Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Copyright 2013 Image Design, LLC
Here is a preview of the "Nest" house which is registered as West Michigan's first Living Building Challenge registered project. This project will also be a LEED for Homes V4 registered project and has also been registered for Passive House and ZeroStep certification besides.
Living Building Challenge Certification require this project to be Zero Energy and Zero Water use and has a Red List of material that cannot be used in the project. Below please find some of the advanced feature of this home.

Key Features

  • Rain Water Harvesting
  • Gray Water & Black Water
  • Passive Solar
  • Solar Hot Water Heating
  • Photovoltaic
  • Greenhouse 
  • Clay Straw Walls
  • Durisol ICF Foundation
  • Hydronic Heating
  • Urban Farming
  • Root Cellar
  • More features to come as the project progresses!
Stay tune for our next blog post it will be on a preview of the "Nest" Living Building Challenge Site Rendering.


Thursday, October 03, 2013

Wish you could tour the LEED for Homes "Platinum" "Glenn Retreat" project ? Now is your chance it is going to be on the first annual West Michigan LEED for Homes Tour on Saturday, November 2nd from 9:00 til 5:00.

Key Features You Can See
  • Geothermal
  • Passive Solar Design.
  • Blackwater  & Graywater Underground Irrigation System.
  • Rain Gardens.
  • Edible Forest Gardens.
  • Native Wildflower and Prairie Grass Landscaping.
  • Extensive use of Native Drought Tolerant Plants.
  • Eco Turf Grass.
  • WaterSense Toilet and Fixtures.
  • Concrete Countertops and Sink.
  • Re-Use Products.
Below please find some more link on this amazing project.

Watch a two part video on the Glenn Retreat Project.

See More Pictures and Details of the Glenn Retreat on Houzz.

Read the Glenn Retreat Project Profile.

Read a Article on the Glenn Retreat innovative Blackwater  Design Features.

Hope to see you there!


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Please check out the Indiegogo site for "The Nest Living Building Challenge" project house. The homeowner are helping to raise money for this one of a kind project to be built here in the Baxter Neighborhood in Grand Rapids. Please watch the video at the link below and if you can find it in your hearts please donate to this awesome couple.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-nest-living-building-challenge


"YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD." - Mahatma Ghandi

Saturday, September 07, 2013

  We are proud to have teamed up with "Homes of Hope" a new non-profit organization dedicated to changing people’s lives through the building of new homes & restoring neighborhoods while offering a blueprint for success in life’s journey. We are in the process of design for their first two project. The first project is called a "Home for a Hero" which is a home being built to LEED for Homes, Passive House and ZeroStep certifications. This home will be give to a local disabled veteran and their family and will be built in 6 days!!!! in the Wealthy Heights Historical Neighborhood. The second project is called the "Nest House" (named after the Sociable Weaver Bird) which is a home being built to Living Building Challenge, LEED for Homes, Passive House and ZeroStep certifications. This will be one of the greenest homes in the Nation when finished. This home is being built next to the Treehouse Community Garden in the Baxter Neighborhood.  Please watch the videos below and if you can find it in your hearts to volunteer or make a donation to Homes of Hope (See the Address Below) to help these two amazing projects happen please let me know.

P.O. Box 68482
Grand Rapids, MI 49516-8482
Email: homesofhopemi@gmail.com


319 Freyling Place SE
Our projects at 319 & 327 Freyling Place in Grand Rapids both achieved LEED for Homes "Platinum" Certification. These project were designed for Habitat for Humanity of Kent County and are in the Historical Wealthy Heights neighborhood in Grand Rapids. To date wee have designed 4 LEED for Homes "Platinum" and 6 LEED for Homes "Gold" projects for Habitat. We are looking forward to working with Habitat on several new projects coming up.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Today I went through the pilot training for the new Mi GreenStar Green Certification Program training. As the Vice-President of the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability (AES) we are proud to bring Minnesota GreenStar (MNGS) Green Remodeling Certification program to Michigan.  With over 120 million existing homes responsible for 21 percent of the U.S’s energy use and Americans spending 90 percent of their time indoors in often unhealthy environments, the partnership’s efforts will focus on educating occupants and remodelers on improving the five key categories of existing homes; Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Water Conservation, Site & Community Impact and Resource Efficiency. This is a holistic program that views the home and lot has an interactive system.

The GreenStar Remodeling certification works for remodels of virtually all sizes and types, making certification of those projects meaningful and attainable. We are hoping to be taking a Image Design remodel project through the Mi GreenStar Pilot program, please stay tuned for more information.

Saturday, April 20, 2013


To help celebrate Earth Day on Monday April 22nd Image Design, LLC will be taking $250.00 off our design fee for any new design projects that we are hired for between April 22nd and April 26th 2013. We hope that you all enjoy the different Earth Day events through-out the next week.


"YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD." 
Mahatma Ghandi


Monday, February 25, 2013

100th LEED certified Habitat for Humanity Home
Today I had the pleasure of being at the dedication of  Habitat for Humanity of Kent County 100th LEED certified home. We feel privileged to have designed this home for habitat and the homeowners. The house was packed with over 100 house guests to see the homeowners receive the keys through the dedication ceremony and to tour to the home. I want to commend Habitat for making the commitment to building 100% LEED certified homes and for being on the for front of the Green building movement.  Beside being a projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" project (The second single family home certified Platinum in Grand Rapids). This home is one of only five homes in Michigan that is working with Ferris State University's Energy Center and the National Housing Research Center to test moisture performance movement in high performance wall assemblies.  They have moisture, temperature and humidity sensors in the walls that remotely communicate data. It is a two year study on a number of different wall configuration to better understand these wall assemblies.

Simple, Decent, Affordable, Historic, LEED Certified.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

We just found out we were awarded the honor of Best of Houzz for 2013 for Customer Satisfaction. Wow what a great Honor!

Grand Rapids, Michigan -- January 21, 2013 – Image Design, LLC of Grand Rapids, Michigan has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” 2013 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design. The nationally recognized sustainable residential design firm was chosen by the more than 11 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community.

The Houzz “Best Of Houzz” award for 2013 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the community of 11 million monthly users, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 124 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app.

“It is an honor to have been selected by Houzz for this recognition. We enjoy interacting with the Houzz community and sharing our expertise with them on issues related to home improvement,” said Eric Hughes, President of Image Design, LLC. “We are passionate about the work we do and are excited to see our projects added to the ideabooks of those looking to remodeling or building a new home,” said Hughes.

Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “We’re delighted to recognize Eric Hughes of Image Design, LLC among our “Best Of” professionals for exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Eric Hughes of Image Design, LLC, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

About Image Design, LLC - www.imagedesignarch.com

Image Design, LLC is an national award winning sustainable residential design firm located in Grand Rapids Michigan. We specialize in designing new homes, cottages, remodels, additions and developments and can create a custom home that is suited to your individual lifestyle and the unique nature of your site.
We believe that design is a collaborative process involving the skills of owner, designer and builder. We are strong advocates of Sustainable Design principles, Lifetime Design principles and the Not So Big House principles and are one of the few design firms actively promoting these progressive standards in home design. We believe in the very near future, green design will be the standard by which all other designs will be measured. We are excited to be at the forefront of this growing movement.

About Houzz

Houzz (www.houzz.com) is a leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, ‘advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.5 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc