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Gracefully Green

This Minnetonka home is eco-friendly, inside and out

Photo by Jim Kruger, Landmark Photography

The most recent addition to Portico on the Green, a unique conservation neighborhood in Minnetonka developed by Keith Waters & Associates, has yet another eco-friendly addition: a Minnesota GreenStar Pilot Project home that shows off many renewable and recycled materials, as well as sustainable building techniques and energy-efficient technologies. “Green building means good construction and durability,” says Keith Waters, president of the company. He put those dictums—and many more—into practice in this home. Also Midwest Living’s 2008 Idea Home, it incorporates many regional products and suppliers and green materials, including a solar hot-water heating system, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified framing lumber and hardwood flooring, low-Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) paints and finishes, high-efficiency heating and cooling, and Energy Star appliances. The home is also roughed in for a solar photovoltaic electric system.

Here, “green building” also means comfort and beauty. The open design of the great room/kitchen/dining room at the rear of the home is a welcoming casual living space. Waters included in-demand amenities such as dual owners’ suites, a lower-level space easily used as living quarters for parents or boomerang kids, and a roughed-in elevator shaft. This 4,671-square-foot home is designed to meet the future owners’ desire to “age in place”—and enjoy every minute doing it. —C.L.

Builder

Keith Waters & Associates, Inc.

Home location

Minnetonka

Suppliers

Marvin Windows and Doors
Minneapolis Glass Company
Phantom Screens
Pipeline Supply, Inc.
Tile By Design
WD Flooring, LLC

For more information on featured products and suppliers, please see our Buyer's Guide.