11 Small Eco Homes That Live Large (PHOTOS)

From The Daily Green:

These exciting and comfortable designs from the new book "Small Eco Houses" show what's possible, and sustainable, in 1,500 square feet or less. Efficient light bulbs, non-toxic furniture and Energy-Star certified appliances can certainly reduce your family's environmental impact. But as population rises, we have to start paying more attention to the fact that the more dwelling space we provide for each person, the more resources we are going to use.

Click through to see what's possible in a smaller size, selections from this collection of 18 amazing small green homes.

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Small is Beautiful

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In 2009, the average American home was 2,343 square feet, well more than double the average in 1950. While new home sizes have dipped slightly during the recession, it's also true that more and more architects and builders are recognizing that small really can be beautiful. We see this in efficient, affordable modular design, and some folks are even going so far as to move into repurposed shipping containers. Some small green homes are envisioned as rustic cabin getaways, while others are on the cutting edge of style and amenities. The new book Small Eco Houses (Universe, $35) by Cristina Paredes Benitez and Alex Sanchez Vidiella is a wonderful survey of beautiful small homes that are packed with sustainable features, from use of recycled and local materials to natural lighting and landscaping. Many are inspiring examples of what's possible if we think outside the old mantra that bigger is always better. Related: Amazing Homes Built from Shipping Containers

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In 2009, the average American home was 2,343 square feet, well more than double the average in 1950. While new home sizes have dipped slightly during the recession, it's also true that more and more architects and builders are recognizing that small really can be beautiful. We see this in efficient, affordable modular design, and some folks are even going so far as to move into repurposed shipping containers. Some small green homes are envisioned as rustic cabin getaways, while others are on the cutting edge of style and amenities.

The new book Small Eco Houses (Universe, $35) by Cristina Paredes Benitez and Alex Sanchez Vidiella is a wonderful survey of beautiful small homes that are packed with sustainable features, from use of recycled and local materials to natural lighting and landscaping. Many are inspiring examples of what's possible if we think outside the old mantra that bigger is always better.

Related: Amazing Homes Built from Shipping Containers

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This Small Eco House

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

I'll keep my own home, thank you very much. I want to live here!

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Comments

[Tenacious Urchin]

09:11 AM on 01/19/2011

Less is more.

[Idaho Revolutionary]

11:09 PM on 01/18/2011

Unfortunately, building a new house is perhaps one of the most un-green things you can do! Why build a new house? The reason because the housing market is in the dumps right now is because there's a surplus of houses.

People are always concerned about being green or an environmentalist, often berating others because they aren't doing something eco-friendly, yet they'd happily build a house in a pristine area permanently damaging the environment.

[Talab]

11:19 AM on 03/14/2011

It's not so much that there is a surplus of housing........ there is a deficit of jobs to pay to live in a house

[AJH]

05:30 PM on 01/18/2011

Other than the copy of the unabomber shack some itneresting homes.

[BBackSoon]

05:57 PM on 01/17/2011

I live in a 1,200 house and it is not efficient, Yet!

[librainstars]

09:53 AM on 01/17/2011

I love number 4 and 5 and then the bridge one. Saw a story on these before. Saves space and heat and eco friendly.

[Studebaker Hawke]

09:50 AM on 01/17/2011

I don't understand why the shipping container living units couldn't be a cost effective answer to the tent cities in Haiti following last years earthquake. Add a solar panel on the top for electricity with rain water capture systems and you could have most of the populace in safe, efficient and livable conditions.

[Lori Silverman]

03:10 AM on 01/17/2011

green living is healthy 4 our children's planet~

[Minolta321]

09:47 PM on 01/16/2011

1,500 square feet is small? I grew up in a 1,300 square foot ranch house. Didn't know we were eco friendly.

[Debra Reece Simons]

06:46 PM on 01/16/2011

Love this one.. I would want a heavy duty glasslike clear floor at least in part of the area to see the creek right from your reading chair.

[Bucket-Of-Love]

05:51 PM on 01/16/2011

What impresses me is not that a house uses recyclable materials, but that it's affordable for the average person. While I think that considering how we build houses, in terms of size, is a step towards affordable homes, some of these examples simply look like designer homes for people with ample resources.

[santiago sherwood]

04:39 PM on 01/16/2011

I think I would be happy with a small house, less to maintain and less expense. I think we have gone too far build huge homes for familys that are smaller than we had 50 years ago.

[SchmataHari]

03:33 PM on 01/16/2011

Undo Huffpo as your homepage. Their moderators will control your posts. They are big brother personified.

[TheRealWalrus]

11:59 AM on 01/16/2011

It's Flathead Lake, not Lake Flathead.

[nothingchanges]

10:59 AM on 01/16/2011

If one definition of "green" is energy efficiency, then building codes need to be made green.

Heating and cooling loads are based on the difference in temperature between what is desired inside compared to what the ambient outside temperature is.

A couple of days ago it was 15 degrees below zero in my town. Not surprisingly my heating system was utilized a great deal.

I personally would build a house underground, where "outside" temperature remains a near constant 40 degrees (F). Building and zoning regulations make that nearly impossible.

So much for intelligent design.

[lrobb]

02:07 PM on 01/16/2011

We will all be "housed" underground eventually. I would rather put off that eventuality as long as possible.

[nothingchanges]

06:11 PM on 01/17/2011

LOL

From what I saw of it......The hobbit house of Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring, would suit me fine. My hat is off to whoever created it.

[GeoTor]

10:58 AM on 01/16/2011

Wow. Lots of these houses are kind of neat. All these eco houses have been situated somewhere off in the wilderness, and you'd need an automobile to get to them, hopefully one that's electric or solar-powered.
When I was in high school, in my drafting class, I drew up plans for a vertical trailer park, with the trailers shifted vertically into their slots by elevator, basically stacked trailers. I thought it was a lovely proposal, the idea of having trailers rising up into the air along side condo towers, on a small footprint, and that the owners of the trailers could move out and take their trailer with them, leaving an empty slot in the sky to be replaced by the next one. Funny enough, my drafting teacher hated it, but my urban studies teacher loved it.

[jobajaKY]

07:32 PM on 01/16/2011

Check out the shipping container mall design for NYC by arch firm LOT-EK. I have seen similar for housing as well. Interesting reuse ideas...

http://inhabitat.com/lot-eks-nine-level-shipping-container-mall-for-new-york-city/lot-ek-shipping-container-mall-2/?extend=1