Michigan Blue Magazine Fall Issue

If you get a chance please check-out the new fall issue of Michigan Blue magazine there is a great article written by Lisa Jensen the editor of the magazine about "River Living". One of our first green homes we designed back in 2003 was featured in this article. The home was called "Modern Cottage" and was built on the Thornapple River in Ada, Michigan. The home is a site specific home that was designed for a narrow lot that was really close to their neighbors on each side of them. Every room in the house has a view of the river from the moment you step through the front Door. The home was designed to direct your view to the River not the neighbors. This home was a experiment with green and unique building products and was ahead of its time.

Green Feature

• Metal Roofing.
• Concrete counter-tops
• Stained Concrete Floors
• Hand made Concrete Tiled fireplace.
• Recycled Barn Beams
• Radiant Heat Floors
• CertainTEED Cement Board Siding
• Andersen 400 Series Windows
• Use of the "Not So Big House" principles.

Unique Feature

• Precast Plank for a Garage below the Garage.
• Alder w/matte charcoal finish kitchen cabinets.
• Honed granite counter top with glass tile backsplash.
• Brazilian cherry flooring.
• Catwalk connects masters suite w/childrens rooms.
• Open stairs.
• Connecting loft "secret room" in clildrens rooms w/rock climbing holds to access loft.
• Bunk room designed for weekend visits and sleepovers.
• Bedrooms all have decks and patios.
• Mylar sink.
• Built in sand box.

I would like to thank Lisa Jensen and Michigan Blue magazine for featuring one of our projects in one of its articles. Their magazine is one of my favorite magazine here in Michigan because of how it features unique homes and activites along our Lakes and Waterways.

Image Design Web-log's 3rd Anniversary

Tomorrow is the 3 year anniversary (July 31, 2006 to July 31, 2009) of our Image Design Web-log. We hope you have found this web-log to be interesting and informative. I really enjoy writing it and have received allot of positive response to having it. Since I put a counter on my web-log about a year and a half ago we have had 22,200 people visit our site. I am currently working on a new web-site beside having this web-log. Our new web-site will be able to show more of our past, present and future projects along with being able to purchase some of our most popular plans online. I would like to thank those of you how visit this site often and hope you keep visiting this site. A great way to stay in touch with this site is to click on the follow button on the right side of the web-log and become a Follower on this site!. Thanks to those of you that are already Follower on this site.

May & June Update!

Many thing have happened since our last update. You can read the articles I wrote below about our trip to the Andersen Window factory, our "Watercress Project" completion or our 2009 Michigan Energy Fair show house and the exciting news about the "Vineyard Project" HERS score and it becoming a projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" project just to name a few thing since our last update!

As of this month we are happy to have 15 active projects in our office for design. The picture in this article is from the site of the latest project under design which will be built on Long Lake in Traverse City, Michigan. We have just completed the designs for a interesting projected LEED for Homes "Gold" project called the "The Hybrid II Project" in Pittsford, Michigan that Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes will be building along with the projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" "Turtle's Hope Project" that he has currently under construction. These projects should be fun to watch as Adam turns our designs in to reality. At the end of May we were hired for a new Zero Energy Home (ZEH) project in Beulah, Michigan and are currently interviewing for several other interesting projects throughout the state. Thats all for now.

Hope to see some of you at the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair were in Booth #8.

Sustainable/Green Interior Design

Here is a sneak peak of the interior of the "Watercress Project" that my wife Christy designed with the homeowners. Following the LEED for Homes guidelines she can help save you and your builder time and money by helping you with your Sustainable /Green Interior Design selections. She has experience in the following areas.

• LEED for Homes
• Flooring (FSC, Recycled & Reclaimed)
• Lighting (Energy Star, CFLs & LED)
• Windows & Window Treatments (Energy Star)
• Paints & Interior Finishes (Low & No-Voc)
• Furniture & Furnishings Appliances (Energy Star)
• Children's Spaces & Baby Nurseries
• Kitchens
• Bathrooms
• Water efficient fixtures
• Lifetime Design

Christy is incredibly down to earth and easy to work with, people love working with her. By continuously staying up to date on new materials and innovative techniques, Christy is considered a green product expert. With her knowledge and enthusiasm, she continues to inspire our clients to mix these Green Design ideals into their projects.

The Watercess Project is now complete

Team Hybrid has completed another one. The "Watercress" Project in Pentwater Michigan is now complete except for the final LEED for Homes certification which is projected to be "Platinum". This is the ultimate in Up North vacation homes; the home shell is constructed from ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) & SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) panels and North White Cedar Log siding with a Energy Star Metal Roof. Almost all of the tree's that had to be removed for this cottage were use in the construction or furniture for this home. The interior of this home is unique and one of a kind it was designed by Christy Hughes (My wife) along with the homeowners and is something you really should see.

If you are interested in seeing how the homeowners followed the 3 R's (Reduce, Recycle and Reuse) along with all the other sustainable green feature inside and outside of this home we will be having an open house in the next few weeks, please let us know if you would like to see this home!

We want to thank the member of Team Hybrid for another project well done. Thanks goes out to Andersen Window Corporation, Hybrid Homes LLC, Homestead Timbers, Image Design LLC, Porter Sips and R-Value Concrete Structures LLC for another awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

March & April Update

March & April were very busy months for us. We now have 16 projects under design in our office with several of them in the pricing stages. Such as the Grand Rapids, West Branch, Glenn, Howard City and Pittsford, Michigan projects. We also have several projects under construction beside the one's mentioned above. Our projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" "Turtle's Hope" project is now under construction. The existing cottage (Which was un-savable) was taken down last week and and recycled. The augers cast pile should be going in next week. Please follow the Turtle's Hope projects web-log. The picture above is a updated photo (South Side or Rear Elevation) of our projected LEED for Homes "Gold " project called "Granite Hill" which is under construction in Kingsley, Michigan (Just outside of Traverse City) they're moving along to have this home ready for the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair this will be the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair Show Home. To find out more about these two projects please read the previous web-log posts on these projects. We also have a non-green project under construction in Forest Hills and a sustainable project near completion in Lake Placid, New York (I'll try to get some up dated picture from the owners of this project to post soon!). We also have the "Watercress" and the "Vineyard" projects now complete and anxiously waiting for their final LEED for Homes rating.

Earth Day Special

To help celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday April 22nd Image Design will be taking $500.00 off our design fee for any new design projects that we are hired for between April 15th and April 22nd 2009. We hope that you all enjoy the different Earth Day events through-out the next week.

Take action this Earth Day, encourage your states law makers to adopt programs that will help support green homes like Michigan House Bill 4193 http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2009-HB-4193. Call your local State Representative and ask what they are doing to support green homes in your area.

"YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD." - Mahatma Ghandi