Pumpkin patch. Photo: Kent K. Barnes kentkb

Holidays are always great times to consider the implications of the choices we make, and to create moments where we can pass on lessons about our values to our children. With this in mind, I’ve been looking for ways to make Hallowe’en a little greener in our home.

Costumes are one of the major semi-disposables of the season, but my fondest costume memories have always been thrift store finds or repurposed everyday wear, so I’ve tried to continue that with my kids. (more…)

Staging has revolutionized the real estate industry by maximizing homes’ appeal and potential, drawing attention to selling features, and helping buyers to imagine the home as their own, so that homes are shown at their absolute best. Similarly, a green revolution is now sweeping new home builders as public awareness of global environmental problems, indoor air quality issues, and the need for energy and water conservation has become the new norm. The importance of this movement is underscored by recent estimates that our buildings are currently responsible for 35% of North American carbon dioxide emissions, and improving them will be the quickest and cheapest way to reduce North America’s impact on climate change. Sustainable staging brings the green revolution to the real estate resale market.

This is excerpted from my article, Sustainability and Staging (PDF), which introduces the principles of sustainable design, outlines the benefits of applying them in a real estate staging context, and provides a detailed checklist for decorators, redesigners, and stagers to use in greening their staging practices.

I am thrilled that this article will be incorporated into redesign and staging training provided by CRDA instructor Val Sharp. It is my wish that it be freely shared among interior decorators, redesigners, and stagers, so that sustainable best-practices will be quickly adopted within our industry.

(But please, don’t plagiarize it for your website. It’s bad karma. You may quote it if you ask my permission and provide a link back to this post. Thanks.)

Update (4 April 2009): If you have previously downloaded the PDF, you may have found it difficult to read and print due to the background graphic. The link above now leads to an updated, simpler version for your convenience.

Update (20 September 2009): I’m delighted that this article is to be reprinted in HomeStagersTODAY, the online publication of the British Academy of Home Stagers! [29 Oct 2009: find it in the Green Staging section!]

Urban Eco Chic, by Oliver Heath. This will be joining the books below on my reference / inspiration shelf shortly.

(this article was first published in January 2008 in vol.1, no, 1 of the ecoDomestica reDesign newsletter)

Here are a selection of the publications that inspire and inform my work. Enjoy!

Books:

- Alan Berman. “The Healthy Home Handbook: Eco-Friendly Design” (2001) …This practical, British guide to making eco-friendly choices for the construction and decoration of homes is wildly inspirational, with photos of sustainable interiors in a variety of styles from around the world.

- Kari Foster, Annette Stelmack, and Debbie Hindman. “Sustainable Residential Interiors” (2007) …The definitive reference book for North American interior designers on environmentally and socially responsible design principles and practices. Quote: “The finishes in a home can exemplify environmental responsibility, as well as reflect the inherent beauty of design.” (more…)

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau has quickly become a favorite bedtime book in our household.

I’ve started collecting children’s books – both literature and crafts books – with an environmental theme for our kids’ library. Here is a brief list of what I’ve found so far, with reviews.

Manfish: The Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Beme boasts incredible artwork and a gentle message packaged with M. Cousteau’s biography. I’ve wrapped it up with the equally gorgeous Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi for a beautiful and educational ocean-themed kids’ birthday gift.

Another lavishly-illustrated picturebook series to look for is Barbara Bash’s series on trees of different continents and the ecosystems they create. The watercolours are breathtaking. So far I have In The Heart Of The Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree, and Tree Of Life: The World of the African Baobab. I think I’ll give the kids the rest of the set as a Christmas gift. (more…)

This past July, I spent a couple of weeks planning my five-year-old’s birthday party and volunteering with the Devonian Botanic Garden to help organize their new Green Festival… plus I was asked at a networking event how to go about greening a conference. (I think now that the person I was chatting with had confused me with the fabulous proprietress of TulaJane Eco Events. Now that I know about them, #1 on my list would be to call them if resources allow!) Anyway, thoughts of how to go about making any kind of event more sustainable were much on my mind, so I did what I always do and made a list. The filters to bring to bear on all the decisions come down to the old mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle, of course; but it also includes educate, go local, and give back. Here is a round-up of 20 Ways To Green Your Party or Event, which is compiled in part from the links provided further below. (more…)

(this article was first published in January 2008 in vol.1, no, 1 of the ecoDomestica reDesign newsletter)

Let’s take a look at some commonly recommended I’m-going-green New Years’ Resolutions, and see what really makes a difference. Statistics courtesy of thegreenguide.com, sierraclub.org, and the City of Edmonton.

1. Switching to eco-friendly cleaners: Home cleaning products and air fresheners are one of the main sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other airborne chemicals (such as ammonia and benzene) that can trigger asthma attacks and migraines, and have been implicated as carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and developmental toxins. Add to that the phosphates, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, and ethanolamines which are themselves or form dangerous environmental pollutants after you flush them down the drain… Yikes! When you switch, remember that natural isn’t the same as nontoxic, and look for products from reputable brands like Method, Ecover, and Seventh Generation who list the ingredients they use. (more…)

(This article was first published in January 2008 in vol.1, no, 1 of the ecoDomestica reDesign newsletter. It has been edited and updated.)

• Good design delights the eye, the body, and the soul, and is nothing if not personal.
• Good design is mindful of many factors – and if it’s not sustainable, it’s thoughtless.
• Going green isn’t just a trend, and it isn’t just about conserving energy. It’s my responsibility to the health of my clients and the planet to design with sustainability in mind.
• Making small changes to your lifestyle and habits can have greater ecological and societal impact than installing new green products. (I’ll cheer if you’re making big changes to reduce your footprint!)
• Buying local (<500 miles) is better for both the environment and the regional economy. If you can’t find it locally, try to find a Canadian source.
• Trying to hide the TV and other tech toys and tools never works. Luckily, it’s the 21st century, and we have the technology to make technology look good. For example, flat-screen TVs are actually (on average) 30% more energy efficient than their CRT predecessors, and their narrow depth makes rooms seem much bigger. (It also makes them much easier to conceal if you have philosophical objections to them.)
• Hotel and spa style can come off as sterile and boring, instead of soothing. What makes the space yours? What gives it authenticity and personality?
• They’re called throw pillows because they almost never stay on your sofa or bed. They also collect dust, other allergens, and VOCs, making them a healthy-home hazard. Please use them sparingly, and keep them clean.
• There’s clutter (tchotchke), and then there’s clutter (messiness). If you have a magpie’s tendancy to collect little treasures, by all means, keep them. You might need to edit your collections for scale and clarity, but properly displayed they showcase your unique personality.
• Designers who create bookshelves of identical-looking volumes without titles are clearly not readers themselves.
• Handmade and well-used are marks of beauty. Knowing the history of our possessions and seeing the hands of maker and user in them gives them meaning and soulfulness.

Redesign services are called different things, depending on which decorator is doing it and who trained them: redesign, staging, tweaking, one-day decor, no-cost decorating, use-what-you-have decorating, re-decorating. There’s a show on HGTV (both US and Canada) called “FreeStyle” that’s all redesign before-and-afters; this service has also been featured on “Decorating Cents” and “Oprah”, and in numerous newspaper and magazine articles (most recently, Real Simple’s May 2008 issue).

Essentially, redesigners use the principles of interior design to help their clients redecorate in a single day without buying anything new. Redesign clients may be blending families, merging households, welcoming a new baby, downsizing to smaller quarters, moving to a new home, preparing for a big party, or just feel like they’re having trouble pulling a room or rooms together. Staging a home for the real estate market is a subset of redesign, as well. (more…)