Green Home Guide
Whatcom County’s resource for staying healthy and resilient at home.
Now more than ever our homes have become a refuge and a secure place to be with family. This Green Home Guide will help you explore ideas to make your home more resilient and sustainable, so you are more prepared no matter what life throws at you.
We hope you enjoy browsing our inspiring examples of green building in action, video tips from area experts, a directory of local businesses, and resources to help you with a green home project. Use this guide to make important investments to create a more healthy and resilient home for you and your family.
Resources
Business Directory
Video tips from Experts
Featured Homes
Blaine Beach House
Situated on the north shore of Birch Point, this high-performance beach home enjoys a view across Boundary Bay to White Rock, BC, and the BC Coastal Range beyond. Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the many decks, patios, porches, outdoor fireplace, and fire-pit welcome friends and family to gather outside regardless of the weather…
Bellingham Bay Builders
824 N State St Bellingham WA, 98225
Bellingham Bay Builders is a residential general contractor specializing in eco-friendly remodels and new construction. We provide services in all areas of the building process; from design and job costing to permitting and construction. Our LEED accredited professionals can help you green your project while shrinking the budget. Shrink your home’s environmental footprint, breathe easier and healthier, and lower your utility bills through careful green design and construction.
Sustainable Practices: Bank Local First, Toward Zero Waste
Deep Green Birchwood House
The Deep Green Birchwood House was developed using the Living Building Challenge, the most stringent building certification in the world, as a guide for Dan Welch and his family. As building designer, Dan wanted to learn firsthand how to implement today’s most innovative building strategies to create a net-zero energy and water home….
HKP Architects
204 West Montgomery Street, Mount Vernon, Washington 98273
HKP is an award-winning architectural frm located in Mount Vernon, Washington, dedicated to providing sustainable, timeless, and contextual design for public clients and their communities. HKP Architects (Te Henry Klein Partnership, Architects) has been providing architectural services to the Pacifc Northwest since 1952. Creating buildings and relationships that stand the test of time is our goal. We are also a certifed Women Business Enterprise in the State of Washington.
Woman-owned, LGBTQ+ Owned
Future Farmhouse
TC Legend Homes worked with owners, John and Carrie Trax, to design and build their vision of a modern farmhouse. Having the home fit the site was a priority, and TC Legend’s design achieves this by orienting the home to maximize solar potential as well as meadow views. The farmhouse style features a wraparound porch…
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union
www.psccu.org • askus@psccu.org • 800.273.1550
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union is a local, not-for-profit financial cooperative operating with a mission that supports environmental sustainability, financial security for others, and job creation. We’re a financial cooperative with a social conscience all in one. We accomplish this is by:
- Partnering with several state, county and community organizations that offer programs and resources for a variety of “green” options for your home, made affordable by our Energy-Smart program!
- Creating jobs that in turn support the local economy because of our partnerships and products
- Offering loans for bicycles and equipment, as well as auto loans for hybrid, electric and clean diesel vehicles
With locations around Puget Sound and full virtual membership capabilities, we happily welcome any Washington resident to become member of PSCCU.
Harvest House
The Harvest House owners are living their dream to create “low carbon local produce” organic farm incorporating aquaculture and seasonal aquaponics in ponds, aquaponics in greenhouses, market gardens, select fruits and edible landscaping, as well as fowl production. The Mt. Baker scenic view house includes an agri-tourism focused guesthouse, a large deck overlooking…
La Pedrera
As an architect herself, the homeowner was excited by the chance to design build a net-positive energy home for her and her family while relocating to the San Juan Islands. Their new home, situated on a rocky outcropping above the Puget Sound, was dub bed La Pedrera, “the quarry”. Through careful collaboration with our experienced high-performance team…
Yellow Cedar
When looking for a new home, consider the many hidden benefits of updating a fixer-upper in one of our wonderful historic neighborhoods. Often these neighborhoods are closer to the downtown core with beautiful mature tree-scapes, nearby parks, a great diversity of building types, pedestrian-friendly layouts, and access to bike lanes, walking paths, and public transit. With their rotting siding and failing windows, these classic fixers are the perfect candidate for a full envelope upgrade in the context of the second story addition…
Cascade Natural Gas
8113 West Grandridge Boulevard, Kennewich, WA 99336
Cascade Natural Gas Corporation has been offering cash rebates to residential and commercial customers for purchasing energy-efficient equipment and insulation for over 10 years. CNGC works with dozens of local contractors to improve the efficiency of PNW homes through space and water heating upgrades and improve shell measures such as insulation, air sealing and windows. Contact CNGC to learn more about current rebate offerings.
