Sustainable Home

I just happened to be over at Anthropologie, and notice that they are carrying the Plover Organic sheet sets. I enjoy Plover Organics for several reasons.  One is that they are block printed.  This is the technique often used in indian textiles where an interlocking block is loaded with ink, and then pressed down into the fabric.  Because each block is hand inked and hand set, the result (usually a geometric repeating design) is delightfully varied over the surface of the textile.  Often it will take several blocks to print all of the colors in the design.

The Plover sheets are also organic, so you know you are doing the right thing.  Did you know that 10% of all the pesticides used in the United States are used on the cotton crop?  Also it takes 1/4 pound of synthetic fertilizer to grow one pound of cotton, which is about enough to make one tee shirt.  So buying organic does make a difference. They are great quality with 300 threads per inch.

Many of these sheets are on sale right now! So if you need sheets, it is bargain time.

If you are a fan of color, (DUH, who isn’t) you also should know about Amy Butler. She makes a bunch of products, including sheets, and gorgeous organic towels. Her stuff is usually available at Bed Bath and Beyond, online.

March 8th, 2011 | Category: furniture and materials, just for fun |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

One of Harmony's prints

I spent my early career as a textile designer, and love textiles.  But like any modern manufactured product, fabrics are a complex substance with many inputs.  The reality is that there are a lot of chemical inputs that might be unhealthy, but it is challenging assessing the level of exposure/risk that is appropriate for you.  I often use conventional materials in my interior design process, but it is important to know what the major areas of concern are, and how to evaluate them. I also am a fairly relaxed person (despite all my specialized scary knowledge) and think that the goal should be minimizing exposure. It is impossible to eliminate all chemicals in our lives, but it is sensible to know when you are being exposed to those substances that raise the most concern among scientists.

I recently had a chance to do some research about the various chemical components of fabric manufacturing.  Green Home Guide has me write answers their Ask A Pro section of their excellen web  site, and someone wrote in with a question about quilting fabrics.  I have copied my answer below, but the bottom line for me continues to be the same: be informed about the component parts of the products you are bringing into your home, and use your best judgement to select the least toxic, the most natural, product that meets your functional design needs.

The QUESTION

July 4, 2010
Is there a way to wash/clean regular fabrics that would remove all the toxic residues and therefore be as healthy as organic fabrics? I am trying to make a baby quilt but at a cost I could afford and yet be healthy
Asked by Karen Shaw
Plano, TX
I really wish I could answer yes to this question, because sourcing truly healthy fabrics is one of the more frustrating things I have to do in my practice.  However, the answer is more complex.
The very short answer is that washing does eliminate some of the toxins, but absolutely cannot eliminate all.  It is very possible to get chemical free fabrics, the most dependable standard for healthy fabric is to look for fabrics, and not just yarns,  that are organically grown and GOTS certified.  GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard, and examines at the chemical inputs into the fabric creation process, rather than whether that cotton was grown organically.  Organically grown cotton is not sprayed during the growing process.  There are many charming quilt fabrics that are both organic and GOTS certified.  I love the fabrics by Harmony Art and that Modern Organic Fabrics stock.  Harmony Art also has a list of retailers that carry her fabrics, and each of these stores carries other lines that are GOTS certified.  It is important to ask for each fabric, because retailers also carry Oeko-Tex 100 certified fabrics, which are not as carefully monitored as far as the inputs.  They are cleaner to use, but the production chemicals end up in the environment. In order to understand the chemical inputs Patty Grossman, of O EcoTextiles, helped me look at the steps of cotton fabric production.
- As the cotton is grown it is sprayed with chemical pesticides, defoliants, and weed killers.  The average acre of American cotton receives 4.3 pounds of pesticides.  Cotton that is not labeled organic also could be grown from GMO seeds, seeds that have their genetic make up changed to make it resistant to herbicides. Studies have shown that pesticides are present inside the cotton fibers after harvest, and that they cannot be washed out using a home washing machine
- As the cotton fibers are processed into yarns, and woven into fabric, they are washed, treated for texture, and bleached or brightened.  These chemicals, often including dioxins, can be present in the finished textile.
- The woven textile is dyed or printed to give it the color, and often treated for softness, wrinkle resistance, or other qualities.  Printed textiles often have both heavy metals (such as cadmium) and plasticizers (like phthalates) in their printing inks.  Wrinkle or stain resistant fabrics can contain chemicals such as formaldehyde.  And these treatments and colorants are well designed by the chemists.  They are designed to NOT wash out.  The dyes, for instance, are called “fiber reactive” dyes because they chemically bind with the fiber molecules in order to remain colorfast.   The chemical components of your fabric dye are there as long as the color is there.
-In the home furnishings industry fabrics are often coated for stain resistance, back coated to give a fabric the dimensional stability to be used as upholstery, and must be fire resistant.  Many of these chemicals are types that have been proven to be harmful, and to be bio-accumulative.  This means that increased exposure leads to increased levels of these chemicals in your body.

Fabric, like any modern industrial product, is a complex, multi-component item.  At each step in a fabric’s production it can have chemical inputs added to its makeup.  Over 2,000 chemical s are regularly used in textile production, some of them so toxic that they are outlawed in other industries.  The final fabric is, by weight, over 10% synthetic chemicals of various types

Decision making about acceptable risk is challenging, especially when the safer product (that they had to spend less on chemicals to make! I’m just saying…) is more expensive.  It is hard for a consumer to know exactly how concerned to be.  I use the precautionary principal as my standard of safety for products that I specify,

If a product has a suspected risk of harm to the public or the environment, it is sensible to eliminate exposure to that product until further scientific findings emerge that provide sound evidence that no harm will result.  Simply stated, if it might have a health effect, don’t expose yourself, until it has been PROVEN that there is no effect.

Th

is is the approach to chemical regulation used by the EU.  Unfortunately, the US system allows chemicals to be used until research proves there is some reason to regulate use of that chemical.Ok, enough bad news.  The good news, and the reason I love the opportunity to answer these questions, is that knowledge is power.  It is easy and important that you ask a fabric supplier whether their fabric is GOTS certified, and there are many sources of fabrics that are.  Green fabric lines should know whether they are certified, and this independently verified standard is your strongest tool in evaluating whether a fabric is truly safe and chemical free.  Each person can assess the risk, relative to their level of concern and take the steps to minimize their exposure that they feel are necessary.We have discussed mostly cotton, but there are beautiful fabrics in every market sector.  I love the O Ecotextiles upholstery and drapery fabrics, the lush wovens of Twill Textiles Climatex collection, and the groovy prints of Mod Green Pod.
Every time you vote with your dollars by purchasing clean fabrics, you are creating change in the marketplace.  Companies produce things that sell well, and now we have the knowledge that allows us to buy only safe fabric.

November 7th, 2010 | Category: furniture and materials, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

September 29th, 2010 | Category: Green living tips, Sustainable Living, just for fun |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

One of the most positive things I have see in my years of researching green materials for interiors, is that increasingly mainstream manufacturers feel that they must have a green story to compete.  It used to be that green counter top materials were made by small producers such as Vetrazzo or Paperstone, who just wanted to do the right thing.  Now the big manufacturers are putting out green countertops products. One of the great things about this is that it offers the consumers some options that are easy to order, and have a reasonable price.

I like quartz based countertops anyway.  Many consumers know them by their trade names: Zodiaq, or CeasarStone.  They are green because they are low maintenance,  low emitting, durable, replace a product that would have to be mined, and are made of one of the most plentiful minerals on earth.  Now many of the manufacturers of Quartz countertops are creating products with recycled content.

Constantino has made a separate line of green countertops, called ECO.  The eco line is made of 75% recycled content including glass, mirrors, porcelain and stone scrap.  My favorite is White Diamond, and I must admit I am not a huge fan of the ones with the mirror fragments.  They are just too sparkly.

In Ceasar Stone I love the Smokey Ash, it is a warm black that I would love to use in a kitchen.  That particular product is 15% recycled, but the their recycled colors range up to 40%.

Zodiaq also makes a line of recycled content solid surface countertops.  Their color range is just lovely, and functional.  I love Flax,but it is well worth checking out their whole color range.

Slabs for countertops are heavy things, so one of the things you should think about is where a product is manufactured, and how it is shipped.  Ocean Freight has one of the lower carbon emissions per ton, and so slabs that are shipped directly to a port, then stocked there, have a pretty low carbon footprint.  Ceasar Stone is made in Israel, Constantino is made in Spain, and both are shipped to the port close to where it will be used.  Zodiac is made in Canada, more local, but shipped via truck which is higher carbon per ton per mile.  So if you live near Canada, Zodiac would have the lower carbon footprint, and if you live near a sea port, or in the EU, you might choose one of the other two.

