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Thursday, October 13th, 2016
American Leather Living Room Alessandro-Sectional
Eco-friendly or green interiors are designs that center on the improvement of air quality and the reduction of impact on the environment. A lot of Americans spend about 90% of their time inside their homes. This is where, unfortunately, most pollutants are also found.
You should always consider people who are living in your home. The aesthetics of your home shouldn’t be your only concern. Safety is a factor that must be prioritized as well as the health of everyone living in a single place.
Home design, therefore, must be able to balance safety and aesthetics by coming up with a green design.
So, are you ready to create this so-called sustainable design?
Decorate with Plants
There is no better element to make your home a green place than to place plants inside your home. Plants are great air filters and are also effective removers of chemicals. They also have health benefits to offer while giving your home that natural, fresher ambience. If you want to improve the quality of indoor air, then be sure to bring in bamboo palm, peace lilies or Gerbera daisies.
Bring in the Sunlight
One other eco-friendly way of creating a green environment is to let in a good amount of sunlight. You should maximize daylight so that you could avoid wasting electrical energy on those bright lamps.
Open shades and use skylights to bring in a tremendous amount of sunlight into your home. Having ample light also means fewer pollutants, meaning, you and your loved ones become much healthier.
You can further the energetic and fresh aura in your home by opening those windows. You can even make them greener through the application of special coatings that would reflect the sunlight while providing insulation. These should keep your home quite warm during those cold seasons.
Say goodbye to heating or cooling equipment because of your newly-coated windows.
Save Energy with Proper Lighting
Using energy-efficient lighting can help both the user and the environment. Compact fluorescent lighting saves energy as well as electrical power. This also prevents greenhouse gas emission as well as pollutants.
When buying lighting, be sure to read the labels and find the ones that are energy-efficient.
Capel Incorporated Floor Coverings Karma Naturals Burl Rug 6506RS05000800750
Go Organic
Another way to establish an eco-friendly home is to find organic stuff. Do away with particleboard, plastics and chromed metal.
Find furniture that is manufactured using organic materials. This can be made from wood blocks, stone or marble. Don’t fret about design because there is a lot to choose from. There are also customized designs for bamboo and other wooden furniture.
As for the flooring, be sure to use stone flooring like marble. You could also use wooden parquet or pick laminated flooring.
As for your pillows, mattresses, bedding and carpets, be sure to find the wool-stuffed ones. This is so you won’t have to worry much about dust mites. These mites can cause allergies, thus, they’re not great for your health so always choose organic stuff.
Say No to VOC
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. These are harmful to anyone’s health. These are commonly found in paints. So, when you paint your house or are about to buy stuff for your home, be sure to check for those that do not emit VOCs. The highest you could go should be those low VOC paints.
It is great to have eco-friendly interiors. It won’t just benefit you as a homeowner but also the people who live with you in your home. You must do your share in saving the planet, after all, just like the rest of the world – it’s the only home you’ve got.
Tags: eco-friendly interior design, eco-friendly interiors, energy efficient living, energy-efficiency, energy-efficient home, green home, green interior design, green interiors, green living, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings
Posted in Green Living, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Themes | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016
FFDM Summer Home Collection: Allowing natural light to stream in during the day can save you a lot of money on energy.
Do you believe that your house is a system? You can easily save money and even improve the performance of your home if you are willing to take cost-effective measures. These steps can significantly reduce building load, eventual appliance and furniture repairs, etc.
Target the Exteriors First
The most effective way of improving your home’s energy efficiency is to look at your walls, doors and windows. Make sure that the walls are well insulated. Only when these are already considered green should you begin looking at other systems such as lighting, heating, cooling and appliances.
Set Up Effective Insulation
Minus effective insulation, a home will have heat flowing profusely out of the walls. This is especially catastrophic during winter. See to it that you use the least amount of energy, though, in heating or cooling the house.
Houses without wall insulation or has wall cavities should have blown-in insulation. This will up the level of comfort and cost-efficiency so if you still have uninsulated walls, it’s best to look into having a professional installer do the job. For homes with damaged or old insulation, on the other hand, should undergo insulation upgrade.
Meet the Energy Auditor
You can begin your path towards green living by talking to an energy auditor. This green home professional has expertise in choosing the right insulation materials such as fiberglass, foam or cellulose. Such materials can help keep heat or coolness inside the walls of a home. The keywords that you need to remember are these – properly installed. This means the insulation was installed by a contractor using the right assessment and installation tools. The contractor, for example, uses infrared camera to check for void in walls.
Improve or Replace Windows
If the windows in your home are already old and leaky, then this may be the time to have them replaced with energy-efficient types. If you’re not willing to say goodbye to your windows just yet, then you could look into weather-stripping or having storm windows.
