Frankfort tour includes home and office that couple built on environmentally friendly principles

The Muellers home and office on Old Georgetown Road have geothermal heating and cooling; solar panels; and bamboo and concrete flooring. HERALD-LEADER|BuyPhoto

FRANKFORT The home of Andrea and Michael Mueller is a environmentalist's dream.

When the Muellers open their home and office on June 14 for the Living in History House and Garden Tour, they will likely inspire homeowners to create sustainable homes and building structures, and landscape their yards with drought-tolerant plants.

The contemporary house, designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, has geothermal heating and cooling; solar panels; bamboo and concrete flooring; and kitchen and bathroom counters made of reclaimed glass and porcelain.

The Muellers are owners of Inside Out Design, a landscape and hardscape design-build firm on Old Georgetown Road.

The couple started their business in their home in 2007, and at the time, the house was 850 square feet. In 2009, they turned the tiny kitchen into a laundry room and built a large addition that includes an glass entryway and open living-dining-kitchen area.

Most of the new main level of the house was used as an office for their company, until an earth-berm office building was built a few hundred yards away in 2011. That building has reclaimed and repurposed interior furnishings and a vegetative/living roof. The driveway to the home and business is made of permeable pavers.

Inside Out Design, which builds sustainable outdoor spaces and installs gardens throughout Central Kentucky, recently was selected as the Landscaper of the Year by Total Landscape Care magazine and Case Construction equipment.

"I think building sustainably and building structures that last is a way that everyone can have impact whether you are remodeling or building a new home," Andrea Mueller said. "Any time you can use less resources, or save future resources or existing resources, is a way that we can all make a small impact for our future and for generations to come."

If they were building the house today, the couple say would do some things differently.

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Frankfort tour includes home and office that couple built on environmentally friendly principles