Artisan Green Home in Walla Walla, Washington Wine Country

Free range artistry merged with environmental sensitivity yields this stunning, energy-efficient home located in the heart of Eastern Washington's Walla Walla wine country. Built into the earth with a hybrid design of reclaimed timbers and steel, this home embodies a one-of-a-kind meeting of beauty, luxury, simplicity, and responsibility.

The house at 1250 Reser Rd doubles as a historical collage of the inland northwest, constructed from reclaimed materials as diverse as railroad trestles, crane rails, massive wooden beams from a 100-year-old saw mill, steel light posts from the original McNary Dam, and timbers from barns and homesteads across the region. Salvaged metal pieces were sandblasted, wire-wheeled, heated, and waxed to their current shine, and timbers were sanded and oiled back to life. Counter tops were made from nearby columnar basalt flows, and the cabinetry is hand-crafted from wind-fallen locust trees.

Earth-bermed, 10" thick walls and a green roof buffer the outside temperature, and the home is heated and cooled by a geothermal ground loop tempering a polished, radiant concrete slab. An upper clerestory facilitates the air flow and allows daylight to shine into all rooms, even in winter.

Visit www.freerangebuilding.com for more information and extensive photo galleries.

- 4 bedroom, 3 bath
- 3,000 square feet
- 1-acre lot bordering Russell Creek
- salvage steel and timber frame construction
- basalt countertops and hand-crafted, hard wood black locust cabinetry in kitchen and bathrooms
- slate, travertine, and recycled glass tile in bathrooms
- upstairs office / guest quarters with private entrance and full bathroom
- ground source heat pump, hydronic radiant slab
- natural ventilation system of paddle fans and 20 motorized windows
- green roof of native grasses, SIPS R50 insulation
- earth-bermed walls: Durisol ICFs
- fully electric home is oriented and conduit-ready for grid tie PV solar
- ENERGY STAR appliances: Thermador induction cooktop, oven, and downdraft ventilation system, Bosch dishwasher, Electrolux washer and dryer