Eco-homes and green scenery at Serenbe Thursday, May 3, 2012
As a day trip, Serenbe is bliss, a fresh grass-redolent, shockingly restful sojourn to the country only 30 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
But what was once just a chance to feed a horse a sugar cube and shop the local farmer’s market, has recently transformed into a research odyssey. Spending the day at the sustainable community of Serenbe has morphed from a mere country idyll into an occasion for intensive green research.
As idea houses go, the HGTV Green Home 2012 is a great place to start if you are building or renovating with sustainability in mind. The half-hour home tour, which runs through June 24, offers a bonanza of green materials and tips, from a kitchen counter made with seashells and Sweetwater bottles to outdoor furniture created from recycled plastic milk jugs. Designer Linda Woodrum transformed a 50-year-old cedar fence “headed for the landfill” she noted, into a coffee table and two oversized mirrors. Metal chicken feed bowls became striking wall art in the home’s Georgia room -- a fresh take on the front porch.
The tour is estimated to draw anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 visitors said tour project manager Stephanie Walsh, a former Athens resident who is also building a green home at Serenbe.
The three-bedroom, two and a half-bath HGTV Green Home is founded on obvious green features such as solar panels for generating electricity. But the home’s emphasis on connection to nature and ease of living are part of its green features, too. On the home’s second level, a courtyard patio with built-in grill is easily accessed from numerous rooms in the home, expanding the sense of space. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows on three sides lend a feeling of transparency, openness and connection to that outdoor space. On the second floor, a clever hallway with a built-in craft station and table affords children a space to do homework or artwork.
“Part of being green is about creating the best lifestyle for the way you really live,” Woodrum said. “The craft area is really about creating a dedicated space for the ‘messy’ parts of our lives.”
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