This Crocker Highland home has been remade in the shape of Dwell Magazine and Metropolitan Home.

It’s a craftsman traditional on the outside, with some interesting pops of color, but inside the home is sleek, modern and eclectic.

The clients have an amazing sense of color. Bright orange, turquoise and red, combined with metals like copper and silver give the home a warm feel, despite sharp corners. What wraps you up are details like dangly, antique light fixtures, juxtaposed with bright color and lovely materials.

This home is not on the MLS, but is available through The GRUBB Company, by appointment.

All New Construction in Central Rockridge




Don't miss this very rare opportunity! This just-completed home, with Craftsman styling on the outside and modern design on the inside, features top-of-the-line fixtures and high-efficiency systems. Located in one of the most coveted Bay Area communities, the home is only one and one-half blocks from College Avenue, with shops, restaurants and BART, close by.


• Architectural, light-filled design which features high ceilings, modern open floorplan, tall glass-paneled doors and custom windows

• Green amenities include electric solar panels, end-grain wood flooring, tankless water heater, extra insulation, two high-efficiency furnaces and composite countertops

• Spacious master bedroom suite with hill views and exquisite spa-like bath including timed radiant floor heating, automatic skylight and steam shower

• Extra-large eat-in kitchen features the lastest deluxe energy-efficient European appliances, expansive counterspace and pantry storage

• Artesan-quality tilework - custom lighting - upstairs laundry room - large closets and storage

• Colorful drought resistant landscaping with automatic irrigation system in front and back gardens adding year-round beauty

• Near BART, freeways, UC, regional parks and the exciting shops and restaurants on College, Claremont and Piedmont Avenues

Updated Piedmont Traditional

Delicious is how I’d describe this Piedmont Traditional. Located on one of the most coveted streets in all of Piedmont, this home is luxe, as only a fashion Diva understands luxe!

Details like rich, luxurious materials, animal print rugs, silver leaf ceilings, nature stencils, and the mix of high and low, with smidgen of kitsch, create a warm family feel. The kitchen is open, over-sized, light and lovely!

But the piece de resistance, is a dressing room designed for a Diva. With a shoe wall, separate built in closets, even a mannequin to display your favorite couture.

This home is not on the MLS but is available through The GRUBB Company, by appointment.

Celebrated Green Multi-Family Housing Development
Studio Unit $199,000

Green building features radiant heating
No VOC paints
Recycled building materials
FSC Certified wood
Secure Entry

Like any early adapter, people are paying more for their Green Certified homes than your average run of the mill resale home. The new gadgets, like solar panels and underground catchments for rain water storage just cost more because they aren't part of "regular" homes.

Think about the I-Phone. People that waited in line for their new phone at around $400, when only three months later it was reduced to $300, without fanfare. As an early adopter in green home technology, the sooner we all embrace living "greener," the sooner pricing will come in line.

I work closely with a builder, Chris Avant, Canyon Construction, who has recently completed two LEED Platinum remodels, one here in Oakland, and the other in Moraga, where his corporate office is housed. Avant worked with the founder of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,) David Gottfried and his wife Sara to create one of the greenest homes in America, right here in Rockridge. David and Sara wanted to capture their greywater in order to re-use it for landscape watering, they installed solar panels and even created a home office for David in the backyard to make their green home a reality, they had to downsize and learned even more about the value of good design.

David and Sara have the resources to showcase their environmental stewardship in their home, but what about other people? More and more, Green Building is quality building, using the most durable materials, that won't have to be replaced, having the most energy efficient appliances and sealing up a home against the effects of weather, keeping cold air out, and warm air in. Green homes are healthy homes, places where indoor air quality is not adversely effected by inexpensive (smelly) carpets or noxious paint fumes.

The past of Green Home Design in California, has been predominately taken on by the wealthy, and it is a thrill to see it filtering down to ordinary folk.

Wondering about the resale value of your green improvements?

In Seattle, Washington where existing data for green home resale value has been tracked for 2008, on average the green single family home was 16.7% of total sales. The green home was 25% smaller and sold for 4% higher value in 18% less time... but the catch here is that dollars per square foot, the green home outperformed the non-green home by 37% in dollars per square foot. Now that is something to consider!

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Green Building practices promote construction of buildings that are healthier for the occupants and healthier for the environment. The policy of GreenCity Lofts, LLC is to establish sustainability as a priority and further demonstrate our commitment to the environment.



Sustainable or “green” building practices can reduce the tremendous impact that building design, construction and maintenance has on both people and nature. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Center for Sustainable Development, buildings consume 40% of the world's total energy, 25% of its wood harvest and 16% of its water. Energy and material consumption in buildings can contribute significantly to global climate change.



Sustainable building practices go beyond energy and water conservation to incorporate environmentally sensitive site planning, resource efficient building materials and superior indoor environmental quality.

Long before I was in real estate and before I understood what I now consider the horrible loss of ancient buildings, I have dreamed of renovating an old barn for my home.

My idea was an open living space with a stone hearth built into the center of it. Unstructured rooms would mean that the kitchen flowed into the family/dining room and the bedrooms I had planned, would be in lofts on either end of the building, joined by long halls that connected the lofts on each side, overlooking the living space. Lining the halls I planned built in bookshelves and a cozy chair for curling up with a good book. The loss in privacy, I calculated, would be more than be made up for with by creativity the open space would allow.

Since then, I have read about the alarming rate at which these dilapidated buildings have been struck down in favor of something new, that doesn't need retrofitting. The New York Times article I Googled today, said, "No farm, no barn," and unfortunately that seems to be the case. Where farms have made way for development, the old outbuildings have been struck from the landscape. I am still hoping to do my barn renovation, but I am crossing my fingers that there will be a barn left to renovate.

A colleague of mine Chris Avant from Canyon Construction has done just this type of renovation with the Moraga Barn, in Moraga California, built in 1914. Having the distinction of being the oldest building in Moraga, it served as a train station, an hotel and a bar. Today it is the headquarters of Canyon Construction and through the renovation it was planned and designed to achieve LEED Platinum Rating.

The Moraga Barn uses renewable energy, salvaged materials, offerers state of the art water efficiency, provides heating and cooling efficiency, and features low and no VOC products in the interior to improve indoor air quality for it's end users. With it's original footprint, The Barn looks much the same as it had when it was new, but provides another generation of users an ideal work and play space. The owner, Chris Avant, has plans to house a wine bar in the ground floor with his offices upstairs.

For more information about Canyon Construction visit their Website.

I stopped into Pottery Barn today. I do like to keep track of what that behemoth is up to, as the trends radiate outward and impact everything from home staging to clothing design.

The new Benjamin Moore paint color chips are out and interestingly, the focus is on white, every shade. I love paint color names, Lychee, Frostine, Mascarpone, Vapor (one that I use a lot) and Steam. Half the deck is devoted to the new whites.

I am asking myself if this a recessionary move, to tone down those frolicking greens and blues of last spring or just trying to clear out the clutter a bit, or more to the point, the noise of the nightly news cycle and the worry that it creates. Cheer yourself with a new coat of paint and forget about Dow 6,000.

Mark's Paints at 40th and Telegraph in Oakland can color match with their Aura no VOC paint line.

The Elmwood Neighborhood of Berkeley










The Elmwood is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Berkeley. Easy to find, at the major intersection of College Avenue and Ashby, or Highway 13, parking is the only problem you'll find. Drive north on College, past the main row of shops into the neighborhood a bit, and you may find street parking, but watch out for street cleaning day!

My son and I had an afternoon off on a rainy Saturday and meandered through the shops. I had never walked into The Tree House and loved the mix of products carried there. We bought Elliot another Sigg, with the hopes that this one won't roll into the storm drain like the last one.

The Tree House Cont.

Artisan produced, organic, and often local, they also stock world goods that employ women in South America and locations beyond.