subject: Sustainable Interior Design [print this page] Fall is here and it will soon be time to "button up" the house again. I don't know about you, but this time of year has me looking at my home's decor with a jaundiced eye. Everything looks frowsy and dated and I start collecting paint chips and wallpaper samples. But then I start thinking about how hard it is to do any significant redecorating and stay green. Paint, wallpaper and floor coverings all give off volatile organic compounds or VOC's and so does most furniture. The last time we bought a recliner, I had a headache for a week from the fumes.
So, I started brainstorming and researching ways to make the house look better with a little green home remodeling. One thought that came to mind right away was the old refrain - reduce, reuse, recycle. If you apply it to furniture and decorative accessories, it can really help with green interior design. Of course, if you're thinking of using second hand goods that are padded or upholstered, you want to make sure that you know where they come from and that they're clean and unsoiled.
In our case, that was easy when my friend decided to redo her living room and asked me if I wanted the old stuff. Did I? She's childless and both she and her husband work. Her house is always a lot cleaner than mine is, so I jumped on the furniture. Well, not literally, but we had it in the back of the pickup truck while I was still talking to her via cell phone. That was one thing off my remodeling to-do list and she was happy to get rid of the stuff.
Because money was an issue - isn't it always, especially now - I decided that the way to get the biggest green redecorating bang for my buck was by getting new curtains and painting a couple of the shabbiest looking rooms, ourselves. I hate painting, because the vapors always make me sick for days, so I was thrilled to discover that there are several brands of non-toxic paint with low VOC emissions. They were a little more pricey than the regular paint, but we paint so seldom that it was worth it. Besides, it's better for the environment and that's better for everyone's pocketbook in the long run.
For curtains, I had a brainstorm. I cut and hemmed a set of organic cotton sheets that I got on sale. For much less than the price of "real" curtains, I had green window treatments for the living room and enough left over to make a runner for the coffee table, which pulled it all together. And, with the pillowcases, I made small pillows to match the curtains and put some felt appliques on them. I felt like a professional consultant by the time I was done. Like maybe I should put an ad in the local paper offering my services as a green interior designer.
Of course, I came to my senses, but I'm still pretty chuffed at what you can do to improve your surroundings with green, sustainable and recycled materials. I think the most important part of remodeling on a budget yet staying green is figuring out which element to change to get the biggest effect. For you, it might be putting linoleum or bamboo tile down. For other people, it might be replacing the synthetic rug with wool or another natural rug material. Maybe it's getting rid of that press-board table and replacing it with green design furniture in solid wood, even if it's not new.
When we were done, I realized that I should have remodeled sooner, but it had seemed like such a big project. It's not really, if you take it in steps. Pick one thing you want to change, change it and move on to the next thing. For us, now that the inside is user-friendly, it's time to work on the outside. Fall may be here, but our yard still needs a haircut and the mower is dead. We spent the money on remodeling the inside, so I guess now I have to find a way to replicate a green lawn service and still stay within budget. Hmm, how much do goats cost?
