Dreaming Green» Dreaming Green Eco Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire by Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher

Welcome…

Lisa Sharkey — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:14:37 +0000

Welcome to the companion site for our new book, “Dreaming Green Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire”. Just five years ago, when our family began a top-to-bottom green renovation of a Manhattan brownstone, it seemed like a completely radical decision. Even though I’m in media and always up on the latest studies and trends, and Paul is an architect, earth-friendly design never seemed like a viable option for us. As city dwellers, it was something we associated with hippie living – picturing far-out houses with roofs made from soda cans, wind generators in the back yard and lifeless brown hemp fabrics. It took an emotional meeting at an environmental fundraiser with a couple who built an eco-friendly house after they lost a child to an environmental cancer to make us aware of the link between health and home. As parents of three growing children, we are concerned about the environmental toxins our family is exposed to every day, and we’d introduced organic produce, natural beauty products and homeopathic medicine into our home. However, we didn’t know about the lurking dangers most of us have inside our homes. It was frightening to learn that items we all have such as mattresses, cabinets and rugs, contain toxic chemicals like flame-retardants, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds. What’s worse is that those chemicals stay in our homes for years, off-gassing into the air we breathe and causing a host of potential problems that are being linked to diseases such as asthma, cancer and Alzheimer’s.

After that life-changing meeting, Paul and I knew that for the health of our planet and for our children, we had to go completely green. To be completely honest, though, we didn’t know exactly what that would entail; it was literally like stepping into an entirely new world. We can tell you however, that it was one of the smartest and best decisions we ever made.

The homes featured in our book are exceptional. But one day, green building will be the rule and not the exception. We hope you’ll join us in this revolutionary ideal by sharing your ideas and exploring the world of green living as we all learn how to live more healthy lives.

- Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher

You can read more about our green townhouse plus 16 more urban, suburban and rural green homes in our book, “Dreaming Green”

On sale Now. You can order your copy here:

See Lisa & Paul’s Green Townhouse Featured on GMA Now

Tim — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:32:47 +0000

ABC’s Sam Champion tours Lisa and Paul’s eco-friendly townhouse and Heidi Jones interviews Lisa on dreaming, building and living green. You can see it all right here.

Dreaming Green is on sale Now. Order your copy today:

Green Tip of the Week #2 Light up Your Life…

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:32:28 +0000

Are you worried that your rooms will be lit like stuffy offices if you use compact florescent bulbs? We were too until we chose the proper light fixtures that allowed the warm textiles of the shades to serve as filters, giving the rooms a more natural looking light palette. Choose lamp shades with gold hued linings and loosely woven materials for your overhead hanging fixtures and you will be a lot happier about the light in your life.

There are hundreds of green tips and ideas in our book, “Dreaming Green Eco Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire”

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Green Tip of the Week #1 Sleeping with the Enemy…

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:51:50 +0000

From energy conservation to the greenest ideas in eco-responsibility – We’ll share our tips right here every week. We want to hear your feedback. Even better – We would love to hear your own green tips and ideas. Submit them below and we’ll publish them right here on DreamingGreenBook.Com.

Green tip of the week #1:

Did you know that most mattresses contain formaldehyde? That’s the stuff they use to preserve pigs brains for your kid’s science class. Are you sure you want to sleep on it too?
When you need a new mattress try something organic and non-toxic. It may cost a little more but since you do spend a third of your life in bed, why not make it a healthy place to catch z’s?

cforms contact form by delicious:days

There are hundreds of green tips and ideas in our book, “Dreaming Green Eco Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire”

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Press: Our Green Townhouse in the News

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:20:13 +0000

Click Image to Read

Good Housekeeping Magazine’s “Your Good House” Article on Our Green House

Click Image to Read

New York House Magazine Article on our Green Townhouse

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Our Green Townhouse

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:53:22 +0000

My husband, Paul and I have long had a love affair with Manhattan’s idyllic Upper West Side. We think the family-friendly neighborhood, with it’s scenic blocks of nineteenth-century brownstones and its easy access to parks and schools, is the perfect place to raise our children, Greg, Doug and Casey. But finding the town house of our dreams in our beloved neighborhood was challenging. When we started looking five years ago, we knew we needed to find a wreck because that was the only way we could afford a house in our price range, but, boy, did we get one.

