Eco-Home, Indie Budget

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They discovered beautiful, wide-planked nineteenth-century fir flooring throughout the house that they could refurbish, instead of laying down new wood planks. Upstairs, they turned the unused attic into a sunlit master-bedroom suite, adding an old dormer window found on Craig's List and a skylight looking out on Mount Rainier.

Heating Choices

Downstairs, though, "It looks more like a bomb went off," says Julie, gazing at the hundreds of feet of polyethylene plastic tubing, uncoiled across the yard, the bowels of the new energy-efficient radiant-heat flooring they will soon install in the crawl space under their house.

Because the house lacked ductwork and a basement, they placed a wall-hung, tankless water heater, which warms water on demand, in the kitchen. In the crawl space beneath the first floor, they fit the tubes for a radiant-heating system that would save energy for the whole house. "Our house was small enough for one unit to do the job," says Julie of the water heater. The cost, including installation: less than $4,000.

Having already removed their electric heat, they switched to natural gas, which the city converted them to for free, making it even more cost-effective. Meanwhile, radiant-heat flooring below the house will offer them energy savings of up to 40 percent over a forced-air system, while being quieter, cleaner and more efficient.

Energy- and Water-Saving Appliances

A small, stackable ASKO washer-dryer came with an Energy Star rating that garnered Julie and Mike a $100 city rebate off the $2,300 price tag. That higher cost was offset by a gas range they got free through their county's waste-management hot line. A $700 Energy Star-rated Whirlpool fridge rounded out the kitchen. And the house came with a low-flush toilet.

Since the roof faces south with no big trees shading it, the couple says they are "definitely serious" about one day installing solar panels. "Probably we will start small—by getting outdoor solar lights," says Julie.