I wished I had a better answer for you on the film unfortunately Stacy picked it up at Target about 2 months ago. It was on an end cap as a clearance item, so I don’t know if they still currently carry it. Stacy did tell me that she has seen it at both Lowes and Home Depot as well for quite a bit more per roll (roughly $20 to 30) versus the $7 we paid.

I hope this is helpful,
Jason

Jason

I only have the downstairs shades up (we’re still waiting for the issue with the windows to be resolved) but they are working well and were easy to install. They don’t provide as much privacy as a solid curtain might but they certainly do an excellent job of blocking out the sun in the heat of the day.

Jason

THANKS!

BTW: How are your blinds working out? I remember you mentioning solar shades in a previous post, but if I remember correctly, you hadn’t yet installed them at the time.

Glad my post was helpful to you. I know when I first saw condensation I was more than a bit worried.

Would love to see some more images of your house.

Jason

I agree on the incredible perception of greater space. We lived in a wonderful 1916 craftsman style home for 10 years that had a foot print of roughly 800 square feet for the first floor, yet the Eco-house seemed to be significantly larger than this which was certainly a result of several things. The first one you already hit on, was the open floor plan design which allows the user to visually share spaces. The second is the clear story windows (windows at ceiling height) which allow an elevated sense of space and light. The third is more a result of the building being a demo for an event. What I mean by this is that it lacked an actual roof over part of the building and two walls were removed at the corners to allow for flow of traffic. Although the latter certainly played a role on the open and airy feeling the former are significant in their roles and common features in modern design.

Thanks for the nice comments about my blog and it’s impact but I think there are a lot of people out there (like yourself) who share the same values, ideals and concerns and this has been a nice forum for sharing.

Thanks,
Jason

BTW, I had a great time volunteering with MRES, learned a bunch, met lots of cool people and came away inspired by ways to go even more green. As a sustainable business start-up, I was energized by all the interest and all the questions from the many folks who were checking stuff out. The convergence over the past couple years of technology, price/affordability, interest and awareness have been amazing.

Thanks to you and this blog for pointing the way, showing how to walking the talk can be done with style and reasonable $$ — not just a one-time demo/event. Now that you’re out ahead of the crowd, let’s make it a parade!