To all of the self-righteous wackos losing their mind over a single home, just remember that there are many indigenous peoples out there complaining that YOU consume too much! Move to your nearest cave you hypocrites.

And get off my lawn!

I see exceptionally beautiful hardwood floors, a very nicely done fireplace and walls that stop short of the floors – a rare architectural detail. Looks like good workmanship throughout.

This is an average suburban house that has been renovated. If you want to point your fingers and scream opulence, choose something else. You people make it sound like this is a 10,000 square foot mansion covered in gold, like something Donald Trump would own.

Here’s what opulence looks like:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetbaloney/357151348/

Worse yet,do you folks have any idea of how cold it gets in Montréal?

“greenwashing” as you call it does not take the beauty away from this home instead, it helps all of us realize we need to make changes in our designs to adequately protect the environment (or at least lower the impact)

I meant to say “Many of his views border on the absurd”. He is one of, if not, the world’s most successful investors that, until very recently, hoarded his wealth to create only more wealth. Quite the humanitarian and eco-evangelist.

Greenwashing your socioeconomic resentment and bitterness does not make it any more valid. Who are you to dictate how others spend their own money. Calling this place opulent is ridiculous. Yes it is much more costly than a Centex subdivision crap shack, but opulent? Please.

As for Warren Buffet. Many of his views to border on the absurd. The “billionaire next door” may live in a modest condo, but the fuel for his private jet far exceeds, both in money and waste, anything most people could afford after many lifetimes.

I suggest that if this home offends you, then you should unplug and return to your ashram.

So, I think beautiful modern design is the most realistic sustainable practice in homebuilding today. Homes that are well designed are sustainable because people keep and maintain homes that are beautiful, well built, and well designed. This is a well designed house that the owners will love and care for and maintain through the years.

Also, a lot of renovations are done these days specifically to make houses more environmentally friendly. Such as adding more (and better) insulation, or replacing old single pane windows with double pane insulating ones that keep the heat in during winter and out in summer. Old toilets get replaced with new low-flow ones that use much less water. Old appliances like fridges get replaced with ones that use much less energy. Incandescent lighting gets replaced with energy efficient LED lighting. Old inefficient heating systems get replaced with geothermal. Etc, etc, etc…

The houses that you should be more concerned about are McMansions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMansion

They’re huge and always poorly built. They’re tacky because they’re always built in some fake historical architectural style like Victorian, Tudorbethan, or Tuscan/Spanish villa. They’re filled with useless and fake architectural details like columns, pediments, quoins, keystones, and dormers. Because they’re fake, tacky, and poorly built, they’ll quickly fall into disrepair, and nobody will want to maintain them, so they’ll probably get torn down in less than 20 years and be replaced with a whole new house, an incredibly wasteful process.

I think well designed and built modern minimalist homes that use energy efficient features are about the most realistic environmentally friendly homes today.