Explore the Fall 2024 issue
On the cover: Natural wood features strongly in this Brunswick kitchen, with project design by Maines Design, kitchen design by balance design studio and constructed by Benjamin & Co. It features cabinets from Woodland Cabinetry, an employee-owned, American made brand committed to sustainable materials and practices. PHOTO: ERIN LITTLE.
Editor’s Note
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AS WE CELEBRATE 10 YEARS since the release of our first issue, our mission continues to be to showcase real Maine homes that are not just beautiful but energy-efficient, sustainably built and healthy to live in, too. Our goal is to make knowledge of building science accessible, to share advice from Maine’s thriving high-performing home and clean energy industries, and to provide sustainable solutions for the whole house—from foundation to roof, and indoors to outdoors.
In Foundations for the future, we rethink the traditional poured concrete foundation and explore alternatives to reduce or forgo carbon-intensive concrete altogether. Then in Making the switch to whole-home heat pumps, we peek inside the walls and learn how important insulation, air sealing and ventilation are to maximizing the efficiency of your heating system.
Quality interiors can take your home to the next level— aesthetically and health-wise. We talked to two sustainability-focused interior designers about choosing furnishings and cabinetry that meet your needs for both sustainability and style. Find their advice in Beyond Aesthetics. If you’ve ever admired the simple but carefully crafted quality of Shaker furniture, you won’t want to miss our profile of acclaimed Maine woodworker C.H. Becksvoort in ‘The joy is in the making.’
If you’re wondering about the health of your home in terms of air quality, Reasons to consider an indoor air quality monitor is a primer on common pollutants—like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, radon, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds—and how to measure and, ultimately, control them.
Showcasing real, attainable projects has always been integral to our publication. In Efficiency meets accessibility, we visit a Brunswick home that integrates principles of universal design and can support the homeowners as they age in place.
In the decade since we started this magazine, the green home and energy industry has grown significantly, as has support for training skilled workers from under-represented groups such as women and immigrants. Read about the latest positive workforce developments in Industry news.
Find all this and more in this issue.
And as we round out the 10th anniversary year of Green & Healthy Maine HOMES, I would like to say Thank you! We couldn’t do the work we do without the help of the many people who contribute their energy, passion and expertise toward its mission every day: our staff, advisory board, writers, photographers, editors, designers, distributors and more. To our advertisers and sponsors—thank you for trusting us to showcase your businesses. And to you, our readers and subscribers, a very special thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting us and local, independent media.
Thank you for supporting our magazine with your subscriptions and gift subscriptions. If you like what you find here, please stay in touch by signing up for our monthly e-newsletter.
Heather Chandler
Editor & Publisher
Contributors
Christy Crocker is the executive director of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating healthy, environmentally sustainable indoor environments through education, communications and advocacy.
Jennifer Dann is the project manager for Local Wood WORKS, promoting Maine’s high-value wood products and sustainable forestry.
June Donenfeld is a Midcoast Maine writer, editor and writing coach focusing on sustainability, design, education and social entrepreneurship. In previous lives, she also worked in philanthropy and cross-cultural communication.
Ashley Hopwood Farrar is a licensed architect and owner of Meldrum Design. Based in Western Maine, she specializes in high-performance residential design with a particular appreciation for deeply involved homeowners on a tight budget.
Kerry Lewis leads the Landscape Architecture team at Knickerbocker Group. She has been a registered landscape architect for 30 years, focusing on ecological gardens for the Northeast.
Michael Maines designs homes and renovations that prioritize health and comfort, incorporating building science principles to create resilient, low-impact structures. He is the co-author of the book The Pretty Good House.
Parlin Meyer is the director of BrightBuilt Home, a design firm in Portland that uses off-site construction manufacturers to build modified and custom versions of its high-performance home designs.
Amy Paradysz is a contributor and editor at Green & Healthy Maine and a longtime Portland Press Herald columnist.
Raine Raynor is a contributor and editor at Green & Healthy Maine. Her other creative interests include graphic design, photography, and landscape architecture. She lives in Portland.
Julia Bassett Schwerin is a National Association of Realtors-designated Green Broker and a member of the Sustainability Advisory Group of the Greater Portland Board of Realtors. She teaches and consults on green building subjects throughout the United States.
Justin R. Wolf is a journalist and contributing editor for Green Building Advisor, where he covers energy policy, climate tech startups and regenerative design. His first book, Healing Ground, Living Values, was published in 2024 by Ecotone. He lives and works in Biddeford.
Staff
Editor & Publisher
Heather Chandler
Copy Editing & Proofreading
Amy Paradysz
Raine Raynor
Account Executive
Cheryl Denis
Marketing & Design Specialist
Raine Raynor
Design
PELLE Graphic Design
Advisory Panel
A special thank you to the Green & Healthy Maine HOMES advisory panel members.
Bill Bell / Maine Pellet Heating Association
Chris Briley / BRIBURN Architecture
Richard Burbank / Evergreen Home Performance
Christy Crocker / Maine Indoor Air Quality Council
Anna Heath / Maine Passive House
Ashley Hopwood Farrar / Meldrum Design
Dan Kolbert / Kolbert Building
Steve Konstantino / Performance Building Supply
Michael Maines / Maines Design
Emily Mottram / Mottram Architecture
Randy Rand / Tekton Fine Living
Meredith Randolph / Four Winds Design