Designing a Sustainable Home Around Natural Elements

April 10th, 2015

If you are a fan of green building like we are, you are probably going to look for ways to incorporate your natural surroundings into your home as well. Many times, building or remodeling your home so that it is more in harmony with nature can boost both the way your home performs as well as the way it makes you feel. If your home has a close relationship with your surroundings, it creates a calming effect, and here are some ways to a build a home with natural elements in mind:

Add a deep porch to your home to capture cool breezes during the summer. The outdoor living space will expand both the use of your home as well as your enjoyment of it, by allowing you to be physically closer to your natural surroundings. Plus, natural cooling may help you save on the energy costs associated with running your air conditioner during the summer.

Source: TMS Architects

Besides having a large porch, add shaded outdoor spaces all over your home to shield it from the hot summer sun. This will boost the efficiency of your air conditioning system by maintaining a comfortable temperature more easily. This also gives you more areas from which to view your surroundings.

Further capture natural breezes by aligning windows and doors to move air throughout the home. A moving breeze is soothing and will cut down on use of your cooling system.

If possible, build with rather than against your topography, such as building into a hillside. This will help give your home roots and enhance the site’s natural qualities.

Bring natural materials from outside your home into your home as decor. Native stone and wood will give your home an authentic, unique, and sustainable look and feel.

Similarly, use native plants to create a green roof when possible to help your home blend in to its surroundings.

Finally, seek to capture views of surrounding bodies of water, and include a few items from the past in your home’s decor to further enhance your home’s natural connections.