes it clear that minimalism isn’t for everyone and that’s OK. Some people wouldn’t want to and shouldn’t reduce their closet. Maybe you like costume parties and have a closet full of costumes or maybe you a classic rock t-shirt from every concert you attended in the 60′s and 70′s. Who is minimalism to ask you to throw them out?

Anyways, back to the task at hand. Below we take a look at my current closet space and inventory of items. We will then look at the closet space allotted in the future 100K House and start a debate on just how many items are necessary in a minimalist closet. I will already admit that my closet will not end up being as small as it could, but I can make an effort to find a reasonable balance for the average American male.

Current Clothes Storage Space:

• 84″ of drawer space
• 84″ of hanging rod space
• 42″ of shelf storage
• 84″ of shoe storage

Current Inventory of Closet Items:

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 10 pairs of slacks
• 4 pairs of shorts
• 3 pairs of athletic shorts (bathing suit included)
• 3 pairs of sweat/wind pants

• 28 long sleeve collared shirts
•  13 short sleeve collared shirts
• 33 T-shirts
• 12 long sleeve casual shirts / sweatshirts
• 12 athletic shirts / tanktops
• 2 sweaters

• 3 suits
• 3 sport jackets

• 8 pairs of normal shoes
• 3 pairs of athletic shoes (b-ball, sneakers, cleats)
• 5 pairs of flip-flops / sandals

145 Total Items

Future 100K Clothes Storage Space:

And now for the future case scenario. We plan to install a homemade closet from plumbing pipe and plywood (or something very similar) that will be freestanding like the image below. Once the closet is removed in the top bedroom, there will be a roughly 13.5′ wall along the far side of the bedroom where this closet will go.

In addition to this, we will also have a free standing dresser along the opposite wall that will look something like one of the examples below and have six total drawers.

So this will result in roughly the following amount of storage space for myself:

• 90″ of drawer space (30″ x 3)
• 60″ of hanging rod space (that’s 2′ less!)
• 60″ of shelf space
• 60″ – 120″ of shoe storage / extra shelf space (depending on whether there is a bottom shelf raised off the floor or not)

Future Minimalist Closet Inventory Goal:

• 4 pairs of jeans
• 5 pairs of slacks
• 4 pairs of shorts
• 3 pairs of athletic shorts (bathing suit included)
• 2 pairs of sweat/wind pants

• 10 long sleeve collared shirts
• 8 short sleeve collared shirts
• 12 T-shirts
• 6 long sleeve casual shirts / sweatshirts
• 5 athletic shirts / tanktops
• 4 sweaters

• 5 suits
• 3 sport jackets

• 2 pairs of casual shoes
• 2 pairs of dress shoes
• 2 pairs of athletic shoes
• 2 pairs of sandals / flip-flops
• 2 pairs of misc shoes

81 Total Items (44% Reduction)

Dang. This might not be easy. The list above is open to debate in the comments. If you think there should be more or less items, now is the time to speak up. This list is meant to be for the average man who has to wear a collared shirt to work each day and also leads an active lifestyle. Some may think 5 suits and 3 sport jackets is way too much for a minimalist closet, but I just think we need to wear more suits and jackets in general. If I had one category to make unlimited, it would be a close fight between suits and t-shirts.

I’m not going to attempt this list for my wife. Maybe she will take a stab at it herself. Her categories would obviously be different and I really couldn’t say what it would look like. I wonder if the total number could remain the same. If she does decide to make a list, I’d like to give her (and all women) an allowance to have an unlimited number of sun dresses.

The first problem area as far as excess stuff goes in our current home is our “Wall O’ Stuff.” This wall contains everything that was previously stored in the basement of our last home. When we originally moved into our 900 sf loft, the contents of our basement took up about 300 sf, so while the wall may look like a lot, it used to be much worse.

So, where are we going to put all of this stuff in the 100K House? If you click on the image above it will open up the flickr photo in a separate window that will have notes on it for what is in each section. I’ll do the best I can to explain everything here if you don’t like extra clicking.

The pile in the bottom right is all of the stuff that the wife and I sorted through and deemed unnecessary for the remainder of our lives. This includes things like extra A/V cables, motorcycle maintenance stuff (from a bike I no long own), an old wine rack, tools we don’t use and an accordion (don’t ask). This junk will either be given to friends, donated to our local thrift store or sold on ebay (apparently old accordions are worth some decent coin).

Above the junk on the far right hangs our brooms and mops and such along with my golf clubs. The cleaning supplies will most likely hang on a pegboard that will line both the laundry and utility closets for extra storage. I’m not sure where the clubs will go yet. I may need to buy a more attractive bag and just leave them on display in the office.

To the left of the supplies on the wall and still above the junk on the floor is all of our office papers, neatly organized in a few black boxes from ikea. These will go in a shelving system in the office or second bedroom as they are relatively attractive.

The the left of this, in the center of the shelving unit, is the basement remnants. There is cleaning and painting equipment, cables I need, misc tools, Nic’s box of office stuff and one mini pool table that provides relief from the daily grind in the Postgreen office. Some of this stuff will go in the office area and some will be stored neatly in the laundry/utility closet. If we need extra room, we may look into exterior storage options such as the benches pictured below. Why take up conditioned space with junk that doesn’t need to be in a climate controlled environment and is rarely used?

Finally, on the left are all of my smaller tools and hardware that I use frequently along with a little wine storage. The wine will move to the kitchen and the tools will go nicely on the pegboards mentioned earlier. If you squint you can see a small pegboard on the very left of the image right below our electrical panel.

This was probably the easiest of the minimalist reduction areas we need to address prior to moving. Stay tuned for the closet next which should be exciting.