Trade show entry uses floor salvaged from a 102-year-old Cornelius barn

If the American dream is a life of comfort and prosperity, the Oregon dream is this same life, lived in harmony with nature.

That’s the thinking behind “The Oregon Dream,” an environmentally friendly house by Stone Bridge Homes NW planned as part of the 2012 Street of Dreams home show. The $1,075,000, 4,776-square-foot home offers a number of ecofriendly features designed to sweeten the harmony between man-made dwelling and nature.

The NW Natural Street of Dreams is an annual, monthlong showcase of new developments in homebuilding, scheduled from July 28 to Aug. 26 at The Vineyard neighborhood in West Linn.

The “Dream” contains many of Stone Bridge Homes’ standby features, such as Energy Star-certified appliances, a 95 percent efficient furnace and water-saving plumbing, including tankless water heaters that heat water as it comes through the faucet instead of in large quantities in a tank. A 3.4-kilowatt photovoltaic solar system powers the house from its spot on the roof.

The house also uses numerous recycled materials, including a Douglas fir floor salvaged from a 102-year-old Cornelius-area barn.

“It’s got a lot of character. You can see where the nails had been in it and rusted,” says Scott Newcombe, a Stone Bridge Homes spokesman. An old Oregon tree is being specially made into an edge table.

The “Dream’s” paved patios, walkways and driveway are made of a concrete that allows more rainwater to be absorbed into soil, reducing runoff. The driveway also better distributes the weight of the vehicle to avoid ruts and compacted roots. On walkways around the house’s exterior, eight-inch strips of grass lie between each concrete pad to foster water runoff.

A large portion of the home’s furnishings and décor are to be provided by local Oregon craftsmen and artists, to keep supply small-scale and local. All these are capped off with a 220-volt car-charging circuit in the garage for electric cars.

Street of Dreams has a history of green homes, with all its featured buildings rated by the Portland-based Earth Advantage Institute, which certifies the environmental impact of buildings. The “Dream” is on track to receive a platinum certification from Earth Advantage, which Peter Brown, director of Earth Advantage’s residential services, calls “a rarity.”

Green homes are the “best value on the market,” says Shaina Sullivan, spokeswoman for the Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland, sponsor of the annual home show. “The homeowner is going to save an incredible amount on their utility bills over the life of their house.”