2023 Round Up & Happy Holidays!

Yes, Cally & JR are living in Scotland right now! They hoped to spend 6 months here each year but bringing their dogs back and forth turned out to be near impossible (the UK is really strict!). Cally is still overseeing ADDO Real Estate as the Designated Broker, and making sure our work is tip top.

Meanwhile Danielle (co-owner & daughter) is running the day-to-day business in Seattle, and Teresa Hess is working her broker magic out on Whidbey Island. We miss Cally, JR & the pups, but they are enjoying the beauty of Scotland, as well as the work they are doing at the Findhorn Foundation.

With interest rates bouncing up, homes prices not budging, and inventory still tight, it’s been a tough year for those wanting to buy or sell. Many buyers are sitting tight to ride this out (however long that takes!), potential sellers are experiencing what’s been dubbed the Golden Handcuff Phenomenon, and still others are having to move away or find more creative living and/or financing options. Rates may come down a bit in 2024, but prices in and around Seattle could stay stubbornly high due to lack of inventory!

Despite this (and everything else going on in the world!) we can’t help but feel thankful for what we have and the community that surrounds us. Most of our business is referrals from friends, so we have history together, which makes the work all the more rewarding. Just as you have been there for us, we want to make sure you know we are also here for you. Whether you want to chat about current market conditions in your neighborhood, need referrals for home professionals, or just want to grab a coffee, don’t hesitate to call!

Sending you a little magic, a lot of love, and a holiday season filled with warmth & peace!

Seattle Green Builders – Now Selling!

Now that building season is once again open and buyers are eagerly anticipating each and every new listing, we thought you’d like to know which Seattle green builders are raising roofs to meet the demand. There are certainly many more builders, and all sorts of impressive green projects under construction, but we featured these guys and gals because they have homes ready to sell.

Green Canopy Homes
These guys have created a wildly successful model for bringing green homes to market, and have so many projects in their pipeline, they can’t fit them all on their website! Visit their Our Homes section to see their upcoming gorgeous green remodels and new homes, all around Seattle.

Martha Rose Construction
The ‘Queen of Green’ has been working feverishly all spring to bring her latest project ‘City Cabins’ to market. These high-performance townhomes in Columbia City were featured on the 2013 NW Green Home Tour, and are now available for presale.

Dwell PassivHaus

Dwell PassivHaus

Dwell Development
Modern, modern, and more modern, but while these guys may have started out ‘light green’ they have come full circle with the first spec home to meet PassivHaus standards in the Northwest, and are now consistently building to 5-Star Built Green standards. In Seattle and now on the Eastside, check out Dwell’s latest projects.

gProjects
5-Star Built Green and modern, but always with a sustainable twist! Whether it be reclaimed wood siding, salvaged concrete walkways, rainwater recycling for flushing toilets or edible community courtyards. You won’t find upcoming project info on their website, but they do indeed have a full pipeline. Follow gProjects on Facebook to get the latest updates.

Isola Homes
These guys have hit the ground running this year with Built Green projects ranging from single family craftsmans to ultramodern rowhomes, and of course a feature project on the NW Green Home Tour. Check out Isola’s new homes around the Puget Sound, which is definitely long, and getting longer every day!

Playhouse Design Group
Lickety-Split, Stereo Sons, Cookies & Cream! Dubbed ‘one-of-a-kind architectural solutions for every seeker of chic’ Playhouse is creating modern, green living spaces, and has teamed up with the well-versed Greenleaf Construction to turn these dream homes into reality.

Ready for an in-person tour of upcoming green projects? Give us a call today!

Seattle’s Tool Libraries – Open for Lending!

Seattle’s tool lending libraries are yet another inspiring example of how our neighborhoods (and our neighbors!) are taking sustainability and resilience into their own hands. A ‘sharing economy’, ‘collaborative consumption’, or ‘underused asset utilization’, call it what you will, because sharing is contagious!

