HGTV Green Home

This afternoon my Ma and I went up to Stapleton to tour the HGTV Green Home. Before Denver International Airport opened in the mid-90's, Stapleton served as Denver's airport. It was located NNE of downtown Denver. Of course, Denver has expanded through the years, and Stapleton was no longer out in the boonies. After careful planning, Denver has done a great job of turning Stapleton into a vibrant community with housing, businesses, schools, open space, etc.

This year, HGTV chose to decorate a green (energy efficient, made from recycled or green materials, etc.) home in a new housing development in the Stapleton area. Eric and I had caught a bit of the TV episode featuring this home, but I have to admit I was only half-watching. Must have been grading. Or blogging. It was interesting to tour the home in real life. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, but for the most part I really liked the decorating choices. They would be practical for normal-sized houses, instead of what would be better suited for mansions. Some day, I hope to use what I saw as an inspiration for replacing our bachelorhood furnishings. Some day.

Stapleton Discovery Center, where we caught the shuttle.

On the front patio of the Green Home. I think this was a little warming station.
Front living room- yellows and greys.

TV hidden behind art, a feature that I've always liked. One of the guys on our tour was amazed by this. He must never watch HGTV.
Double oven, coffee maker, but NO MICROWAVE. Our tour guide explained that there is no such thing as a microwave which is "green". They couldn't put one in if they wanted to receive the "Platinum" energy rating for the home. As she said, they are convenient, but not energy efficient. None of us could imagine living without a microwave.



There was a little dining alcove off of the kitchen.
(A few of the following photos are a little out of place. I was trying to take pictures after the other people in our group had moved on.)

A chair made out of radiators. I wish I could have sat in it, but most of the house was roped off.

Mathy looking sculpture, which I liked.
View out the front living room.
To the upstairs.
Ma checking out the dining area.
Couch pillows which emphasize the color scheme. The tour guide said HGTV bought most of the furnishing locally, which I liked to hear. Many of the fabrics are considered "green" because they had been used elsewhere, had been re-purposed from other places, etc.

Patio on the side of the house sits just outside of the dining area.
Pretty backsplash which we've seen used on quite a few decorating shows over the past few years. Usually, it's made from recycled glass. I included the light switches so you could see how small each tile is.
On the way to the garage.
The "do" room- washer and dryer. (Surprised a dryer can be energy efficient, but not a microwave.)
Art work above washer/dryer.
Little sink and hanging rod just to the right of washer/dryer.
Gift wrapping station.
Two desk areas.

Small sitting area in the "do" room.
Small powder room on the way upstairs.
Looking back at the kitchen and living room as we head upstairs.

View of the old Stapleton control tower. It will remain there, but the community is still trying to decide what to do with it. Restaurant, museum, sculpture, etc.
Landing area at the top of the stairs.
1st bedroom, which was very big.
2nd bedroom, which was way too small.

The tour guide showing us the iPad app which displays the energy use. Several of the tour guides were excited to tell us that the most recent energy bill was $6 for the month. The iPad is also used for controlling lights, locks, shades, sprinkler system, etc.
Master bedroom. Much of the wood which was used in the house came from the forests which were destroyed by the pine-bark beatle in recent years.


Master bath.
Overall, I would say too much room was given to the master suite and not enough to the second bedroom. That was the builder's choice, not HGTV.
My lovely Ma checking out a niche on the way into the master suite which could also be used for laundry, storage, small office, etc.
View of the United Airlines training center. I took the picture for Eric. When I showed it to him, he said he actually did a training day there when he was in college at Univ of North Dakota. Little did he know he would end up moving to Colorado and meeting me. :)
Stapleton control tower reflected in the mirror.
Little sitting area on the way out to the garage. I'd like to install a bench like this with the cupboards up above in our mud room/laundry room.

Dog washing area in the garage. Or in our case, messy toddler hosing off area?
Fake grass and retaining walls made out of pieces of the Stapleton runway. It's been nicknamed Staplestone and is used all throughout the community.
Outside patio and grill.




Thank, Ma. I had a good time. :)