D.C. Region's First Carbon Neutral Designer Show Home

A new eco-friendly home was unveiled in Virginia with features far beyond the unbleached and drab approach found in many green homes. The fountain-fed pool out back is just one of dozens of upscale features on this property, the region's first carbon neutral designer show home.

The idea, according to Barry Dixon, chair of the design committee, is to get folks to look at living green in a whole new way. "What we were aspiring to do was have people not even think green - just fall in love with luxurious, beautiful interiors, and then realize they were green," says Dixon.

The 3,800 square foot home is filled with reclaimed wood and recycled material fashioned to high design quality. There's even a virtual golf course in the downstairs play room. What it lacks is that "new home smell," and that's important, according to environmentalist Phillip Cousteau. "People say, 'I love that new house smell,' but those are toxic chemicals that we've associated with the new and good, but they're gassing us to death," says Cousteau.

The carbon neutral house in McLean, Virginia is open to the public through the end of October.

Elliott Francis reports...