Here’s an interesting story: a company is hoping to be build a new town in New Mexico. Only thing is, you can’t live there. It’s a ghost town.

The town (currently called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) will have all the amenities that a real city would have, including houses and businesses. Everything would be fully functional with utilities. It would even have a mall (not filled with merchandise presumably)!

So why on earth is this town being built? For research of course! Pegasus Global Holdings will use the town to test energy efficient and green home innovations. MSN Real Estate gives an example of what might take place there:

If it all sounds too crazy, here’s a down-to-earth example: Say scientists want to see if a new kind of smart thermostat can make an entire neighborhood more energy-efficient. They could hand out the thermostats to homeowners in Albuquerque and check in on their meters for the next year. But the results would depend on a lot of factors out of the researchers’ control, such as how warm or cool individuals like their rooms to be or the houses’ insulation quality. And if the experimental system doesn’t work, the scientists would have disrupted people’s lives and maybe increased their utility bills.

But nobody would live in the center’s buildings. Computerized systems would mimic human behavior such as turning thermostats up and down, switching lights off and on or flushing toilets, but they would do so under the scientists’ control. A research team could install the thermostats in a block of the center’s two-story suburban houses, then run multiple long-term scenarios, manipulating the imaginary residents’ behavior to see what the energy use is under different circumstances.

Oh, and since there will be researchers and scientists there to run things in the imaginary city, they’ll be staying in facilities underground.

Although building an entire city that no one lives in might seem odd, having this sort of research space might lead to all sorts of discoveries with energy efficiency in the home. What do you think?

Image courtesy of pascalbovet.com on Flickr.

Karim Rashid & Soda Stream: A Bubbly Match
Shelter Pop
“The award-winning designer has a new kitchen device — and he’s giving his only US interview to ShelterPop! With the at-home soda craze in full swing, it’s only natural that SodaStream — maker of the DIY soda maker — would bring some design cred to their machines by teaming up with award-winning designer Karim Rashid. Together. they’ve created a fun and bubbly limited edition home soda maker that us seltzer-aholics here at ShelterPop are crazy about. So when he agreed to give his one US interview to us, we jumped at the chance to talk not only about the DIY soda trend, but inspiration and good design as well.”

3 Smart Ways to Pay for Your Home Remodel
CalFinder
“As you may have noticed, the remodels with the greatest return often come at the highest price tags. Window replacement, for instance, costs an average of $11,066, bathroom remodels go for $16,634, and minor kitchen renovations ring in at $21,695. If you lack the cash up-front to cover materials and labor, how can you afford the work your home needs this year?”

Rooftop Gardens
Design*Sponge
“Outdoor space is most New Yorkers’ ultimate real estate wish. We initially hunt for more light, bigger rooms and better locations, but even after you’ve found a great apartment, it’s impossible to not eventually hope for a place to plant a garden to sit outside. While the reality of an amazing rooftop garden feels about a hundred years away for me, for some New Yorkers, it’s sitting right in front of them.”

DIY: Make a Sewing Kit in a Mason Jar
Casa Sugar
A picture guide to keeping sewing equipment for clothing emergencies in an adorable mason jar.

Why You Should Get an Energy Audit
Old House Web
“The right place to start is with an energy audit, a top-to-bottom look at your house by a trained professional who can then make suggestions on which upgrades can do the most good.”

We ran across an article with some interesting tidbits about what homeowners want in 2011. Are any of these on your radar?

• Outdoor living areas: Are you paying more attention to things like porches and patios? An outdoor kitchen (from simple to grand) and a fireplace can add a whole new dimension. Who doesn’t love an extra room in the great outdoors?
• Green features: Green is hot right now, but homeowners are demanding practical things like energy efficient windows and water and electricity-saving appliances.
• Open kitchens: If the hearth is the heart of the home, it makes sense people want to be in it. Open kitchens allow that cozy feeling while allowing the cook some additional space to maneuver.
• Smaller homes: To go along with the green theme, smaller homes are easier to heat and cool, easier to clean and discourage the mindless filling of rooms.

Do you see these trends in your house hunting and remodeling plans?

Crazy Rooms (That We’re Crazy About) From New York Magazine
Shelter Pop
“This week’s issue of New York focuses on extreme design…and we’re extremely excited. Check out our five favorite spaces.”

Do You Dance While You Iron?
DIY Life
“Everybody, at some point, has busted a move while cleaning. These people were kind enough to share their methods on YouTube. ”

America’s Most Decadent Kitchens
MSN Real Estate
“Forbes compiled a list of some of the most luxurious kitchens in homes now for sale, with help from Realtor.com, Trulia.com, Sotheby’s International and Coldwell Banker.”

How Much Can You Save with Green Remodeling Tax Credits?
Calfinder
“Happy Earth Day, folks! In honor of the 41st anniversary of this greenest of holidays, I’d like to share a breakdown on energy-saving home improvements, and the federal tax incentives that make them affordable.”

It’s that time of year when we maybe get a little introspective and start to take stock of how the last year has gone. Did we lose that weight we wanted? Read all those books? Finally get on board with this whole Twitter thing we’ve been hearing about?

