Gallery: Stunning Green Family Home Se...

Here is a house that we bet you wish you grew up in. Built for a large family and developed to reduce its environmental footprint, this home feels a lot like summer camp. Located on a twenty acre site in a redwood forest, the compound designed by CCS Architecture showcases sustainable building strategies ranging from a solar thermal system, to reclaimed materials, and radiant heating floors, and it has all the features a busy family would need packed into a relatively small footprint. Naturally, it all starts in a fantastic kitchen.

Sited in Aptos, CA near Santa Cruz, the 2,800 square foot main house’s anchoring feature is an 18 ft long single-piece kitchen island reclaimed from a fallen walnut tree. The island sits adjacent to a massive movable glass wall system that opens a full 32 ft, allowing the space to pour into the yard. Clad in reclaimed barn wood and a Corten rusted steel roof, the home soaks in the agreeable California coastal sun and is cooled by the ocean breezes.