Throughout the year, I have shared with you my thoughts on the big trends for 2010: optimistic colors, aging-in-place design, and the influence of our global society. The final trend for this year is eco-friendly design and living. By this I mean transforming your home using the guiding principles of “reduce, renew and recycle.”
Designing your home using materials that you already have and that are locally available reduces your impact on the environment, and by using less – less water, less electricity, and fewer chemicals – we create less waste. The “reduce, renew and recycle” approach to living comes full circle in the home.
You may not think of yourself as very “green” or think that making a conscious choice toward environmentalism is too difficult or too expensive. Actually, designing with sustainability and renewability is not hard at all. In fact, you may be “accidentally green” – too frugal to let anything go to waste. Whether you are “cheap” or making a concerted effort to be “green,” here are some guiding principles and suggestions for eco-friendly design and living.
Reduce your environmental impact and your energy bill.
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs as a way to reduce electricity. They fit almost any lamp or fixture and are available in both warm and cool tones to suit your décor.
• Select Energy Star appliances, which use up to 70 percent less electricity than appliances from just 10 years ago.
• Choose water-saving plumbing fixtures like low-flush toilets and water-efficient faucets. They can save hundreds of dollars a year in water bills while using up to 30 percent less water.
Renew your home and the planet.
• Woods such as bamboo, cork, and lyptus grow quickly, are easy to harvest, and are great choices for flooring and cabinetry. Each is durable and comes in a variety of colors, styles and stains.
• Renew the cabinetry you already have with a low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint or stain. VOCs are unstable, carbon-containing compounds that readily vaporize into the air causing health problems and environmental issues.
• Don’t throw out that old tub or brass bed. Local companies can renew porcelain or metal. Turn a brass bed into modern chrome or bring back the slick whiteness of a bathtub from dirty pink. Even a brass light fixture can take on new life with a coat of black lacquer paint and modern linen shades.
• Spruce up an old piece of furniture with a new vibrant paint color. This is not only inexpensive – it is fun! An old cherry chest of drawers painted a robin’s egg blue, equipped with some vintage hardware, can go from stuffy to spectacular!
Recycle anything and everything.
• Re-purpose an item into something new. This used to be called “clever”
– and still is – but now it’s also economical and green. Consider using an old iron gate as a headboard, a wooden stool as a table, an old blazer or dress as a pillow, or old hubcaps as wall art.
• Shop second-hand to keep furniture out of landfills. Salvation Army stores, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Goodwill, America’s Thrift Stores and consignment stores are great places to find wonderful old furniture with character and uniqueness. All offer fantastic bargains, and without all of the packaging or transportation, they have low carbon footprints (a good thing). By buying at these stores, you are keeping items out of the landfills (a great thing).
Using the principles of “reduce, renew and recycle,” you can create a look that is modern, affordable, and good for the environment. Now that is good design by any standard, for today and tomorrow.