Father-daughter design project results in ‘house of the future’

It’s amazing what an environmentally minded, artistic and tech savvy father and daughter duo can do when they set their sights on building the ultimate eco-friendly home.

Darrel Jones and his daughter, Lolly, partnered to build a LEED-certified masterpiece on the eastside; and it’s ADA compliant, too. Calling it “your forever home” they are marketing it now, potentially to a buyer who wants to age in place, and who has $2.8 million to allow them to buy into the luxury.

While the entire 2,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home is wheelchair compatible and includes an elevator to the second floor master suite, it would be equally appealing to a wildly energy conscious owner. The home is super-insulated with blown-in fiberglass and is virtually airtight, using vapor permeable construction. That means the house is very quiet and easy to keep warm or cool with limited need for the ductless Mitsubishi heater/air conditioning system. And there is a whole-house ventilation system that filters in fresh air.

The Zola European exterior doors and windows have thermal-break wood construction and are triple-pane glass with triple seals. There are two on-demand tankless water heaters, with Energy Star rated stainless steel appliances and efficient LED lighting everywhere.

Darrel said he first started being aware of protecting the environment when he got his conservation badge as a Boy Scout many years ago. “It’s been completely gratifying to be able to build this as a sustainable house,” he said. He has been an electrical contractor for 50 years, and also has a general contractors license. He owned the 1,200-square-foot, 1970s-era house in an alley off Patten Street that was taken down to make way for “the forever house.” He and his wife live in the house next door where they raised their two-daughters; Lolly lives across the alley with her husband Zac McCormick and their two young children.

Lolly has a fine arts degree and was working as a graphic designer in San Francisco until she tired of the commute and wanted to be closer to home with her children and Zac, who owns Fine Line Art Supply. Studying under her father, she became a licensed electrician and now works for his company, D.E. Jones & Daughters, named long before he ever dreamed one of his daughters would actually join the company.

“She’s the best electrician I’ve ever worked with,” he says, and Lolly is amazed at how much she’s come to love the work, where she specializes in lighting design. “My art background helped me make design decisions,” she said about choosing all the finishes for the home, including the paint colors. Zac also worked weekends on the home, making it the ultimate family project for the past two years.

“We are an aging population,” Darrel said, which is why they decided to go with the ADA compliant design. “There a lot of people living up in the hills, places like Mission Highlands and Diamond A, who are looking to move closer into town,” he said, saying he imagines someone in a rural location may be interested in this house that is walking distance to the Plaza.

And rather than acres to look after, perhaps a new owner would enjoy the kitchen garden in waist-high planter boxes that were made from an ailing redwood tree on his property that Darrel had downed and also used for decking. Local landscape architect Jane Marx designed the native plant, drought-friendly and bee and butterfly attracting rear garden. It is watered by a rain recovery system that holds 3,000 gallons of water underneath the permeable driveway.

The house has the latest technical gadgetry including a Sonos wireless audio system with speakers in every room and on both decks, exterior video security cameras which can be monitored remotely, a video doorbell and intercom, a central vacuum system, and wiring and routers for every computer networking possibility imaginable.

Existing bungalows in the neighborhood inspired the design. “It has the charm of yesteryear with the contemporary fixtures of today,” he said.