Photo: courtesy Richard Byrd

Got three million and change? Get in line. The hottest eco-friendly home on the market is a $3.5 million, LEED Platinum, 1920s Spanish stunner recently renovated by Adrian Grenier’s go-to green expert Richard Byrd of “Alter Eco” fame. The guy may be brand new in the eco-development department, but in this, his first sustainable home, he hits all the marks. Think reclaimed materials like 300-year-old Spanish roof tile, CFL bulbs, solar trees, low-flow sinks and toilets, and a carpet made entirely from post-consumer waste recycled plastic water bottles. (Check out more pics after the jump!) And that's not all...

We all miss those vacations where we did nothing but leave the windows open to the beach and gazed longingly into the lapping surf, or slept under the stars while camping and listening to the crickets, or sang Christmas carols in front of a crackling fire. Ahhh, vacation. But, having an entire channel of background ambiance just to try to recreate that 'on vacation' feeling sort of misses the mark.

The Salm brothers never cease to amaze TreeHugger. The pair, behind Mio's sustainable designs, are a great example of designers who really get it: how to design with the environment in mind; how to approach green design from a variety of angles; how to execute it with and style. Their Origami table, Nomad System room dividers, Shroom lighting, Soft Bowls, 3D wallpaper and cork flooring tiles are all great examples of each of these, and they've branched out even further.

The "Naked Line," made from formaldehyde-free particle board, is a modular storage system that Mio left without veneers to showcase the natural beauty of the product. We also liked "Loop," their first product service system, which is a wallpaper-like textile that comes with its own envelope, so you can simply and easily mail it back to Mio for replacement if it gets torn or just wears thin. Get the scoop on these and more from Mio in our video tour of the booth below the fold. ::Mio and ::ICFF 2008

In the hallways of 15 apartments at a complex in the city of Gothenburg is the ultimate smart-home gadget (fancier and smarter than Joule's Home) from Swedish start-up Manodo - it's a screen that tells you everything you want to know about your consumption, plus a few stats you maybe didn't want to see - like how many pounds of CO2 emissions that long, hot bath you just took is worth.

The pilot Manodo project in a handful of Swedish cities gives apartment dwellers lots of other information, including how long before the next tram will pass by their nearest stop, what the weather's expected to be, and a bird's eye view of who's outside ringing their doorbell. It might seem a little too Big Brother for some - I prefer the Danish Flower Pod approach - but one of the test dwellers told Metro he's gotten much better about turning off the lights, the TV and the stereo in the hopes to see the green smiley face that denotes comparatively low energy consumption. Via ::Metro.se

A new technique for construction caught our eye at Barcelona’s material library Mater (more about that below): Drysystem. Drysystem is a new tile laying system, developed by the Spanish ceramic company TAU, that doesn’t require getting your hands dirty. This new way of putting tiles doesn’t require any kind of adhesive; the pieces simply slot into each other. 45x90 cm tiles can be slotted seamlessly into a polymer base.

Recent Comment by how to lay ceramic tile : "Yes, it is unlikely that they'd be reused. How solid can a floor be without adhes..." [read]

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Volatile organic compounds: something's in the air
You can't see them, but they're all around us. They aren't listed as ingredients on the objects we bring in our home, but they're often there. They're volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, a wide range of carbon-based molecules (organic compounds) used in a wide range of products that find their way into our homes. Under normal conditions, they vaporize, effectively leaving their host and entering the air (that's the "volatile" part) where they combine with other airborne compounds to form ozone, which isn't good to breathe.

Though they exist everywhere in the environment -- the most common volatile organic compound is methane, which comes from everything from wetlands to cow farts and other ruminant gases to rice agriculture -- they are most well-known for the harm they can cause indoors, where they can be introduced via paint, carpets, furnishings, and cleaning agents.

Joining gDiapers, the US Postal Service and more, Surface iQ's commercial wallcoverings have earned Cradle to Cradle certification. The only printed commercial grade wallcovering to have earned this certification, Surface iQ's products have an impressive green résumé; non-PVC composition (recall some of PVC's evils from TreeHugger TV) free of elemental chlorine, formaldehyde and halogenated fire-retardants (the kind mentioned in the recent furniture toxicity report) top the list.

Those of us who are planted in front of a computer screen for most of our waking hours -- for work or play -- will appreciate this one. No matter how comfortable your chair is, we could all use more opportunities to get outside and play. If that isn't in the cards for your normal work week, the T Module "walking desk" might be the next best thing.

Walking on a treadmill at work would be great, but considering that treadmills suck (energy), providing a little human power would be a good way to go. As this walking researcher reminds us, people are designed to be mobile, and walking is better than sitting; might as well write some email at the same time. Hit the jump to see the module in action. ::HK Ergonomics via ::Product Dose