I do feel that it is worth mentioning one other choice.  Cabria quartz surfaces do not have a recycled content.  However they are made in North America, of N. American quartz, and thus neither the materials or the finished product have to travel far if you are in USA or Canada.

August 2nd, 2010 | Category: energy, furniture and materials, remodeling |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

One of the most difficult things to manage in the design business is delivering unpleasant news to a client.  I think everyone who does this work wants to solve problems and create great results, but sometimes bad news….. happens.  Recently one of my sources of organic towels discontinued a color, while I had an order in for that color, and without emailing me.  Yikes!

The only way to handle it is to tell the client the truth, and to provide a solution as part of the message.  I spent a rather intense afternoon on the internet finding organic cotton towels in that exact color, before calling my client!

Being an interior designer with a green specialty means that you are always bringing up unpleasant realities.  The cabinet shop that is cheapest might use a formaldehyde containing wood product,  the mahogany flooring that the client likes might have been poached out of a rainforest, the wallpaper might contain vinyl and encourage mould growth in the walls.  It adds a level of complexity because I have to deliver lifecycle information about the products used in interior design, while still creating the visual, functional and emotional atmosphere a client wants in their home.  I love designing homes, and collaborating with clients, but sometimes I feel like the Grinch when I bring up some yucky environmental effect associated with a product.

I love teaching about green interior design because I get to share all of the information about green products, but without bumming a client out because I am telling them they shouldn’t buy something.  Most people will never be in the situation where they are hiring a design professional, but I still want them to know about sustainable design.  I feel especially strongly about environmentally friendly interior design when there are health issues with conventional products.  No one should have formaldehyde in their interior wood products, it is a known airway irritant, mutagen and carcinogen, and is easy to avoid.  But if you don’t know the right questions to ask, you might bring this pollutant into you house!

It is great because I can help people who are doing their own design make healthier choices.

Anyhow, this is all to introduce the fact that I am teaching again in April:

March 29th, 2010 | Category: Green living tips, events, furniture and materials |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

People are surprised when I say I love working within a tight budget in a project.  I truly believe it improves the resulting design.  And one of the ways that it does so is by making the project greener.

Interestingly enough, the reasons that support this statement are almost duplicates of the reasons below. If you think carefully about your project, and spend your limited budget on those features that truly matter to you, (as in reason #3 below) you are likely to create a space that will make you happy for a long time. One of the most important characteristics of a green project is whether it has longevity. It you like, and can live with a design for a long time, you are unlikely to remodel again in the short term. This minimizes how often you will need to consume more products, and throw away old ones, because you are tired of a room design.

I also think that when you have been creative with reuse in finishing your design space, (as in reason #2 below) the resulting project is more that just visual. It also has a great story which resonates beyond the way it looks. “Remember how we found that chair by the side of the road, and had it refinished?” “Did you know that marble used to be on countertop in a bank?” These stories add richness and meaning to a space, in addition to being both creative and green.

100 % recycled Mosaic

Also many of the most creative new materials in architecture and design are green. Most of the market is stagnant, and is not innovating.  But green design is lively and stimulating, even in this down economy. New green products are being introduced contstantly and they are interesting, stunningly beautiful and exciting. It is easy to select them just because or their visual qualities, but they also add a green story to the mix, “That tile used to be a car windshield!” Carefully selecting the new green materials and furnishings allow me to do design that feels fresh and interesting.

And, finally, as I have said before; size does matter in green design.  If you have a budget, you are likely to select the smallest possible scope of work.  This means you will focus on making those changes that will truly make you space more functional and enjoyable.  This targeted approach will benefit you the most, with the smallest investment.  It will also use less natural resources, and create less waste.

So the greenest project is the one that has a small (but realistic) budget.  Read on to the older blogs to see the other reasons that a limited budget is a GOOD thing for your interior design project!

February 2nd, 2010 | Category: Green living tips, Sustainable Living, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

The current economic situation is challenging, and is causing folks to reassess their spending priorities. I actually think this might be a good thing for the design projects that still are going on. There are gorgeous products in the world, and it is easy to fall in love with high end materials. But in a sense, when you have the ability to purchase picture perfect items for every area of your home, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to solve your design problems within a set of limitations. A budget creates a challenge, when redesigning your home, and one’s mind functions better when solving challenging problems. Which brings me to the number two reason why your design project will be better if you are working with in a tight budget:

#2- You will be more creative! When you buy expensive products for your home, everything is beautiful because a staff of designers has done a wonderful job creating that item. I love high end design, but think that it is fun to take some of the creativity back from those designers. After all why should they get all the fun? You budget forces you to purchase expensive products sparingly, which frees you up to do creative problem solving. I use wallpaper on plaster walls in older homes, because it is so difficult to keep cracks from showing up as the house shifts (especially in earthquake country) but it can be expensive, $80-120 a roll, is not unusual. How about this idea, using old newspaper or pages from a book? Selecting a used addition of a favorite novel would add a layer of personal meaning to your walls.

