Bamboo House

http://www.bambooliving.com/big-island-open-house.html

I was just moved to tears watching a video from Bamboo Living. My reservations about moving the the Big Island was mainly that I would get "stuck" living in a house that I didn't want to grow old in. Not that I will actually ever grow old... The house we live in now is great, we've really done a lot to bring the house up to date. Of course my favorite part of our current house is the reclaimed wood floor I had put in. Alas, I digress. 

The last time we were in Hawaii I looked at a great piece of land, which my mother in law hated! because it was right on the road. However she does not understand that we currently live right next to a HIGHWAY. I can live next to a road in Hawaii because I have lived one house away from a major interstate and have many a morning looked out my window at the sound barrier. But she is probably right, if you are going to live in paradise you better make sure you surround yourself in it :) 

Alas, I digress again. I started looking at eco-friendly housing materials, possibly to just occupy my time. There were a lot of ideas coming out of the UK and Germany- shipping container houses and big glass bubbles. They all look fantastic but I am not the "modernist" type. I am looking for some old Hawaii feel, a  1930's house with built in cabinets, or a rustic plantation hut. I stumbled upon bamboo housing by searching for "eco friendly building materials" on google.

 

Bamboo living seems to be the only place that I can find on the web that is building on the Big Island. Bamboo is not only completely sustainable, but its also incredibly durable. Bamboo homes can withstand hurricanes, earthquakes, termites, fungus and the list goes on and on. This is the best site I've found so far that shows "real houses" made out of bamboo and not high fashion architecture. The David Sands Collection Polynesian style is my favorite and at $80 per square foot it seems like I might be on to something :)

Bamboo Living is having an open house on the Big Island, by the lava tree park ( love that place). You should check it out, I know I would if I could. It isn't that I am an eco-friendly nut case, really there are plenty of things that I do that I am sure contribute to the death of our planet. I just can't help but be drawn to the idea of limiting the deleterious effects of our society on possibly my favorite place on earth. 

Time to leave work!

Forever seeking Aloha,

Britt

Big Island Open House

Saturday, February 20th 11AM - 3PM
Contact: Bamboo Living at 877-857-0057 or Josi on the day of the event, 612-812-1713
Directions from Hilo

• Take Hwy 11 south out of Hilo

• Turn left on Hwy 130 just before Keaau town

• Stay on 130 all the way to Pahoa, but stay on hwy until the first stop light (don't turn into Pahoa town)

• At the stop light turn left on Old Pahoa Rd

• Stay on Old Pahoa rd until you see Lava Tree park on the left then there will be a fork in the road and you go right onto Pohoiki Rd

• About 3 miles down Pohoiki Rd there's a sign that says single lane road and the yellow line ends in the middle of the road. Immediately after the yellow line ends there are two driveways on the left, it's the second driveway on the left with the number 13 spray painted on a rock.

house hunting

It may be slightly too early to check out houses in Hawaii, but I need something to do to pass the time at work. We have been tossing around the idea of the husband going on active duty and moving into base housing on Oahu ( he'll be Lieutenant so the houses won't be horrible). We'd be able to save some money and possibly have the military move us out there. But I really want to live on the Big Island. Trulia has become my best resource for house hunting. I LOVE what the owners have done with this house:
http://www.trulia.com/property/1076418478-197-Kaiulani-St-Hilo-HI-96720

But I can see the hidden potential in
http://www.trulia.com/property/1090912308-28-2889-Kaakepa-St-Pepeekeo-HI-96783

My husband and I don't usually see eye to eye when it comes to seeing hidden potential and this is one of those times. We want a house that has a decent sized lot for my green thumb to run wild :) but also enough space inside. We've been spoiled, because every time we come to Hawaii we stay in a nice large house. I am just not sure how much renovations cost in Hawaii. Plus, if a home costs around $400,000 don't you want to just slap some paint on the walls and call it a day? Personally I'd like a house around $250,000 that needs some work, maybe upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms, with a big lanai, established fruit trees and a great ocean view. The neighborhood needs to be safe and far enough from my mother-in-law that she can't walk in every morning. Much love Sarito!
I think either living near Pepeekeo is as far North as we would go (on the Hilo side anyway) and Hilo is as far South. We could go inland to the Hilo Medical Center area but I don't want to be able to see into my neighbor's window from any room in the house. I'd like at least one acre to play with.

I've already had some experiences with home improvements. Some have turned out fabulously while others have been downright disasters. My best renovation so far has been my reclaimed antique oak floors. I did my research and found a somewhat local mill- The Woods Company located in Chambersburg PA. They have a section on their website that has wood on sale, mainly because the amount of wood they have left in that type isn't enough for most jobs. I got quote and in about two weeks they had milled the pieces to be tongue-and-groove with end matching. The room we re-did was pretty small and almost a perfect square. I hired a local company to come in and install the floor, after my husband and I ripped up the ghastly carpet that was already on the floor. I had some stressful moments but the floor is my favorite thing about the house.
The worst home improvement was changing the fixtures in the bathroom. We ended up having to hire a plumber because one of the pipes crumbled when we tried to twist it. Not fun!

Well daydreaming is done and back to work I must go.
Forever seeking Aloha

Britt