Window replacement may not be a cheap project but it definitely saves you money in the long run. This could also improve the level of comfort in your home.
Plant Trees and Shrubs
If you are living in an older house with obvious poor insulation and damaged windows, then know that having good landscaping can save a lot of energy while you’re still planning the huge architectural project. Deciduous trees that are planted on the west side of the house could help block infrared radiation. See also that the insulation is upgraded and your home meets Energy Star requirements.
Check the Old Furnace
Furnaces that were built before 1992 have a standing pilot that wastes about 35% of fuel. It is also possible that such furnaces are almost at the end of their service lives.
Invest in a condensing furnace as this offers an annual efficiency of no less than 90%. This kind wastes less than 10% of the natural gas and could help save 27% on your heating bill.
Furnaces that were installed beyond 1991 are probably annual fuel utilization efficient. If you’re in doubt, you can always ask the help of an energy auditor or a heating service technician.
Check the Hot Water System
To improve the hot water system’s efficiency, begin by turning down the temperature to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to insulate the hot water lines so that they won’t cool off too quickly. Lastly, use only low-flow fixtures for baths and showers.
Green living may be a lot more difficult to maintain but it has its perks. You save money and you become an ally of Mother Nature.
Tags: eco-friendly interior design, eco-friendly interiors, eco-friendly tips, energy efficient living, energy-efficiency, energy-efficient home, green home, green interior design, green living, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, sustainable design, sustainable home, sustainable home design, sustainable interior design, sustainable lifestyle, sustainable materials, tips
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Themes | No Comments »
Thursday, February 18th, 2016
Living Room Uttermost Avner Wooden Cube Table 25603 offers a unique and stylish look to your home as you transition to green living.
Also known as eco living, green living is tantamount to saying that you are living in a sustainable home. This is, after all, the standard that the world looks up to. It is because of this that manufacturers find ways to tell the world about their green credentials. Even appliances now come with energy-saving functions. Some materials that are used in food and other packaging are now recyclable or are actually recycled materials. This new generation of sustainable furniture as well as lighting designs aim to satiate people who have become aware of their roles in keeping Mother Earth intact.
Green Living in Your Home
Healthy interiors can make the tenants feel more comfortable and satisfied. In workplaces, it can even foster employee retention.
Occupant interaction with the surroundings can also impact individual emotional and mental wellness. For offices, it can even improve building operations. Since this is so, it should now be your goal to create sustainable interiors right in your own home.
You should now pledge to make productive use of your space and to use only eco-friendly lights and furniture. Also, the ambiance in your home should have green written all over it.
The Artistica Bedroom Axiom King Bed 560-566 is sustainable. It is built with plantation-grown parawood solids as well as acacia veneers.
Green Living: Lighting
There are many benefits that come with eco living and when you decide to apply it even in interior design. You can now effectively combine energy saving technology with utility. Many appliances now have energy storage with some even installed with photovoltaic cells.
With eco-friendly lighting come not just energy savings but also the perfect look for ambient spaces. Energy saving bulbs use up less energy when compared to traditional light bulbs. What a wonderful sight it is to behold a dynamically created lighting fixture in your home! It spells poetry in the form of light while serving as a reliable light source for your lovely ambience.
Green Living Is In
Just like other design industries, the world of interior design is forever tied to volatile styles. In essence, it is like assessing clothes whether they are hot or they’re not.
Whether the client’s goal is to renovate, decorate or to create architectural detailing, interior designers must always be up on their toes with regard to what’s hot in their field. The trend at the moment – and probably the fastest growing segment of the interior design industry nowadays – is sustainability.
Bamboo and other sustainable materials are hot. And with the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers attesting that sustainability should be one of the areas of focus for interior designers today, everyone is simply geared towards the use of sustainable materials and wasting not. Even the curricula in different design schools already include sustainability as one of their crucial courses.
The Artistica Dining Room Idiom Arm Chair 451-010 is manufactured using plantation grown elm. It is beautifully combined with industrial steel to give you that architectural and textural wonder.
Green Living for the Homeowner
Whether you wish to become an interior designer someday or are just taking on an interior design project on your own, then you have to remember these guidelines –
Green living doesn’t have to be time consuming. It is a matter of making that conscious decision to change your lifestyle and the way you run things in your home. Yet this does not mean that your living space should look boring, though. You can still beautify your home by using your artistic eye in choosing sustainable furnishings.
Tags: eco living, eco-friendly home, eco-friendly interior design, eco-friendly interiors, eco-friendly tips, energy efficient living, energy-efficiency, energy-efficient home, green interiors, green living, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, sustainability, sustainable design, sustainable living
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Interior Design Themes, Interior Design Trends | No Comments »
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