When given the choice between being green or not, most people naturally feel better when they trod the greener path. In the past, however, design choices were limited, and making these choices often meant compromising on certain elements — whether it is product performance, comfort or style. Not anymore.
Furniture Facelift
As you move through your redecorating process, replacing current furnishing may be in order. One way to go green is to recover, refinish or resell your furniture. Or think about purchasing previously owned furniture. Consider shopping for antiques and vintage furniture — they are usually well constructed, don’t off-gas nasty chemicals and may add luxurious elements to your space — they have history, a priceless touch, in our opinion. Plus you are keeping a perfectly usable item out the landfill.
Speaking of recovering, the old standbys of cotton, wool and silk are always good choices. New technology has also introduced very interesting textiles made from recycled materials and sustainable harvested fibers like bamboo.
Clean and Cute
Before, if you wanted to use an environmentally friendly dishwashing liquid, it was typically packaged in a nondescript bottle, had little or no scent and was colorless — in other words, boring. The only thing inspiring about the product was the fact that it was environmentally-friendly.
Fast forward. The design community has thoroughly embraced being green and manufacturers and product developers have answered the call by providing products and packaging to please all of the senses. The Method line of home care products happens to be our favorite; their snappy packaging, innovative scents and products offer something for every room in your house. Not only that, but it works! Method is just one of many such product lines, some other favorites include: Caldrea, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and Williams Sonoma’s Pure and Green products.
Fantastic Floors
Who knew Marmoleum would be considered a green product instead of that old-fashioned flooring that grandma used? Not just for back halls and laundry rooms, traditional materials like this are being incorporated in new and innovative ways — a broad range of colors and patterns takes this classic option into the new century. This is another category where recycled elements are now being integrated into the product. Wool carpeting, cork, sustainable woods and natural stones are also options to consider.
Refreshing Wood
Refinishing existing cabinets and other wood furnishings such as tables can add years to their life, spare them from the landfill and reduce the amount of new materials that need to be added to the project. Plus, they leave you more room in the budget to spend on other elements. Sometimes all it takes is a new set of hardware, a fresh finish and you are good to go.
Pretty ‘Green’ Paint
When you heed the call to redecorate, one of the first things most people consider is repainting. There are many green products on the market, but what does going green mean in this case? Here’s another example of where in the past using a green paint meant you were sacrificing performance, had limited color choices and application challenges. Today, the paint landscape is colored very differently. For example, C2 Paint recently introduced premium C2 LoVo paint. Not only is it non-toxic, low-odor and environmentally friendly, it has a green, customized sampling program that allows you infinite color choices, it’s manufactured in the only zero waste paint manufacturing facility in the country and it’s packaged in recycled plastic pails. It’s made green and stays green (unless of course you select one of the other 496 designer colors … or one you customize).
Robin Daly and Christian Ursino have been writing about design for years. Check out their blog at 425magazine.com
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