This backyard ADU -- accessory dwelling unit, also called a granny flat -- in Portland's Concordia neighborhood, was built with energy efficiency in mind.The year's end always inspires lots of looking back (as well as predictions for the future), and there are some entertaining roundups online of the year's highlights in home design.
Jetson Green:
This blog selected
which includes
neighborhood. The energy-efficient, 800-square-foot ADU (accessory dwelling unit) was designed by
and built by
Design Milk:
The Design Milk blog takes a look at the
-- or perhaps the most entertaining, which is not always the same thing. My favorite is the River Side House in Japan, which Mizuishi Architect Atelier cleverly shoehorned into the riverside site. Mind you, you'd have to love angles to live here:
This tiny home in Tokyo was built on a triangular slice of a site along a river. At just 312 square feet, it still seems open and airy, and even has a loft play space for the couple's little girl.
Home photos:
The LA Times offers its
They include a 495-square-foot house; a 670-square-foot condo for which the owner, interior designer Randy Frank, drew on his experience remodeling a clipper ship for financier E.F. Hutton; Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House -- an imposing, even scary-looking but fascinating concrete-block structure; and the iconic Eames House, among others.
Interior of the Concordia ADU.Top 10 tiny house books:
Micro-shelter builder Derek Diedricksen -- a guy who obviously likes alliteration in titles -- picks
plus an 11th -- his own book, "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts: And Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here."
Most hideous listing photos:
The Curbed Awards 2011 combed the archives for the
of Los Angeles homes for sale. (Warning: Bad language may offend.)
My favorites (if that's the word) are "Mulholland mansion literally in ruins," "Sistine Chapel recreation just beginning in Glendale" and, best of all, the Villa Fiona -- it's worth clicking on to see the rest of the photos of this opulently tasteless villa.
And a look ahead:
Buildipedia.com predicts the
Hint: Renovation is big, and so are energy monitoring devices.
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