These tool libraries offer pay-what-you-can community access to a wide range of tools, training, and advice, as well as ongoing classes & workshops, fixer collectives, and neighborhood gatherings. They also aim to inspire people to participate in community projects such as park restorations, and pursue sustainability at home through energy improvements, water harvesting and edible landscaping.

West Seattle Tool Library
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106
Membership $40 (discounts for seniors, students and low income)
library@sustainablewestseattle.org or (206) 317-4671

ToolLibraryPNA Tool Lending Library
Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle, WA 98115
PNA membership – individual ($30-$99), household ($60-$99), business & more. PNA members may borrow tools for a modest suggested weekly tool maintenance fee listed with each tool. (206) 783-2244

NE Seattle Tool Library & Bike Shack
10228 Fischer Pl NE
Membership $40 (discounts for seniors, students and low income)
info@neseattletoollibrary.org or (206) 524-6062

Capitol Hill Tool Library
1552 Crawford Place, between Pike and Pine
Membership by donation

Ballard Tool Library
7549B 15th Ave NW
Membership $35

Interested in starting a tool library in your community? A good first step is to contact your local neighborhood association and see what’s already in the works. Additional resources include the Tool Library Starter Kit, created by Share Starter and the West Seattle Tool Library, and ‘How to start a tool library in your community’, an online webinar featuring a number of tool library founders around the country.

For your additional reading pleasure, tool library headlines…

Tools are costly and take up space. Tool libraries are popping up so people can share – Washington Post

DIY Heroes: 10 Backyard Builders Changing the World – Popular Mechanics

Must See Projects! 2013 Green Home Tour

The 3rd annual Green Home Tour, hosted by the Seattle Chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and Built Green, is an event you absolutely don’t want to miss! Dozens of homes in and around Seattle, an impressive display of green & healthy systems and features, do-it-yourself information and resources, tour guides and project teammembers on-site to answer questions, and it’s all FREE!

Saturday, April 27th, 11am to 5pm

There will be upwards of 30 projects on the tour this year (so we can’t list them all!), but here’s our selection of must-sees!

Ballard Passive House by Hammer & Hand | Velocipede Architects
The impressive and rigorous German Passivhaus standard is said to be the ‘bar’ for energy efficient homes, and this 1880 sf home in Ballard is one of only a handful that have been built to this standard in Seattle to-date. Can a home really be heated by a system as small as a blow dryer? Well, go see for yourself!

Madison Park Remodel by Green Canopy Homes
These guys are experts at taking tired old homes and affordably re-vitalizing them! The details of this latest project haven’t been released yet, but rest assured it won’t disappoint! Get do-it-yourself ideas on how to improve your home’s energy efficiency, comfort and aesthetics on a tight budget.

MRCCityCabinsCity Cabins at Columbia Station by Martha Rose Construction
Martha Rose has been pushing the green building envelope here in Seattle for over a decade now, and her latest project of 4 high-performance townhomes, dubbed the ‘City Cabins’ is no exception. South facing, super energy efficient, wired for solar pv, and as icing on the cake, detached garages with vegetated roofs!

Clearwater Commons by Cascade Built | Banyon Tree Designs
Yes, we’re a little biased here as we’re helping to market this project, but now that phase 1 construction of 4 new green homes is complete, it’s worth a peak! This 7 acre site is also home to the Mini-B Passive House, a community workshop and gardens, and an impressive stream restoration project.

Grow Community Bainbridge by Asani Development | Davis Studio Architecture + Design
This is an exciting new Bainbridge Island neighborhood of net-zero energy, solar powered homes, endorsed as the first residential One Planet Community in the country. Carbon independence, resource sharing, walkability and healthy living! Who could resist?!

For a full list visit of tour sites in Seattle, on the Eastside and beyond, visit www.nwgreenhometour.org. Maps will be provided closer to the date!

Maybe we’ll see you out and about!