The remodeling of the Patterson farmhouse to become the Harmony House used various forms of "green building" in both the structure and interior. Timber-framed walls are fitted with six inches of fiberglass insulation which is some areas is two to three inches thicker than that in conventional homes. This translates into a wall R-value which approaches twice that of conventional homes. In addition, the walls are internally lined with reflective aluminum foils that enhance energy efficiency by reflecting heat back toward the house thereby curtailing radiative heat loss.

Other measures adopted in the house for the promotion of an allergy-free non-toxic indoor environment include the use of water based paints and sealers, linseed oil on exterior surfaces of cedar sidings, nontoxic caulking compounds, and the absence of toxic substances for termite control.

The judicious location of windows throughout the house helps by enhancing availability of natural day-light. This, of course, not only helps to make the house interior brighter and more pleasant when daylight is available, but also helps to reduce energy consumption by electric lighting.Caulking around the edges of window frames and along external wall joints curtails heat loss during winter by minimizing the infiltration of cold air.

Indeed, the availability of an attached greenhouse offers the prospect of being able to use plants within the indoor environment for natural air purification. Some types of plants have been shown to be particularly effective in "scrubbing" such outgassed substances like formaldehyde and benzene from indoor air. This is, of course, in addition to the plants being consumers of carbon dioxide and producers of oxygen.

Much of the external glazing consists of argon filled, low-emissivity (low-E) double paned glass. The argon gas offers a greater resistance to conductive heat loss than an ordinary air entrapment. The low-E film, which is really a thin layer of metal oxide on the inner glazing surface facing the argon gas entrapment, helps by reflecting back into the house outwardly radiating heat. In this way, more heat can be retained in the house during cold months. In fact, low-E double glazing with argon has an R-value of about 4 compared with an R-value of 2 for conventional double glazing with air.