Think you can’t teach an old house new tricks? Children’s book author Margaret Hyde gave her 102-year-old home a makeover to suit the times.

About seven years ago, Margaret Hyde had an identity crisis. “I was living in a 10,000-square-foot house in the Palisades,” she says. “It felt so excessive. I started questioning every aspect of my life. What’s my impact on this planet? What do I really value? None of these had easy answers.”

But the inquiries did eventually lead to some major changes. Hyde ended her marriage; continued writing children’s books (the "Mo’s Nose" series, starring a rescue dog; “they’re an eco-friendly update on the old scratch-and-sniff books, featuring essential oils”); and met and married her current husband, green-energy broker Chris Gough. Together they started renovating a 4,800-square-foot Craftsman-style home in Santa Monica, California.

“We weren’t sure how green we could make a house that was more than a hundred years old,” she says. “But when the idea of LEED certification came up, we quickly became committed.”

These days, Hyde -- who shares the house with Gough; their daughter, Sadie (19 months); her sons, 15-year-old Jackson and 11-year-old Jasper; and the family’s golden retriever, Augie -- says she feels like her daily life and her values are finally in sync. “My sons tell me I can’t ever sell this house; they want to live here when they grow up!”

Hyde’s home scored 105 out of a possible 136 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) points, earning it LEED Platinum certification. Major overhauls to the exterior included insulating double-paned windows with a reflective low-E coating and a reflective, half-recycled metal roof with solar panels.

A rainwater catchment system was installed. Water from the roof runs down the chain and is collected to be used on the garden.

A permeable, recycled-concrete patio was added to reduce runoff.

The exterior siding is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified cedar, and all of the exterior lighting was switched over to solar power.

The front gate was made using reclaimed copper solar panels.

The efficient under-sink Bosch dishwasher and Liebherr fridge scored major LEED energy points. All of the eco-friendly wall paints used in the house came from Portola Paints & Glazes. The floors are 150-year-old oak reclaimed from a barn. The upper cabinets are made from glass and steel and the lower ones from sustainable wenge veneer; both are by Valcucine, an Italian company that plants trees to offset its footprint.

“I love to bake, so I added carve-outs on the stone countertop to keep my eggs from rolling off,” says Hyde.

A food-scrap bin next to the kitchen trash makes composting easy.

Because the front yard receives sunlight most of the day, Hyde decided to plant vegetables there. The family’s homemade compost keeps the soil rich and healthy. “We cook from the garden all the time,” she says, “and Sadie and I are often out there picking strawberries together.”

A large skylight added above the stairway leading to Hyde’s office provides extra light -- plus heat in winter and ventilation in summer. Once the sun has set, a row of LED fixtures illuminates photographs and artifacts from the family’s travels. “We have painted prayer wallpaper from Bhutan, masks from Africa, and swords from Indonesia,” Hyde says.

Water efficiency accounts for 15 LEED points, and the house earned 12. The toilets use less than 1.1 gallons per flush, and the faucets run at less than 1.5 gallons per minute. A gray-water system recycles water from the shower and washing machine for irrigation in the garden.

Hyde says her favorite thing about the master bathroom is the local-stone floor. “Between the solar-powered radiant heating beneath it and the texture, walking on it is like getting a free foot massage.”

The master bedroom's skylight and large windowed doors keep the room nice and bright during most of the day. The bed features a frame crafted from found driftwood. For the fireplace hearth, Hyde chose granite from nearby San Diego.

The 165-year-old fig tree in the backyard may be one of the oldest trees in Santa Monica. “We knew it was the perfect spot for a tree house,” Hyde says, “but we needed to do something that would be in harmony with it.” She called eco-tree-house guru Roderick Romero, who “came out and communed with the tree,” she says, before creating this solar-powered aerie from reclaimed wood and windows.

One of the kitchen walls slides open so that eating and entertaining can spill onto the deck. The extra ventilation has allowed the family to cut down on air-conditioning in the summer. The new deck was crafted from FSC-certified cedar.

Wood from the old deck was turned into cabinets, shelves, and racks for the garage, where the family stashes their many bikes and surfboards.

“The patio off of my home office is like my own secret adult hangout,” Hyde says. “It’s the perfect place to have a meeting -- or just a cup of coffee.” Having real fireplaces knocked off some LEED points, but Hyde says she and her family love them too much not to have them. “We cook with long-lasting almond wood.”