“It’s time we begin thinking differently about housing, in terms of what our shelters are and should be made of, and of how we create and inhabit them,” Kellner writes in the book “Housing Reclaimed: Sustainable Homes for Next to Nothing”
For starters, she recommends that we simplify our wish lists, embrace smaller homes that are environmentally sustainable, and participate more in building them.
Here are more excerpts from Kellner’s tip sheet:
Salvage: Buildings slated for demolition can provide materials for new projects. Do the demolition work yourself, and you might pick up materials for little or no cost. This approach leads to designing around materials you find, but those materials can create a one-of-a-kind home.
via Buying a home can mean changing expectations | CharlotteObserver.com.
If you’re one of the hardcore DIYers out there looking into building your own home, be sure to pick up Housing Reclaimed: Sustainable Homes for Next to Nothing by Jessica Kellner.
As editor at Natural Home & Garden Magazine, Kellner has come across her fair share of beautiful and sustainable homes and now she expands on how a number of people around the country have built their houses without debt despite the economic hardships of the last few years.
While it may seem daunting to design an energy efficient house, source sustainable and reclaimed materials and finally build it, Kellner provides a slew of tips and ideas on how to tackle this challenge for practically nothing down.
INTERVIEW: Inhabitat Talks to Housing Reclaimed Author Jessica Kellner About Debt Free Homes | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.
Reclamation Administration: News and Research on Building Material Waste Prevention