Sunset Magazine Opens 2007 Idea House In San Francisco
Home Charts New Territory in Green Building And is Among First LEED-Certified Residential Remodels in Nation
Sunset, in a joint venture with Meridian Builders and Developers, have created a 2007 Idea House in San Francisco that takes the magazine’s Idea House Program into a dense urban area for the first time and demonstrates how to make the most of a compact site.
The San Francisco-based home will be one of the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified residential remodeled homes in the nation. In the United States, LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability.
Launched in 1998, the Sunset Idea House Program combines the magazine’s most exciting new ideas with the smartest home products available. 
Two themed homes are built in the West each year and opened to the public, providing a dynamic, hands-on experience for readers and customized opportunities for advertisers and sponsors. “It’s an exciting time at the magazine to be able to bring an Idea House into such an urban area,” Katie Tamony, editor-in-chief of Sunset said. “With our offices just outside San Francisco, we are thrilled to build our house in the heart of such an amazing city.” The three-story remodeled home is in San Francisco’s Mission District. Key features include a spa and exercise space that opens onto an entertaining patio, a glass elevator, and an urban roof garden atop the garage.
The house is designed by John Lum Architecture and is being built by Meridian Builders and Developers. The landscape architect is Arterra LLP and interior design by John Lum, John Lum Architecture.
The building — which includes a main house and an apartment — occupies a 50- by 70-foot corner lot. Lum’s plan maximizes natural light and airflow on each of three levels, with rooms leading off an open, central stairway made of glass and steel. The main living and dining areas and kitchen are on the top floor to take advantage of views across the city. “It’s kind of an upside-down house,” Lum explains. “The public spaces are at the top, and the more private master suite and guest rooms are below.”
But what makes the home truly groundbreaking are the eco-features it incorporates, some of them still in experimental stages. For example, hot water will be provided by rooftop tubes that collect solar energy, says Matt Golden, founder and CEO of Sustainable Spaces and a project consultant. The home’s electricity will come from SunPower solar panels and a wind turbine installed in the backyard — a power source so unusual in San Francisco, the builder had to get a one-year provisional test permit before it could be installed. A high-tech resource-monitoring system will keep tabs on energy and water use.
Warmboard Radiant Subfloor was used on the main and upper floors to provide comfortable, energy efficient heat. The upper floor features hardwood in the hall and a 3/4 epoxy concrete-like finish in the remaining areas
Sunset Magazine is the premier guide to life in the West, covering the newest and best ideas in Western home design and landscaping, food and entertaining, and regional travel in 13 Western states. The magazine has five zoned editions and is read by nearly five million people each month.
A leader in lifestyle information, Birmingham, Ala.-based Southern Progress Corporation (www.southernprogress.com) publishes Southern Living, Cooking Light, Health, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Cottage Living, and Sunset magazines, and books through Oxmoor House. It also operates a direct-selling division, Southern Living At HOME. Southern Progress is a subsidiary of Time Inc.
