I found an idea that I liked, in a slightly roundabout way:

1. this Unhappy Hipsters post (found on Twitter):

led to:
2. a search for "genkan", which led to:

3. this Wikipedia entry, which explains that genkan "are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house, apartment, or building—something of a combination of a porch and a doormat. The primary function of genkan is for the removal of shoes before entering the main part of the house or building. Genkan are often recessed into the floor, to contain any dirt that is tracked in from the outside (as in a mud room). The tiled or concrete genkan floor is called tataki."

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photos are from:
http://litlotrs.blogspot.com/2007/01/mans-home-is-his-shiro.html
http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai/contents/teacher/mini_en/html/genkan.html

I ran the idea by the husband today and he likes it too.

Benefits:

• We have a good-sized entry that would benefit from an additional separation from the main living area.
• Using a step would also allow us to more easily tile the entryway with a more durable material (transition between materials = easy—a step!)
• I really like the idea of physically stepping up slightly to reach the living spaces
• We could reduce the number of steps that need to intrude into the garage for our garage-to-house door.

Obstacles:

• this could involve too much re-engineering. We'll need to reduce one of the steps outside the door, same thing for the garage-to-house door, and then add this step back, between the entry area and the living room. We'd also have to decide how to cut the step (cut into the living room, or cut into the entry area, or use a diagonal step?).
• we don't want us/guests tripping or falling (like this JET exchange teacher's genkan which tries to kill all that enter it—it does seem to be a badly designed genkan).

The plan is to talk to the architect this week and see if it gives him a heart attack or not (or gives our budget a heart attack). Wish us luck.

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Time to start thinking bout color...check out the latest elevations with some rough approximations on the exterior colors.

These were also part of an exercise to help us decide if we actually prefer to field-mull the window groupings (rather than mull them together as single units at the factory). Yeah, the window saga hasn't ended quite yet. Tentatively, we've asked for field-mulling (waiting to hear architect's opinion on that idea). This would help spread out the windows a bit more, which is good for the interior. Looks a bit less modern on the exterior for some reason, though.

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Husband liked the idea, and then stumbled on these garage doors. So awesome. (I've always loved car repair garages with glass garage doors. When they have glass doors on both ends = even more awesome.) But we're pretty sure we'll find some way to break the glass within the first month. Metal doors can also dent/deform. So...we'll just fantasize for now.

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Windows are the never-ending loose end of this project. But finally, looks like we've settled on a material (fiberglass) and a vender (Serious Windows). To summarize recent developments:

1. We had sourced and were ready to go with a Milgard Canadian supplier (the only thermally broken aluminum window vendor our architect could find at a decent price). But then we got a sample: these windows have a push-out hinge style, and this mechanism requires an unfortunate screen design: mesh housed in a separate, 1.5"-thick frame that sat on top of the window itself, plus the screen needs to be tilted open before unlocking and opening the window itself.
2. Aluminum windows really have two bonuses: wearability (hence their commercial uses), and aesthetics (thinner frames & mulling). Cons: they're terrible for insulation, also the embodied energy (the energy/resources required to manufacture them) is high (they're metal).
3. Vinyl windows are made from petroleum-based materials, don't last anywhere as long, and don't feel/look as nice. They only appeal they have is price.
4. Fiberglass has some not-so-nice ingredients (in the binders), but its wearability is like metal, and its thermal properties are excellent. These windows will last as long as your house.
5. Wood has good thermal properties, and appealing material quality. However, it has high maintenance costs, (needs periodic painting/sealing).
6. We're willing to pay more for better insulation, but not so much for aesthetics.

We looked at four lines:

• Serious Windows
  - they use a two-pane-plus-film design, and use extra-inert gasses in some of their lines (krypton and xenon)
  - they fill the hollows of their frames with an insulating foam
  - this all adds up to ridiculously insulated windows, with R-values from about 3 to 11...their thermal properties start significantly higher than that of the average fiberglass, then go up from there.
  - their finishes are beautiful...and use some kind of integrated color process
  - they have nice hardware
  - they can go pretty completely custom on the sizing
  - their cost for dual color (one color for exterior, different one for interior) was rather high...the salesman apologized since he didn't expect the difference to be so great. but we eventually decided that we probably prefer one color anyway. 
• Anderson's fiberglass series
  - interesting tidbit: made with the mixed wood-vinyl sawdust by-product from their vinyl window manufacturing
  - their finish and color options are pretty nice
  - the hardware isn't that nice, in my opinion; husband was ambivalent.
  - they have an awesome fine-mesh screen option (but it's $60 to $70 extra per opening)
  - their pricing runs the lowest of the options we looked at 
  - I want to say that their colors are painted on...
  - sizing does have some limits 
• Marvin's Integrity series
  - the finish is nice
  - the price is ok, if I recall
  - sizing does have some limits 
• Milgard's fiberglass lines
  - the finish is obviously far less smooth than all the other options
  - the price is somewhere between the Marvin Integrity & Anderson's

Anyway, we ended up with Serious, because of their crazy awesome thermal properties, the quality of their finishes, and we were willing to pay extra for the thermal properties. If you're in the market for windows, consider:

1. thermal properties
2. durability/lifetime
3. maintenance needs (need re-painting? will color fade?)
4. cost (factor in durability & maintenance aspects)
5. sizing options
6. quality of the finish
7. is the color painted on, or manufactured as an integral coating/layer (the latter lasts longer, fades less)
8. color selection
9. the hardware
10. operation process of the window
11. screen operation/options

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An on-going list of vendors for re-used materials...many of these places accept re-used materials as well as sell/distribute them.