The four-story c.1885 home that we purchased had been converted to rental apartments and stripped of all its original character. Thankfully, having an architect in the family has its benefits, and Paul could see beyond the flaws. Knowing he could completely transform the space, we happily prepared ourselves to tackle a major renovation.

Early in the process we decided that almost every aspect of the renovation was going to be green – from the gut job to design. We wanted a healthy house with chemical-free, natural materials. First on the agenda was disposing of hazardous waste properly to avoid contaminating any landfills, so we called in an enviromental engineer who helped us remove the and the leaky oil tanks in the cellar. Next, we saved what we could from the old house, and even items we couldn’t use, like warped and cracked wood Joists, which we donated to a salvage flooring company. To provide cleaner more dust-free air quality than forced air, we went with an ultra-efficient boiler and slim-profile radiators.

Asthetically, we longed for a gorgeous and sophisticated house with rich textures, beautiful shapes and glorious color that would work for our lively family.

You can read more about our green townhouse plus 16 more urban, suburban and rural green homes in our book, “Dreaming Green”

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Simply Modern

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:52:31 +0000

Yes, the Bennet family dries all of their laundry on a front yard clothesline, cooks many of their vegan meals in a solar oven, and grows their own produce-but, according to mom, Kyla Bennett, an environmental lawyer, they don’t really perceive those actions as anything special. “Everyone always asks if our drier is broken,” she says with a laugh. “But living this way is so normal for us. it’s hard even to think of what we do as different.” The truth is, these model green citizens not only live in a gorgeous, sustainable home but are completely committed to making every aspect of their lives as low-impact as possible. ‘We feel so strongly that this is the right thing to do,” says Kayla.

You can read more about the Bennett Family House plus 16 more suburban, urban and rural green homes in our book, “Dreaming Green”

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Paradise by the Sea

Lisa Sharkey and Paul Gleicher — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:46:27 +0000

Drop by Talib’s Fort Lauderdale home on any weekend and you’re bound to find the architect and his adorably precocious six year-old daughter, enjoying the little Eden that Kaizer has created for them. “We swim every day,” says Kaizer as we sit by the pool in front of the glamorous two-story house he designed.

An extension of healthy living is important to him. His interest in green architecture started in the 1970’s during the oil embargo, although he thought at the time that it was the beginning of a whole new way of thinking for everyone. “But as soon as the embargo was over, everyone forgot about solar energy,” he laments. Kaizer feels passionately that to make a house completely sustainable, you have to use a variety of methods. His goal is to have the house produce all of its energy in the next couple of years when he adds photovoltaic panels on the roof for electricity, and hopefully be able to use wind-generated power. Right now, a solar hot water heater on the roof provides all the hot water needs of the house.

You can read more about the Kaizer Talib’s House plus 16 more urban,

suburban and rural green homes in our book, “Dreaming Green”

On sale now. You can order your copy here:

Enter to win a free consultation from Lisa & Paul

Lisa Sharkey — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:56:09 +0000

Want to convert your house or apartment to a clean, green home and don’t know where to start? Believe me, we’ve been there! Use the form below and tell us what you want to do. Include what you have to work with and what you want to renovate. Do you want to improve your energy conservation or reduce your carbon footprint? Do you want to learn about green building materials or just re-furnish with eco-friendly furniture? Tell us your goals. Paul and I will pick one request every week and consult the winner by phone. If you’re local to the New York City area, we can even stop by for a visit. Please include a photo using the form below.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Dreaming Green is on sale now. You can order your copy here:

Share Your Green House Story…

Lisa Sharkey — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:30:44 +0000

Are you living the Green Dream? Have you swapped out your old life for a cleaner, greener one or are you just getting started? No matter how large or small, we want to hear your ideas. Submit your green-living tips with a photo and we’ll publish them right here on DreamingGreenBook.com!

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Dreaming Green is on sale now. You can order your copy here: