Sustainable Home

I have a confession to make, I am not a natural modernist.  I love modern design, and the constant striving for something that is purely original, clean and new.  But I also realize that what I am more natrurally drawn to warm, referential modernism.  I love the textile designs of the fifties, the modern furniture of the 30’s and 40’s, and innovation of the swinging 60’s.  But let’s face it, that is now historic design.

Historical items, or vintage items, have a resonance and meaning, beyond the purely visual, when added to an interior arrangement.  They add a layer of complexity to a design.  Perhaps the vintage bar cart reminds you of the chic cocktail hours at your grandmother’s, perhaps the greek urn reminds you of a honeymoon trip.  In any case older items have an association that adds richness to a room.

I am lucky to live in an area with world class arts, and am looking forward to my visit to King Tut, at the De Young Museum.  They have many of the richest pieces from the Tombs of Tutankhamun, items 3000 years old,  and many that were not part of the original tour 30 years ago.  (Yes, I must admit I was old enough to go to that exhibit.)  It should be a visual treat.

Although most of us cannot collect artifacts from early history, most of us have some region of the earth, or some period in history (either recent or ancient) that resonates with us.  Why not let these interests show in our homes.  It is one of the things that can make a home unique to you!

September 21st, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized, furniture and materials, just for fun, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana

I love the integrity of architecture from different periods. Each style of home reflects the concerns, the dreams, the optimism and the fears of the period when it was built.  An important consideration, when remodeling, is to be true to the architecture, the feeling, the gesture of the existing building.  I don’t think remodels should be a slavish imitation of the preexisting historic style, but all should be a cohesive and appropriate addition.  Sadly, this does not always happen.  I think this is a valid consideration even when undertaking upgrades to increase the energy efficiency of the structure.  A good remodel will ensure the building will have value for another 100 years.  How green is that?  A bad remodel can make a building seem worthless, a tear-down.

Therefore,  I was pleased to find a great guide to selecting appropriate the appropriate steps to weatherize older buildings.  The information is very interesting and complete: how to evaluate when to restore a window and when to replace, how to identify the style and detail in your existing windows, and what energy credits might be available.  Most people want to do the right thing to take care of their older home, but just are not aware of the details.

The reality is that most of the energy of heating a home is lost through the walls, roof, floors and drafts.  Insulating and stopping leaks is both cheaper and more effective at saving energy than replacing windows.  Replacement windows can take many years to pay back their cost, and might make your house look as funky as a glamourous starlet on Oscar day that decided to wear their down jacket with their ball gown.  Details matter!

September 17th, 2009 | Category: energy, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

LED lighting has been growing by leaps and bounds, just as I had hoped it would.  I feel so proud, like a mama who is able to report “I know they had a lot of potential, just look!!!”

Well take a look at this gorgeous new fixture series from Boyd!  It is designed for LED lamps, and individual pendants can be combined on one ceiling plate into a larger clustered fixture.  As an added benefit, Boyd is a San Francisco company, so if I specify these fixtures I am supporting the local economy.

Additionally Cree lighting has come up with a nice lamp that has a color rendering index of 92 with a light color of 2700 Kelvin!

I know it is a little geeky for me to get excited about a CRI number, but for years the reason given by many for not using efficient lighting was that they didn’t like the color quality.  (But I guess they were ok with wasting energy and contributing to global warming.)  Actually, to be absolutely honest, I had the same complaints and have spent far too many nights reading novels by the faintly greenish, or bright blue white light of various high efficacy lamps I had purchased to test in my own home.

The new Cree recessed cans deliver in the range of 50-60 lumens per watt, which qualify them to be considered Hi efficacy under CA energy code.  They also avoid the primary problem of fluorescent lamps (bulbs) because they do not contain mercury.  And they do this with great light color and superior color rendering, better actually than a typical incandescent bulb.  Now that is living up to your potential!

August 26th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

I am extremely excited to be reading the various posts from NEO Con, the commercial interior design convention.  So many well designed, and exciting products!  Green products seem to have a strong presence, I am thrilled to see that sustainable design has penetrated deeply into mainstream product design priorities.  I have always loved the textile and carpet designs from Angela Adams, she does a naturally inspired modernism that I find very livable.  She has collaborated with Architex, who have some serious design chops of their own, to create a line of green textiles.  The fabrics are lovely, the products are sustainable, and will be realized in rugs and wallpaper by Shaw and MDG Wallcoverings, respectively.

August 5th, 2009 | Category: events, furniture and materials, remodeling |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

The SC Solar Decathlon house in Wasington DC

How exciting, it never rains but it pours.  I was a little discouraged because my Green Interior design class was under enrolled.  I (of course) started thinking that no-one cared about greening their interiors, or selecting heathy materials.  Then a couple of more speaking engagements came up, and they should be exciting!

They both primarily focus on green interiors.

First, I am speaking on my part in the 2007 Santa Clara Solar Decathlon House, which took 3rd in this international solar home contest. I will describe this exciting contest, and the space planning and design of the interiors.  This little house was designed to make an energy independent house look comfortable and easy to live in.  The best compliment I overheard when the house was in Washington  was “I just want to pick up this house, put it by the beach, and move in!” :

Thursday, June 11th, 2009, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

City of Redwood City Council Chambers 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City

http://www.recycleworks.org/sustainability/lectures.html

Second, I am speaking in the Portola Valley Local Heros on Local Issues speaker series, about the challenge of deciding what green materials are right for your interior projects, and the beautiful green materials that are available ( This series has a lot of good speakers!!! And it is held in an award winning green building complex, one of the AIA top 10 green projects of 2009)

June 23 - Green Interior Design • Green Building Comes Inside - Decision Making for Interiors with Kirsten Flynn

Portola Valley Green Speaker Series: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Town Center, Community Hall

765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028

 http://www.portolavalley.net/index.aspx?page=251

June 2nd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Sometimes saving the environment seems like an exercise in denial: don’t buy things, don’t take planes, don’t use your car.  Now personally, I think saving the world might be worth a teensy sacrifice, but it is lovely when saving resources also adds a little more comfort to your life.  

How long before you want to step into a steaming hot shower do you turn the water on?  One minute, three minutes, perhaps even five minutes?  Well, if I can assume you have a low flow shower head, which would be max of 2.5 gallons per minute, you might be wasting as much as 15 gallons of water per shower.  What is that you say, you did not like the low flow shower head you tried, and so you replaced it?  Oh no…. you are wasting even more while you wait for the hot water.

Well first of all, please get a low flow shower head back into your shower.  The new ones are very nice, are under 1.6 gpm, and have great pressure.  

I also used to waste a lot of water, (although I never removed the low flow head) because my hot water tank was in the basement.  I have molto, molto, good vibe hot water from my fabulous solar hot water panels on my roof, but it took a LONG time to get to me!  I had thought about using a tankless hot water as the back up to my solar system (we currently use the old gas heater as the back up for cloudy days), and placing it next to my bathroom, but have you priced a tankless water heater lately?   

My problems were solved when I went to a plumbing presentation at last year’s West Coast Green.  It introduced a product that is a demand circulation pump for hot water.  Basically, when you want hot water, you want it right NOW.  This little item is a small pump that fits under your sink, and is actuated by a pushbutton.  A few minutes before you want your shower, you push the button.  The pump starts sucking hot up towards your bathroom through the hot water line, and returning it to the tank through the cold water line.  When hot water is up at your bathroom, a thermostat turns the pump off.  This not only saves water, it also makes your life more pleasant.  No more stepping into a luke warm shower, because you did not wait long enough.  

My clever husband installed it, and it was finished in an afternoon.  I got a D-mand system, but there are others out there.