Building REsources, San Francisco:
http://www.buildingresources.org/index.html
Description from their site: "San Francisco's only source for reusable, recycled and remanufactured building and landscaping materials. Building Resources is a not for profit organization dedicated to providing our community with low cost high quality materials, in a friendly, clean and organized setting. Our 1 1/2 acres are full of wonderful finds and great values. Project ideas are demonstrated throughout our buildings and gardens, all of which are built using 100% reused materials."

The ReUse People, nationwide (with Bay area locations in Oakland and Sacramento):
http://thereusepeople.org/
Description from their site: "We are a nonprofit, 501(c)3, corporation dedicated to keeping usable building materials out of our landfills and providing them for reuse. To date we have salvaged hundreds of thousands of tons of usable building materials."

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Urbanite...not the radioactive crystalline material from the planet of Urban that renders our beloved superhero Urbanman as weak as a normal human...but rather the affectionate name for re-used concrete. When you remove concrete, you can take the broken pieces and reset them as pavers, re-dyeing if you like to achieve the colors you want. In our case, we might even be able to have the concrete pre-cut into the shapes we want. Anyway, we're seriously thinking of doing this when we remove the concrete driveway and the concrete pad from the un-permitted room that used to be at the back of the house.

We've seen concrete pavers elsewhere in the neighborhood and they look quite nice, and there are many really nice-looking projects on the web. The above pictures come from these links, which the husband recently came across during his research:

http://netzerolife.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-concrete-or-urbanite.html
http://www.terranovalandscaping.com/blog/2007/02/07/90/
http://tmousecmouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/eco-friendly-concrete-alternative.html

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The vendor they looked at is Plyboo—http://www.plyboo.com/edge-grain.html

The only thing that makes me sad is Plyboo doesn't offer this color in their strand-woven bamboo flooring—which has a hardness rating up to twice that of the edge-grain bamboo. We've known a few people who installed the edge/flat-grain bamboo, and it just dents too easily. So...we can always install unfinished strand-woven flooring, then apply the gray wash ourselves (I foresee a lot of test swatches on scrap flooring first).

[Update: husband is not fan of the gray-washed flooring. Thinks the color is too limiting for the decor options. I think I've lost the battle to promote beach-house/modern styling.]

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We were hoping to see a lot of manufacturers (windows, flooring, tiling, landscaping products, etc.) and get to see and touch product samples, but it was nearly all local contractors—not useful for us, unfortunately. It wasn't very big, either. And to be honest, I'm not sure how useful this would be to most consumers, unless they had very specific contractor needs. There were also a number of vendors that I didn't find particularly relevant to home remodeling—start-your-own printing business from home, small craft-like home decor products, etc.—that was pretty weird.

The photos on the ACS site show many more manufacturers' booths, so their shows in other cities might be better. But as for the San Jose show, I don't recommend it.

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Found an overview of some zero-waste living tips on Sunset Magazine's site. The household they profiled consumes less, and aims to generate no non-recyclable, no non-compostable garbage. This page has an overview video with links to more detailed videos for specific parts of the home (kitchen, laundry, closet, etc.):
http://www.sunset.com/home/zero-waste-home-tour-video-00418000073279/

I wish I could say that I'll do all these things in the foreseeable future, but there are some vices/practices that will take a while to give up. But, here are some tips worth noting:

• bring jars/containers to the grocery store, and buy fish, meat, grains, pasta, etc. in bulk, or from the fishmonger/butcher...and obviously don't buy pre-packaged produce or prepared foods (i've been wanting to bring containers to the grocery store & farmer's market...so i won't be the first to get quizzical looks for doing that)
• maintain a very minimal wardrobe
• make your own cleaning products if possible (the woman profiled makes a simple baking soda mix for brushing teeth, but noted that she wasn't able to create an effective laundry detergent, so she buys her detergent in cardboard boxes)
• use washable towels/rags (no paper towels in their house)
• maintain a minimal cosmetics regimen
• compostable toothbrushes
• old-fashioned safety razor for her husband requires less frequent blade replacements

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We'll probably need some bamboo in concrete containers to create a privacy hedge. A co-worker mentioned there's a huge bamboo nursery near Santa Cruz, approximately 1 hour from us. If there aren't better bamboo suppliers close by, we may drive out there some time.

