Making Life Beautiful

Many home owners are now looking to see what they can do incorporate environmentally friendly ideas and  ’green up’ their space.  This could include making small changes such as changing a few purchasing habits to incorporating green initiatives when building a new home or office.  What you get is mostly a healthier lifestyle and loads of economical savings, what the surroundings get is sustainability and respect, so it’s a win-win situation.

If you’re not building a property at the moment, what you do have management over is the interior design and style of your living space.  You may feel overwhelmed by the large amount of info readily available on green interior design, so here is a list of 7 uncomplicated points you are able to do to make your home greener.

1.  Start by making use of certified non-toxic glues, paints, finishes, cleaners and polishers.  Besides being eco friendly they aid in keeping your place less toxic.

2.  When looking to replace your carpet or linoleum floor, look at wood or bamboo.  Bamboo is an excellent material due to that fact it is cost effective and it is a tremendously fast growing plant.    Materials that are sourced from specifically grown plantations to meet these needs are a great option.

3.  Make sure you update your electric devices with newer, energy efficient and stylish equipment.  You can also replace your old light bulbs with compact fluoros or LED and reduce your carbon footprint.  We’ve just been through this at home, by replacing the old fridges with newer ones (hate to say it but one fridge was 26yrs old and still going strong).

4.  Make sure your rooms have controllable ventilation so the air gets renewed constantly.  Ceiling fans are a great, and a great alternative to switching on the airconditioner on those days when you ask yourself, do I really need the aircon on?

5.  Check if your windows and doors are insulated.   There are a myriad of options from using window treatments such as curtains to putting on the insultation strips around the edges of the doors etc.

6.  When looking at new furniture, don’t go passed recycled furniture.  Materials like metal and glass, unlike paper, retain their high quality even when recycled, so they’re a great option.

7.  If you are purchasing wood furniture, try to make sure that it was created from wood that was cut locally as this will save significant amounts of energy, which would be spent in transferring it from a remote location.

What you have to keep in mind is that most of the gains from green interiors are long term.  However, as they say, every journey starts with a step.

Your ‘environmentally friendly’ chief inspiration officer.

Sharon

I thought I would share with you a short video I’ve put together showing the end result of a recent project.  The brief was to create a space that had clean lines, a contemporary look and feel which flowed through from the lounge to the dining and kitchen area.  A restricted colour pallette was used, predominantly black and white with accents of Aqua and Silver.   The wall behind the TV unit was painted in silver, using a special roller, to give the effect of wallpaper.  In the dining room, the focal point is the arch light, giving a beautiful pattern on the ceiling at night.  The kitchen optimises the space, with the breakfast bar also housing the microwave.  Waterfall ends on the breakfast bar turns this functional item into a piece of furntiure.

Are you looking to decorate or remodel your home and not quite sure where to start?  Well, before you go trawling through magazines to get ideas and inspiration, a good starting point is to look at your lifestyle.   This will help determine the functionality the house or room has to deliver which in turn impacts where you spend your budget.  Just because a house is decorated in the latest colours, newest fabrics and furniture, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you and your lifetyle.

For example, do you have a family with small children and pets?  does Mum and/or Dad work from home? do you like to cook and entertain?  Jotting down the key aspects that need to be considered  for your family lifestyle, will help shape your decorating style and where you spend your decorating budget.

If young children and pets are rattling around the house, then an elegant French Provincial formal setting is probably not a good idea.   Here, the budget would be spent on well constructed, tough fabric covered furniture, easily maintained floors and surfaces that can be easily washed and kept clean.  If you love to cook and entertain, then a well designed and thought out kitchen with heaps of work space and storage will be priority.   On the other hand, a large and flashy media room may not be the best way to spend your budget if there are two working adults in the family with children who are heavily into sports and spend little spare time at home.

So, by taking a step back and jotting down what your space has to deliver for you is a great starting point to help determine the style of your home and where you focus your budget.