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By Ayesha Khan
Photography by Eric Staudenmaier
Venice Beach has always been known for its free spirit and laissez-faire charm. But when this stretch of the California coastline fell to disrepair, Karel Samsom, a professor specializing in sustainable entrepreneurship, and his actor/artist wife, Cynthia Foster, resolved to do their part to restore its bygone charm. The couple identified three run-down crack houses and used green building techniques to turn them into the Venice Beach Eco Cottages, three one-bedroom vacation rental houses, each with a unique design aesthetic, and each completely sustainable.
Foster worked with Kelly LaPlante, principal designer and owner of local firm Organic Interior Design, to create three signature cottage looks: Papa Hemingway, a dark wood, masculine look; Aunt Zoe's Place, a '40s/'50s kitschy lake-cabin theme, complete with vintage knick-knacks and contemporary art; and Le Bebe Cottage, a mid-century modern, candied Baroque interior covered in Parisian blue, chrome, black, and candy apple red.
But the true triumph of the design is not immediately apparent. "Everything from the wood floors to the sofas are eco-friendly in one way or another," says LaPlante. And thanks to solar panels, the entire property is off the energy grid. “We used finishes that were low-VOC, such as the paint for the walls and stain for the floors, organic materials, and recycled materials like upholstery for the sofa.
Vintage and antique furnishings are all over the cottages as examples of creative reuse and repurposing. And of course, all of the construction processes from the recycled blue jean insulation to the solar panels on the roofs are also sustainable."
Thankfully, LaPlante says she had no problems finding green products. "Manufacturers are doing an amazing job," she says. "There are quite a few companies, small and large, who are making strides to do it right." But designing green did not come without its challenges, and costs. "If you are comparing this project to a typical vacation rental, this was definitely more expensive. As Karel always reminds us, the real cost of a product, both in its impact to the earth and to the people who work to make it, is what must be paid in order for there to be a balance in ecology and economy," says LaPlante.
And according to Foster, the cottages will remain green: "We use KIS Cleaning Service, a green cleaning service with their own proprietary enzyme-based products that are fragrance free and bio friendly."
For more information, visit www.venicebeachecocottages.com or www.organicinteriordesign.com.
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Off the Grid
April 22, 2008By Ayesha Khan
Photography by Eric Staudenmaier
Venice Beach has always been known for its free spirit and laissez-faire charm. But when this stretch of the California coastline fell to disrepair, Karel Samsom, a professor specializing in sustainable entrepreneurship, and his actor/artist wife, Cynthia Foster, resolved to do their part to restore its bygone charm. The couple identified three run-down crack houses and used green building techniques to turn them into the Venice Beach Eco Cottages, three one-bedroom vacation rental houses, each with a unique design aesthetic, and each completely sustainable. Foster worked with Kelly LaPlante, principal designer and owner of local firm Organic Interior Design, to create three signature cottage looks: Papa Hemingway, a dark wood, masculine look; Aunt Zoe's Place, a '40s/'50s kitschy lake-cabin theme, complete with vintage knick-knacks and contemporary art; and Le Bebe Cottage, a mid-century modern, candied Baroque interior covered in Parisian blue, chrome, black, and candy apple red.But the true triumph of the design is not immediately apparent. "Everything from the wood floors to the sofas are eco-friendly in one way or another," says LaPlante. And thanks to solar panels, the entire property is off the energy grid. “We used finishes that were low-VOC, such as the paint for the walls and stain for the floors, organic materials, and recycled materials like upholstery for the sofa.
Vintage and antique furnishings are all over the cottages as examples of creative reuse and repurposing. And of course, all of the construction processes from the recycled blue jean insulation to the solar panels on the roofs are also sustainable."Thankfully, LaPlante says she had no problems finding green products. "Manufacturers are doing an amazing job," she says. "There are quite a few companies, small and large, who are making strides to do it right." But designing green did not come without its challenges, and costs. "If you are comparing this project to a typical vacation rental, this was definitely more expensive. As Karel always reminds us, the real cost of a product, both in its impact to the earth and to the people who work to make it, is what must be paid in order for there to be a balance in ecology and economy," says LaPlante.
And according to Foster, the cottages will remain green: "We use KIS Cleaning Service, a green cleaning service with their own proprietary enzyme-based products that are fragrance free and bio friendly."
For more information, visit www.venicebeachecocottages.com or www.organicinteriordesign.com.
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