Part of me wishes I could grow a lush bamboo grove with some of the really giant specimens. But we certainly don't have the space, and bamboo can really take over everything if you plant it in the ground (hence the concrete containers—that's solid concrete containers...no drain holes!...keep that in mind if you ever wish to grow some bamboo hedging).

http://www.bamboogiant.com/

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A co-worker mentioned there's a showroom of sustainable building products in San Francisco. Looks interesting—http://ecohaus.com/

An update, courtesy of Susanna in the comments: ecohaus is now Green Depot: http://greendepot.com

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A few weeks ago, we got some steep quotes on windows...later realized they were for all-metal windows, from some pricier manufacturers. We actually prefer aluminum-clad wood windows (better insulative values, and a wooden sill on the inside is nicer, in our opinions). It's supposed to be tough to find clad windows with a contemporary style. Our architects will be looking, and we'll be looking. This is an on-going compilation of window supplier-related links; we'll update this post with more research as we go along:

Forum discussions:

• http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/aff/16/aft/34885/afv/topic/Default.aspx
• http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/aff/16/aft/31380/afv/topic/Default.aspx

Articles:

• http://diy-green-home-improvement.com/wp/2009/05/new-trends-in-wood-windows/
  An article on clad wood windows with a thorough critique of the major window manufacturers for the U.S.
• [added 2011-12-27] http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/articles/understanding-energy-efficient-windows.aspx
  An article with guidelines to understanding energy efficiency for different window materials, etc. 

Manufacturers:

• http://www.sierrapacificwindows.com/index.cfm
  Supplies the western U.S. A member on one of the above forums mentioned that selection and pricing are really good. They have showrooms and vendors in the Bay Area.
• http://www.marvin.com/
  one of the big manufacturers—seems to have good quality, selections, and reviews. They do custom windows. Looks to be the most promising of the big manufacturers.
• http://www.jeld-wen.com/
  one of the big manufacturers—quality may not be as nice as Marvin's
• http://www.fleetwoodusa.com/
  1st company our architect got quotes from
• http://milgard.com/
  2nd company our architect got quotes from
• http://blombergwindowsystems.com/
  3rd company our architect got quotes from 
• http://www.sorpetalerusa.com/index.html
  German-based company that our architect mentioned

Vendors/showrooms:

• http://www.aaawindowsanddoors.com/
  Belmont, CA vendor—carries many manufacturers' windows
• http://www.windowsunlimited-sc.com/index.html
  San Carlos window & door company
• http://charleswindows5-px.rtrk.com/
  bay area retailer with a San Jose location. large selection 

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We plan to source and purchase fixtures ourselves, including toilets. Here are toilet vendor sites our architect referred us to:

• http://www.totousa.com/Products/Toilets/Search/tabid/447/features/watersense/Default.aspx
• http://www.flushanddone.com/

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Figured folks might be interested in seeing the more-or-less final elevations. Latest status is the city is reviewing the plans, bidding is going out to contractors:

There's a green wall that spans the front of the 1st floor (most likely a climbing/trailing vine on a wire trellis), and green roof on the roof of the 1st floor. We're pondering even more green wall on the 2nd floor (vines growing out of containers on the 1st floor roof).

There's a balcony off the 2nd-floor master bedroom. The entrance to the backyard will have a few steps down to the backyard, which will be a mixture of pavered/natural landscaping.

We hope to reclaim, strip, and re-use the existing redwood siding from the house, and apply it to the garage and staircase exteriors. The green wall from the front will wrap around to the entrance.

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The husband has been pondering the idea of building a dramatic chandelier out of eight desk lamps mounted to a central hub. I recall mentioning the idea to a friend of mine while we were still in our old place, and she said something like, "But your place is so......nice." Also, every time I think about it, this post from Unhappy Hipsters comes to mind:

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A coworker mentioned this tool, which looks pretty cool:
http://www.roomsketcher.com/

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Some DIY projects to harvest rainwater, reduce water use, and reuse water: 
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Water/Water.htm

main site:
http://www.builditsolar.com/ 

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Seriously pondering these for the front walk & driveway:

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• http://ledpavers.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/solar-cynergy-solar-led-paver-lights/image003/
• http://inhabitat.com/2010/07/28/luminous-solar-cynergy-pavers-light-up-the-night-in-dallas/
• http://www.solarlightworks.com/
• http://shop.tjb-inc.com/solar-powered-4-x-8-led-paver-light-for-walkways-patios-driveways--pool-decks-p1546.aspx 

Update: ok just showed the first photo to husband. He digs it big time. Posed this idea: putting some of these pavers in the backyard too...

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I don't know why I so dislike evenly spaced, same-height lighting above a bar. But I do. So I like aspects of this idea:

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Husband also ordered four books on gardening/landscaping/edible plants:

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Landscaping with Stone, 2nd edition

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