Yes, Michael and Lisa Rubenstein realize that if all they wanted in life was to go green, they'd live off the grid in a yurt.

But the couple dreamed of a big house with a big yard where their kids and friends and relatives had plenty of room to play and swim and lounge, all on a single story so that a child in a wheelchair could roam freely and independently.

Could they have their granola and eat it too? From the looks of their new, contemporary-on-the-outside, luxe-on-the-inside, 6,000-square-foot Hillsborough home and from the smiles on their faces, the Rubensteins' effort to make the greenest selection at every step of the building process seems to have yielded a harmonious synergy of livability, luxury and environmental responsibility.

"This is the Hillsborough market - you're not going to build less than 6,000 square feet," said Lisa, an interior designer. "So what do you do, throw up your hands and say screw it? You can be green in any market, you just have to find the right materials."

"I actually think the bigger houses have a bigger responsibility in that regard," said the architect, Randy Grange.

"Yes," Lisa said. "Because we can afford it, we should do more."

Sure, it's just another case of human material status demands willing to accept reality only superficially and in the form of a fashion statement, but there is still some epic logic in there.

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