Demand recirculating system ——— $300

Hot water when and where I want it—-  Priceless

May 26th, 2009 | Category: Green living tips, energy, remodeling |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Once again I am teaching through Palo Alto Adult School.  I really love spreading the word about the many healthy furnishings and finish options now exist, but worry I will not get enough folks enrolled to run the class.  

I feel so passionatly that everyone who might even buy a storage cabinet at Ikea, or a sofa, deserves to know what effect that product might have on their health or the environment.  Often, just by asking the right question, you can get a healthier product, but you need to know what question to ask.   I think we all would like to think that nothing unhealthy, or unsafe could be in our furniture, and I hope that will be true some day.  

I was reminded this week that there is a long way to go, when I read this article about Brominated Fire Retardants building up in the bodies of dolphins in Florida.  These fireproofing agents are one of the chemicals that I have worked hard to eliminate in my practice, as they are currently found in the body fat of most animals, and in human breast milk around the world.  YUK!  It is associated with thyroid disease in cats, and is bioaccumulative- meaning it builds up in one’s body over time.  I help clients limit their exposure by upholstering without foam, and searching out fabrics that are not treated with these chemicals.

If you are curious about these kinds of issues, please consider taking my class.  You’ll leave the class with a solid understanding of how to select materials for home interiors and the theory behind green building.  I have made it sound very serious, but we do have fun.  And we look at a lot of gorgeous and green tiles, fabrics, paints, coutertops and more!

May 13th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Window seats add storage and comfort

I am encouraged that we seem to be having a backlash against huge homes. I don’t want to bash them, but they make me sad for so many reasons:
* Most importantly I do not think giant homes function well as a places that make the folks living in them happy and comfortable. If, as Le Corgusier says “A house is a machine for living.” I think these big homes are in-efficient machines. If I ask a client to describe a place that make them happy, they often describe a home that fostered both relaxation and human interaction. They decribe places that had nooks for reading in, a room where everyone gathered to cook or socialize, and the word “cozy” often comes up. I have NEVER has a person mention a large space, one that was echoing or impressive. And yet these large homes are built to impress.
- They take more resources to build, heat, light and cool than smaller homes.
- They force you to furnish them, PAY for them, and clean them- Lets face in, new homes sell by the square foot, and every square foot needs to be taken care of. Does your house own you, or do you own your house? Sometimes the extra room can feel like a burden rather than enriching your life.
In any case, I enjoyed coming across the following survey for folks to take to see if their house is too big.  It is written by Sarah Susanka, who wrote the Not So Big House series, and this is my favorite question:

■  Is your house so large that you can coexist with other household members without running into them?

YIKES, is it?

May 7th, 2009 | Category: Green living tips, remodeling |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Ok, I really love smart people, and especially smart people who can encapsulate a complex thought into clear quotation.  I just came across the following quote:

“Environmental degradation is an Iantrogenic (physician induced) disease induced by economic physicians who treat the basic malady of unlimited wants by prescribing unlimited growth… Yet one certainly does not cure a treatment-induced disease by increasing the treatment dosage.”  Herman Daly

Doesn’t that totally capture the concept?

This resonates with me particularly because I have always felt the tension between what I do for a living: help people purchase things to make their home more beautiful and functional, and what I feel is one of the root causes of environmental problems: consumption.

I have had to do some deep reflection on whether I can feel good about my interior design work, given my core beliefs, and have come to a good place with it.  It is clear to me that desire for beautiful things is an essential part of human nature and is not going to go away.  It is also clear that a badly arranged home, filled with objects that do not function, or give pleasure, makes people want to do some thing or buy some thing to make a change.  My role is to help that change, (whether it is rearranging the existing furniture, or undertaking a major remodel), actually meet the needs of the owner when it is complete.  If I succeed in doing so, the person will be happier in their home, and not have as much desire for continued change or purchases.  

Now I very well might be taking interior design a little too seriously with the above analysis, it is basically about making your house pretty, but it is a decent goal to make a person feel happy when they open their door and see their living space.

April 3rd, 2009 | Category: Green living tips, just for fun |  Email This Post | Leave a comment