Inside Marrakesh (7)
By admin
By Nicole Landers eco consultant for eConnect Group
Marrakesh’s by their Shellie Collierby Solar Panels
Changing the world one home at a time is what Shellie Collier’s company Homage Design is doing. Turning on her clients to efficient, healthier and cool ways to build responsibly and eco friendly is the ultimate mission for her company based locally in Southern CA. Shellie is one of the select few of the USGBC LEED for Home Accredited Professionals (United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Home) in the US.
Marrakesh’s Solar Use Kiosk
The task here was for Shellie to remodel a 4,300 sq ft Residence located on a hillside adjacent to a CA recent State Park, the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in Culver City.
Marrakesh’s Living Room
Electric charging stations lined up in the garage told the story on who the home owner is, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Chris Paine from the film, “Who Killed the Electric Car”. Chris has two electric vehicles, the Tesla Roadster & the original Toyota Rav 4. While remodeling his home in Culver City he has been filming the sequel of the documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car”.
Marrakesh’s Room
The home esthetically has a true Moroccan vibe created by interior designer Charlotte Jackson, but the inspiration came from Chris who traveled to Morocco in 2008 where he discovered that the layouts of traditional Moroccan “riads” center on a courtyard, which mirrored the layout of his existing property in Culver City. Chris found out that the actual home was located on a similar latitude as Marrakesh, each with desert topographies near high mountains, hence why Chris chose to call the eco chic remodeled home “Marrakesh House”. This home will double as a private residence as well as a venue for art, music & culture in the sounding community.
Marrakesh’s Library
Shellie and Chris spent time together considering how to take advantage of what the house already had instead of tearing everything down. The team Shellie & Chris put together for the remodel succeeded in making most changes to the house in accordance with the motto ‘reduce/reuse/recycle’. According to Shellie this motto means “using as much existing material as possible in order to significantly lower the carbon footprint during the remodeling process.” For instance the already existing kitchen cabinets were reused to create bathroom cabinets. A typical home of the size under construction would normally create 12,000 lbs of trash. The team was able to recycle or reuse 75% of this potential waste from hitting the landfill. In building areas the needed new lumber they chose to use FSC (Forest Steward Council Certified) so not to take wood from unmanaged forests.
Marrakesh’s Master Bed
The home had a few keys companies step up to be a part of this eco platform. REC Solar a local company, installed Mitsubishi photovoltaic roof panels to generate solar power for both plug-in electric vehicles and the residence itself. In CA we have bright sun almost all year round we might as well take advantage. Toto USA a leading bathroom & kitchen fixture company supplied the dual flush toilets & the low flow faucets that automatically shut off which creates a water efficient home especially in our current drought problem. Pittsburgh Paint donated VOC-free (volatile organic compound free) paint for much of the entire floor plan aiding in creating a healthier indoor environment.
There are many other eco elements of this residence that help the home to be energy & water efficient including, LED dimmable strip lights for under the kitchen cabinets, Solar Thermal to create heat for the domestic water, drought tolerant & native landscaping with LED landscape lights as well as drip irrigation system and high-efficiency nozzles. All of these decisions reduced the total carbon footprint of the house.
Marrakesh’s Pool
Shellie & Chris have completed the mission of making a statement that you don’t have to compromise style to be green, you just have to be willing to go the extra mile. But that mile will result in years in savings on energy and water bills as well as a home to show off to your family, friends and the community you live in.
A great take away for us all is the 3 R’s, reduce reuse & recycle. We only have one planet lets all do our part, especially while remodeling your own home.
For more information on the Marrakesh home, http://marrakeshhouse.com/