Even on high end projects I always use vintage pieces of furniture, they add additional charm. But expecially for wood items like end tables, or dressers, they represent significant savings over buying new, and are always higher quality than new items of the same price. I love selecting an item that reminds a client of a special time in their life, lunch in grandma’s kitchen might be evoked by a vintage painted table, or their groovy professor’s house by a mid century end table ($85 on craigslist). So, by paying attention to a budget, a bunch of creative options come into view for creating a more personal space.  Wood pieces are easy to refinish, and vintage shapes add a unique touch to a home. If you have a Craigslist organization locally, that is a great place to look, and the best bargains are always at tag sales.

Over all, having limits on your budget gives you the freedom to think creatively about your design direction. Solutions are not just handed to you (for a price,) it takes work. But once you start thinking creatively you will end up with a design solutions that are more personal, more fun, and save you money.

January 12th, 2010 | Category: Green living tips, Sustainable Living, just for fun, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

In the current economic climate many people are facing a gap between what they want and what they can afford. It is easy to see this as a beastly problem, or even a reason to throw up your hands and avoid needed design changes, (Please, not this!) But the reality is that every project has a budget. Even clients who have the ability to select more luxurious materials and furnishings end up bumping into dreaded compromises. Most people cannot afford everything they desire, and perhaps that is a good thing. Interestingly enough, I have found that many of the projects with strict budgets end up being the best designs when finished. I actually like working within a budget, it gives a structure to the many decisions that need to be made when redoing a space. So, to give hope as we enter the economic recovery (we are recovering, right?), over the next few blogs I will give you the reasons your design project will be better if you are working within a budget.

#3- You will appreciate your finished project more. As you work though a project, especially a remodel, there are many little things that you must fit into your budget. Many of them do not offer that much of an opportunity either to splurge or to economize- a 2×4 stud costs what it costs- but for many items there are solutions in a range of costs. Working within a budget causes you to consider the lowest cost item for each choice, in addition to the first pretty thing you fall in love with. You might want a subway tile backsplash in your kitchen, and think that Lanka hand molded tiles are fabulous, rich with variation. This might be the detail that will make your heart sing each time you look at it- but your budget will make you aware that the machine made tile is 1/3 the price. If you backsplash is 60 sf, and the cost savings is about $6/sq.ft, you will probably have one of two reactions- either “That handmade tile is so delightful, it was so worth the extra $360 out of my budget.” Or,“I am so glad I could afford that gorgeous modern faucet, because of the money I saved on the tile.” Either way, you are happier with the final result, because of the research that your budgeting made you do. The reality is that there are lovely products in every budget category, and that expensive things are only worth it if they add value that you appreciate. A budget forces you to be conscious of what you truly love and value in design.

January 4th, 2010 | Category: Green living tips, Sustainable Living, Uncategorized, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

If you have ever asked yourself, as I have frequently, “how the heck can I pick the best performing and most water efficient toilet?”  help is at hand.

What??!?!?

You have never asked yourself that?  You have never given it a bit of thought?

Well, then I am a bigger eco geek than you, because I got all excited and HAD to blog today when I found this guide. It is a independent test of all of the low flush WC’s, or at least a place where you can download all of the tests and reports.  It is test data divided into single flush gravity fed, single flush pressure assist, and dual flush, so you can download the testing for the kind of toilet you want to get.  The research is sponsored by Canadian government agencies, and water conservation agencies and water utilties from the states.  This means the testing and results are free of industry influence.  Apparently the results are accurate due to the fact that “A soybean paste having similar physical properties (density, moisture content) to human waste was used in combination with toilet paper as the test media.” (Some one did that research, and then wrote that wonderful line as part of their report, I love scientists!!)  It is so good to have real data to help you in making such an important decision!!

And when you replace your old water waster, don’t forget to recycle it, it could be made intoa solid surface countertop, and they are actually pretty nice!

November 12th, 2009 | Category: energy, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment