When a home buyer or homeowner is looking at design elements to remodel, build or purchase, it is a good idea to understand the way that you live your daily life from the workspace you need in your kitchen, to the layout and design of your living room. Having a better understanding of the "way you live" will give you and your builder/architect/real estate agent a better direction of which to help you create a more livable space and even reconfigure what you already have to make it more efficient for you and your family.

Read further about 1925 Mission Style Home Gets Re-Purposed

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Today’s news that Congress has extended the Homebuyers Tax Credit which was set to expire on the 30th of this month is wonderful news not only for First Time Homebuyers but also for existing Homeowners. The Home Buyer Tax Credit has been extended by Congress until April 30th, 2010 with some exciting modifications to the new Home Buyers Tax Credit Bill.

Click on the following link to learn more about the Home Buyers Tax Credit.

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Read more about the Homebuyers Tax Credit Changes.

Household energy is one of the leading causes of harmful emissions of carbon dioxide. The energy efficiency of your home could not only be damaging the environment but costing you hundreds of dollars in unnecessary utility charges each year. Having a Home Energy Audit can identify energy efficiency improvements, which often are very low cost to implement and will provide you with a great rate of return

During the month of November Arbour Realty is giving one lucky person the chance to win a Home Energy Audit and Efficiency Gold Package (a $1250 value!) courtesy of Access Green.  Simple become an Arbour Realty Facebook Fan or recommend a friend to become a fan and you will be entered to win this exciting prize. Simple click on the Facebook link below to enter.  The lucky winner will be announced December 15th.

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Arlington Residents and students welcomed the opening of the new Reed School & Westover Library last Friday. They celebrated this $22.5 million joint facility with a 2 day celebration which featured a Halloween community open house, live music, a WalkArlington neighborhood walkabout and green tours of the building.

Click on the following link to read more about Arlington Reed School and Westover Library.

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The average lay person doesn't understand that most new homes are more energy efficient by default. When I worked for a luxury custom home builder, I liaised with the Austin Energy program to get all of our homes rated with the City. It is interesting to know that, in general, the concepts that an architect will institute in their plans are concepts that enable a home to be more energy efficient. Design concepts such as creating 2 foot eves over windows for shading, creating livable outdoor areas such as screened in porches, placing the home on the lot "just so" to make the most of any shade trees and orientation of windows towards the sun for optimal heating and cooling depending on the season. By building tighter homes, an architect has implemented elements of "green design" into their plan.

-Genevieve

Click on the following link to read more about NVR- The Evolution of three decades of luxury building

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As Halloween approaches everyone is busily decorate their homes, buying bags of candy and selecting which costume to purchase for themselves or their children.  Halloween really is a fun holiday, and there is nothing more exciting for me than to walk around the Arlington neighborhoods and see all the spooky decorations, and Halloween lights.

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Happy Halloween and I hope it is a green one………

I know that I am. It has been nearly two weeks and I am still trying to wrap my brain around all of the deliciously informative details that I soaked up while trolling the aisles of the DC Convention Center on October 10th through the 11th at the Green Festival™.

The sixth annual Green Festival™, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, was again, an astonishing hit! Walking into the event center, dozens of helpful volunteers patrolled the vastness seeking out those of us with the ever-present deer-in-headlights look of sheer overwhelm. There was so much to see and so much to learn! The convention center, which I am sure, usually does not have the aroma of a whole food store but did for this particular weekend, was buzzing with thousands of like minded individuals seeking knowledge and- let's just come right out and say it- they were there for the gratis loot!

-Genevieve

Click here to read more about 2009 DC Green Festival™

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Northern Virginia's first and fabulous green realty company has a new look on their website!  At first glance of the refreshingly simple and user friendly site, one would be amazed at all of the incredibly useful information that is so easily accessible at www.ArbourRealty.com! From the homepage, you can do an in-depth home search, check out relevant real estate news, and contact Arbour all at the click of the mouse. You can even follow the community news via their posts on Twitter and Facebook, or check out the latest and greatest on the blog.  Know what is absolutely fabulous?! Arbour Realty posts their preferred vendor list! How awesome is it that you can hop on their site and utilize it as not only your one stop realty shop, but also as a valuable resource and research tool?! Arbour Realty loves to educate their community and it shows in their updated site.

This new site is easy on the eyes and down to earth, just like the team and their ideals. There they go again, staying true to their essence. The new site offers simple, straightforward information at the end of your internet connection. Take a look for yourself- remember to read their story and get familiar with the whole team: www.arbourrealty.com.

-Genevieve

Click here to learn more about Green Real Estate.

Last week I was having a conversation with a friend who is currently living in Turkey. She is worried about sending gifts home for the holidays without them being broken. Like me she is concerned with environmental issues and the impact that our everyday decisions have on Mother Earth’s well-being.

Click on the following link to read further about Popcorn for Packing.

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Dominion Power now allows you to support renewable energy. By simply filling out a form with Dominion Power you will be ensuring that green energy is delivered directly to the grid.

Dominion’s Green Power option works simple by Dominion purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (REC) in the amount that the Virginia Dominion customer specifies. 

Read more about Dominion Green Power.

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