Mindful Mixed Use
After a long search, Sean Hegstad, owner at HAVEN Design Workshop found the property that would become the future home for Mindful Mixed Use, a creative approach to meeting the need for a great office space that also provides five residential spaces. The Griffintown District in Ferndale was the perfect spot with flexible zoning and the right price. The site included an abandoned home that was on the northern entry into Ferndale…
Madrona Net Positive
Madrona Net Positive was the 100th home to enter into the Kulshan Community Land Trust, an organization that supports permanently affordable homeownership in Whatcom County. The home was developed in partnership with Cascade Joinery, a design-build firm that specializes in green building and custom timberwork. The design of Madrona Net Positive balances environmental performance, aesthetics, and affordability…
Cascade Joinery
1349 Pacific Place Ferndale WA, 98248
We are a General Contractor specializing in sustainable building and crafted timber work. We build beautiful, green, energy efficient homes. For over 20 years, we have worked with Architects and Homeowners to produce homes our clients love.
Sustainable Practices: Community Energy Challenge, Enviro Stars, PSE Green Power Purchaser, Toward Zero Waste, Watershed Pledge, Whatcom Smart Trips
Robinson Remodel
In early 2016, Amy Robinson, the owner of 3 Oms Yoga, worked with Chuckanut Builders to remodel her new studio on Cornwall Avenue. A year later, her family hired them to remodel their kitchen and bathroom. Built in 1908, their home is a classic Craftsman style in Bellingham’s Sunnyland Neighborhood. Though the scopes of the two projects were quite different, the overarching goals were the same: to build healthy and durable spaces that can be used and loved for many years to come…
The RE Store
2309 Meridian Bellingham WA, 98225
Your used building supply professionals since 1993 – for homes, businesses, and contractors.
• Our store is the ultimate building materials thrift store.
• The RE Store also comes to your job site, business, home, or storage building to pick up your stuff or strip it out for free! Get a free bid on full building demolitions using green deconstruction methods. Visit our web site for the latest workshops and events.
The RE Store is a community-based project of the non-profit organization RE Sources. www.re-store.org
Sustainable Practices: Bank Local First, Community Energy Challenge, PSE Green Power Purchaser, Toward Zero Waste, Watershed Pledge, Whatcom Smart Trips
The Roost
The Roost is what happens when a 1924 Craftsman and New York style loft collide in an acoustic hug. What started as a simple idea for a remodel grew into a local gathering spot for musicians and artists alike. Owner, Nick Hartrich, says “this residential remodel experiment is a thank you to all who have inspired and taught me along the way, homeowners of previous Home & Landscape Tours included!” An early adopter to the Community Energy Challenge, this home is retrofitted for comfort, energy saving, and indoor air quality. This craftsmen no longer has cold drafts! High-efficiency insulation, infrared heating panels…
Molly Maguire Landscape Architecture
119 North Commercial St, Suite 1340 Bellingham WA, 98225
Full Service Landscape Architectural practice. I provide individualized design assistance with comprehensive Landscape Master Plans, Landscape Construction Detail/Permit Drawings, Landscape Construction/Bid Administration services for residential, commercial, institutional, and public projects. I bring over two decades of professional experience to my clients.
Woman-owned
Sustainable Practices: PSE Green Power Purchaser, Whatcom Smart Trips
Millworks Cohousing
The Millworks Co-housing began as a collaborative effort by people dedicated to seeing Bellingham grow intelligently, beautifully, and with our community and environment in mind. Through the process, Millworks developed into an 8-home co-housing community located at 2600 Mill Ave in Happy Valley of Bellingham. This project is of demonstration quality, promoting affordability, green construction and development practices, as well as creative infill and smart growth…
INNOVATIVE IDEAS
The best ideas are often generated from within the communities where we work. We take stock of community needs and opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, create leading edge strategies, and build impactful plans with our partners that can be replicated in other regions.
COLLABORATION
Lasting results are achieved by working with a variety of partners who share our vision of thriving communities. We maximize our impact by working with:
• Local businesses
• Government agencies
• Nonprofits
• Community members
• Civic leaders
ACTION
Innovative ideas are meant to be implemented. These ideas, plans, and partners come together to produce lasting results for happier, healthier people. More quality jobs, growing businesses, clean environments, and reduced pollution provide communities the opportunity to thrive.
EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE GREEN BUILDING INDUSTRY
We know the impacts of climate change take a higher toll on frontline populations than on wealthier people with bigger carbon footprints. And we know there is more we can do to work with all people in all communities surrounding the problems of economic, racial, climate, social, and environmental justice. We are listening, learning, and identifying where we can contribute. We welcome you to contact us with your innovative ideas on how we can collaborate and take action to make transformative changes.
Many Thanks To Our Green Building & Smart Growth Sponsors:
