Build a Green Home for Practically Nothing

A recent LA Times Article reported on sponsors occasionally donating thousands of dollars in high-end goods to home builders and designers. In exchange, manufacturers expect owners to open the homes for occasional public touring.

Some savvy Southern Californians have figured out how to get new green homes for practically nothing. An increasing number of entrepreneurs have persuaded companies such as bathroom fixture maker Kohler, quartz countertops manufacturer CaesarStone, appliance manufacturer Dacor and cabinet designer Bazzeo to provide free or discounted materials for newly built or remodeled homes. Nearly a dozen such houses have sprouted around Southern California. Virtually all are in the $1 million-to-$2 million range, though the freebies enabled owners to spend significantly less.

Why would a manufacturer be willing to donate as much as $100,000 worth of products to a home owner? This story is a hint to the answer: publicity. Think of it as swag on a grand scale. Just as a fashion house may give away its latest handbag so it can be seen attached to the arm of a much-photographed starlet, manufacturers of home appliances, countertops, fixtures and finishes are giving away their goods in hopes of being noticed in high-profile modern homes.

The catch: The homes have to showcase environmentally friendly design. Some manufacturers are going after projects with the U.S. Green Building Council's highest rating for sustainable design and building practices. Others go for green homes with celebrities attached to them. Regardless of who owns the place, manufacturers expect the homes to open for occasional public touring -- sometimes for a whole year -- and owners to discuss the virtues of the products in question, be it a CaesarStone countertop or General Electric appliance.

Such arrangements are nothing new. Traditional show houses, often sponsored by a magazine or a nonprofit organization raising money for charity, call for designers to make over a residence for free, often using products that are donated in exchange for a promotional push. What makes the new green show houses different is not only the emphasis on sustainability, but also the fact that they often are, first and foremost, private residences owned and inhabited by the builders themselves, whose living space essentially becomes a billboard for sponsors.

One recent house like this sponsored by House Beautiful magazine was the Kitchen of the Year, which showcased CaesarStone quartz countertops, Kohler & Viking appliances, and KraftMaid cabinets and boasted celebrity designers Christopher Peacock and Ina Garten. This kitchen had a large opening in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. The publicity was amazing, and it even made appearances on Good Morning America. So if you don’t mind opening your home up to the world, then cruising for sponsors to help build your dream green home may be right up your alley.