BRIGHT IDEA HOMES

Most people have certain house styles they like and certain kinds they don't like. Maybe you are interested in building a house in a particular style and you wonder if the Greenhouse Cap roof would work on it. If you have pictures of the style with a floorplan of the house, then perhaps I can help you.

However, a word of warning is appropriate here. If you are more interested in capturing the pure style essence of an era or geographic area than you are in sustainability and helping our planet, then a Bright Idea Home is not your style. Although greenhouses have been around for centuries (I think), they are not traditionally found as roofs of houses. You must want to live with an attractive but unconventional style. You must have a bit of the pioneer spirit.

Of course, there is the possibility of a faux roof, like they made for cowboy towns in old movies. With the right orientation, a Greenhouse Cap might be hidden behind one of those. I designed one of these some years ago. But the house style suitable for this has a very steep pitch to the roof. With a Greenhouse Cap behind it, the faux roof would only be a high, probably shingled, wall with side edges angled in toward the top to look like a real roof from street level. The neighbors would know better, but they might be envious as well when they see what's behind it. See my recent update of this idea under the Photos tab - Bright Idea Home - New Millenium.

A greenhouse is neither modern nor traditional, or, should I say it can be both, adaptable to either kind of home. It can have any color framing with side glass of any transparency and therefore privacy (as long as the glass roof is clear).

Such an attractive modification to home design which also helps lower or eliminate thermal costs is an offer the future cannot refuse. The future is green AND sustainable. If not, the planet dies along with all its children.

Send me your style example picture and the plan and I might have some spare moments to turn them into a house with a Greenhouse Cap with big skylights. Then, if you like it, you could take this idea to your architect and show him what you want. I am willing to do this for free to see my vision become reality. Of course, if this offer gets too popular and takes all my time, I'll have to start charging for it.

Although the Greenhouse Cap will work by itself, it is best integrated with other green systems, saving you more money in the long term and making you less dependent on non-local fuel or the power grid. For this, you also need a green professional: a builder or an architect or a systems engineer. See the Links tab for a green directory.

If you want to give it a try, contact me by leaving a message under the Posts tab. No guarantees, but I'll see what I can do and, believe me, I'll let you know!

Here are some photos of different home style examples (Cape Cod, modern, ranch, colonial, farmhouse) which might be built using a Greenhouse Cap.