Fredley Home Designer

If you are interested in an amazingly creative designer and builder, we wholeheartedly recommend,

dbBrad

360 920 8280

 brad@dbbrad.com

Attention to Detail

One can admire our home, without seeing the details.  Details that are deliberately, carefully and brilliantly carried out, with skill and outstanding workmanship.  The materials used were  recycled from old growth lumber.  To not see this home as durable, living art, is missing it's beauty and craftsmanship.    It is sustainability in action.  We often say, "we are living in art", art that will live on and on and on...

Bedroom floor is created with  the milled spruce flooring grooved and slid onto metal strips.  The metal strips are attached to the subflooring, with no nail or screw attachments in the wood itself. 

Seamlessly metal meets old recycled timbers, which meet old recycled spruce.

Joinery is strong, beautiful and skillfully incorporated into all parts of this home.

Ceteis Paribis

I must admit to being confused.  When I calculate my footprint on the earth, based on a number of on line formulas, the criteria consists of things like eating locally and organically; driving little and in a small car, or better using public transportation; purchasing energy efficient appliances; using efficient light bulbs; and turning off lights and turning down the heat.  Ok that all makes sense.  But what about space.  No questions, in the sites I consulted, is square footage included.  How big is the space I heat or light or that occupies the land?   How many lights do I have to turn off since my space is small?  If I only have a  few lights in a small space, but fail to turn them off all the time when not in use, is that worse than having dozens of lights all the time, but always turn them off when not in use?  It seems strange to me that size is not factored in.

Right now we live in a very small home of 870 square feet, yet the questions do not address the size of our home.  

Our big living but very small home of 870 square feet.

Then, when I fill out the same questions about the 100 square foot van we plan on living in full time, I get worse results because my answers are mostly the same but miles driven increase and our windows are not double pane.

Sprinter Airstream Westfalia

Ceteis paribis, every thing else being equal, square footage must make a difference.  There's an elephant in the room -- square footage.  Why are we not addressing how large we live?  Am I really to believe that my good or bad habits of such things as turning off the lights or replacing my light bulbs determines my foot print with no consideration to how large I live?

For Sale

Our beautiful home is for sale.  It's with a heavy heart on the one hand but with excitement and glee on the other.  We will be doing an ultimate downsizing and move into our new 2005 Sprinter Airstream Westfalia van to travel North America.  Click Thistle Adventure to follow our adventure.

Here are a a few photographs of our green home on Whidbey Island, located in the town of Langley, WA.  It is situated on 1/3 acre, fully landscaped with vegetable garden, pond, stream and a mixture of native plantings and ornamental plantings.  If you're a bird enthusiast you will enjoy the vast numbers and varieties of birds visiting the garden.  The three buildings were built by dbBrad using recycled materials.  

carport with office, laundry, bath, storage and workshop

main living and bedroom wing overlooking pond

pond and water catchment system

bed/bath building overlooking pond

bridge from bedroom to living area

west side garden

patio

dining/kitchen

living room

view from bath into bedroom, past library

If you are interested please call Amy Raymond, 206 396 7016, or Shellie Moore, 206 391 1087 at Windermere Real Estate in Langley, Washington.   MSL# 657 460  Offered at $600,000.

New Gate

Our home has a new entry gate showcasing another fabulously creative design by dbbrad.

Mr. Ed looks dwarfed

Fredley Recycling Continues

The lumber left over from the Fredley project has been stored in our barn, but it's now moving on to its new home in Clinton.

Brad loading his truck with recycled beams

As always the load is bigger, longer, heavier than the truck hauling it!

The Fredley construction tent is now Brad's construction tent.  The left over recycled lumber is now residing, once again in the tent,  in Clinton, awaiting the development of Brad's property.

Yessi, Brad & Benton filling up the construction tent

Wow!

Wow! is right!  It's been almost a year since I've posted on Fredley on Whidbey.  I've been doing my blogging on Home on Whidbey instead.  

Brad finished up 2012 with 5000 miles of hiking under his belt and a wonderful relationship developing with Yessi from Xiamen, China, the woman he trekked the Annapurna Circuit with at the end of last year (and my last post on this blog).

Yessi & Brad, Annapurna Circuit

In the spring Yessi came to the U.S. for four months to hike with Brad as he recorded trail miles and conditions for Green Trail Maps.  They started their adventure with a motorcycle trip to California; joining fellow 2012 thru-hikers at the 2013 PCT kickoff party; and then hiking Big Sur. 

Yessi & Brad, California

Brad & Yessi's mode of transportation through Washington, Oregon & California 

A sweet little cottage on Whidbey Island was their summer retreat between northwest hiking trips to the Olympics, Cascades,  Mt. Rainier and Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Brad & Yessi, Mt. Rainier

Then Yessi returned to China and we all mourned her absence. But, woohoo, she returned in two months and she's here still and we're delighted!

Yessi & Brad

  

In the meantime, Ed and Fran are traveling to Cuenca, Ecuador in January to check it out for four weeks in anticipation of moving there permanently in the spring of 2013. 

Fran, Ed & Benton in Garden on Grace

We wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season!

“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings,

 all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white’.” 

~ Bing Crosby ~