Since home is, for many people, an important extension of self, Apartment Therapy recently featured five home resolutions they’ll be keeping in the next year. Great ideas, and it inspired us to think about what resolutions we want to do, home-wise. Here goes:

• Organizing: We’re going to rid ourselves of extraneous paper and shred old bills, as appropriate. We’ll also be organizing our closets and not just shoving the mess into there. New closet organizers, boxes and bins may also be pressed into use.
• Cooking: Eating out and supporting local restaurants is great, but cooking at home not only saves money, but allows you unprecedented control of the food you put into your body. Plus, you can flex your culinary muscles and become known for sparkling hosting and fabulous dinner parties.
• Curb appealing: With all the zeal over interior decorating, it’s easy to forget the home’s exterior. No more! This year, we will be painting, repairing, refreshing and landscaping to make our houses the envy of the neighborhood. New walkway? Flowerbeds? Our only limit is our imaginations!
• Greening: We want to make this year the greenest ever. So we’ll be looking at ways to make our homes — and our lives — more energy efficient. We’re going to try to re-use stuff more, evaluate whether we really need something and think of ways to buy locally as needed.
• Learning: We’re going to attempt to pick up some sort of DIY skill this year. Whether that means something like learning some home repair basics, or a softer skill like making our own throw pillows, we’ll be doing it for ourselves.

New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep, but we believe that if you start small and have a purpose, it can be done. What are your home resolutions? Let us know in the comments.

This playful little home, perched on a wooded hillside in Pomfret, Vermont, has lots of personality.

Diverse materials and design elements are all arranged to create an open, informal, comfortable retreat in the woods. The design satisfied the client’s desire for a contemporary getaway, and the assortment of windows facing every direction capture light and views of Vermont forests and mountains.

More than just a contemporary “shed in the woods,” this home was built to be environmentally friendly and thermally efficient, thanks in part to Marvin’s High-R Tripane glazing. Marvin products used in this house included casements, French casements, Venting Picture Windows and awnings.

Vacation Home was designed by Jeff Stetter of Gossens Bachman Architects in Montpelier, Vermont.

One Project Closer has an awesome post about building, renovating and living in a green home, asking the central question, “How do you measure green?” Here are a few of their benchmarks:

• Water conservation
• Energy efficiency
• Resource efficiency
• Community and site impact
• Indoor environmental quality

The fact is, there’s no one measurement for green. There are a lot of things to consider. Are you just interested in a product’s energy efficiency or is it important how they treat their workers? What if something is made of non-sustainable materials but provides an energy savings over its lifetime? Or what if the “non-green” product lasts longer than the green one? Or if a local product is widely available and the green option needs to be shipped halfway across the world?

Lots to think about! What’s most important to you? What would you like to see as standards for green home products?

Photo courtesy of Stuck in Customs on Flickr

Laundry. It’s the eternal chore — never seems to be done. No matter how many loads, there’s always a mountain of clothing. And let’s not even get started on the folding!

With all the laundry being done out there, it’s no surprise to learn that most of us have room for improvement in this area when it comes to living green. Between using bleaches and hot water and drying every single last item of clothing, we’re due for a laundry overhaul.

Without buying an entire laundry room’s worth of new things, there’s some things you can do immediately:

• Cold water works great for washing! Please note that MayoClinic.com does recommend laundering sheets in hot water to kill dust mites and allergens.
• Hang it up! Buy a clothes line or a a drying rack and use it. In addition to saving money and energy, line drying will help keep your clothes looking great for longer.

If you are ready to make some larger changes, then the most obvious place to start is by looking at replacing your washer and/or dryer. The Green Guide recommends that when shopping for a washing machine, you look at ENERGY STAR ratings, water factor, top loaders vs. front loaders and programmable wash cycles.

For dryers, their recommendations are a little different. They point out that if your washing machine is energy efficient, that will help speed drying time. A good thing to look for however is moisture sensors — clothes get just as dry as you need them. And if you can hang on to your old dryer until 2011, you may have some options. The Green Guide says that “smart dryers” are “green machines…designed to use power only during the electricity grid’s non-peak periods. That reduces overall demand and the emissions from largely coal-fired power plants.”

And for some ratings on washers, visit Re-Nest’s round-up of energy efficient washing machines.

Photo courtesy of aussiegall on Flickr

How much water do you use? When you think of that question, you probably think of things like drinking water and showers. But there’s so much more to think about when it comes to your total water usage.

To help you out, The Green Guide from National Geographic provides a handy water usage calculator. It starts with the basics, like how many people live in your house and when it was built, and moves on to more personal questions like the number of showers you take and if flush the toilet after every usage.

And there’s a lot in the way of food that goes into water: specifically the amount of water that animals drink (if you are a vegetarian, you may well get a lower total water usage). Beyond that there’s appliances and shopping. Whew! It’s a lot to make you think, and by the end, you’ll be able to figure out your main water usage areas. If you’re ready to take the next step, The Green Guide will help you pledge to lower your water usage.

Knowledge is power, so go to the Water Footprint Calculator and learn!

Photo courtesy of Tanya Puntti on Flickr.

The end of the Energy Tax Credit is coming soon and homeowners need to act fast to take advantage! The tax credit expires on December 31, 2010.  As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, this federal tax credit allows for energy efficient home improvements to receive a $1,500 tax credit. The tax credit is based on 30 percent of the cost of the product cost of the energy efficient product, up to $1,500. For example, a purchase price totaling $5,000 of qualifying products will receive the maximum tax credit of $1,500.

Windows and doors are a great way to use this tax credit! In addition to a great new look, new windows and doors are often made of energy efficient materials that can save money on heating and cooling bills.

Marvin Windows and Doors has numerous products that qualify for the tax credit, including our new Ultimate Casement with a unique wash mode. This beautiful yet tough window comes in a variety of styles, sizes and options to meet the needs of any home. And Marvin’s large product portfolio means that you can find any number of windows and doors to satisfy your design and energy needs.

Act fast and contact your local Marvin retailer to take advantage of this tax credit before it expires!