Everything about making your home eco-friendly!
Whether you do your work at an office at home or outside of the home in an office building, it is still a good idea to care about an environment where you are going to spend 8 or more hours a day. One way to improve an office environment is to bring natural materials into the space. The best natural materials are those which are renewable. The world’s fastest growing plant is the bamboo. It is a plant that thrives without fertilizer or pesticide. It also requires less water than trees and produces more oxygen than trees. In order to stop deforestation it makes sense to buy bamboo office equipment instead of hardwood items: the more trees that are standing, the better are humanity’s chances of slowing down global warming. There is also a health benefit to bamboo. It is both antimicrobial and anti-bacterial. It improves the hygiene of an [...]
Categories: Eco Friendly Homes Green Construction Green Products Interior DesignBabies, toddlers, and small children have lots of options for mattresses these days. The big names, companies like Sealy and Simmons, have several types of mattresses available. These companies have always been in the market, and they’re known for quality beds. They offer good warranties, and their mattresses are affordable. But there are lots of newcomers in the market, too. Which beds are better, and what should you look for in a mattress for your baby? Just like for adult mattresses, crib mattresses these days come in two main types: foam mattresses or traditional innerspring ones. The latter are boxes with metal springs for support and stuffed with cotton or a similar soft material. These are the usual mattresses you’re probably used to from your childhood. They’re simple, comfortable, and inexpensive. On the other hand, newer foam mattresses are made from either latex or memory foam. These mattresses are often [...]
Categories: Green Products Interior DesignThings that you should keep in mind Many of us assume that buying an organic cotton sheet is an easy job but the reality is far from it. Many of the sheets that are commonly found in the market are labeled as “natural” or “organic”. You cannot assess from these words the amount of comfort it will provide. You actually need to judge the quality of the sheet by checking the percentage of organic cotton used in the production of the sheets. Not only that, you also need to verify the process involved during its production. Common mistakes You have come across various advertisements stating to buy their comfortable organic cotton sheets. But have you ever tried to find out the percentage of truth involved in the claims? Are these sheets really organic? No. The post processing of these sheets involve many inorganic processes which make the end products less [...]
Categories: Green Products Interior DesignIt might be tempting to water down the concept of green design to a simple collection of product selections, while ignoring the challenges of green building as a process. Green building principles are about both process and products. It’s never about just a single design element or a single product. It takes more than that to achieve “green design”. Green building and green design is about how systems reduce environmental impact by working together as a whole. The guidelines of green interior design take into account entire systems and integration between them. It realizes that a building project can be efficient, beautiful, ecologically responsible, and still make money in the long run. Integration of Systems The reality is that getting green interior designers, architects, engineers, contractors, and builders to all work together does not happen very often because it is not a simple task. But that is exactly the goal [...]
Categories: Interior DesignGreen interior design is a branch of interior design which is becoming the newest trend and very important. Unlike contemporary interior design, using green designing techniques goes above and beyond the standard stylish and contemporary tends used in homes. As a business, green interior design is about making the customer happy and figuring out the customers ideas of what is stylish and beautiful with keeping in mind what is good for the earth. A leading authority on green design is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, set up by the US Green Building Council. This program attempts to address five key issues: reduction of CO2 emissions, conserving water, improving indoor air quality, saving energy and keeping the earths natural resources in mind. Green interior design also is about saving money while protecting the environment and peoples health. These three things are not always compatible but green interior design tries [...]
Categories: Interior DesignStarting an indoor garden is one of the best ways to both help you have a relaxing hobby that helps you unwind and provide you with natural vegetables and fruits and flowers. However there are a few things that you must do in order to not get stressed out because your plants are not growing. The first thing to make sure that you have when trying to have a healthy indoor garden is grow lights. Grow lights provide necessary light to the plants for photosynthesis. For those who do not like messing with all of the ballasts, cooling fans and reflectors then LED grow lights are for sure the way to go. These types of grow lights put off very little heat and do not take a lot of power to run. With whichever type of grow light that you choose to use just make sure that you do not [...]
Categories: Gardening Interior DesignYour sleeping environment is something of real importance when it comes to your health and well being. More research validates the importance of sleep each year. Newer studies have even shown that children who get even 15 more minutes of sleep each night perform better at school and on homework. So, how do these concepts tie into your need for a new cover for your futon mattress? Well, the answer is simple, really. While you could always opt for a more conventional cotton cover for your futon, there are also some alternatives to the standard choices. With the trend in green living and sustainable and environmentally friendly materials and products, it is possible to have an even more healthy indoor living space. This is something that is very appealing to not only individuals but those with children and families. People simply want to live healthier for longer. You may or [...]
Categories: Interior DesignIf you love the look of hardwood flooring but know in your heart that it is not a good choice for the environment, consider having bamboo flooring installed for a beautiful alternative. The problem with hardwood is that even if it is taken from forests, where trees are being replaced, it will still be fifteen to twenty five years before another tree is grown which is mature enough to be a replacement for the one which was cut down to make your flooring planks. Bamboo, however is a fast growing plant from the grass family. The roots are not removed and it regenerates in three to five years. An added advantage is that bamboo has such a strong root network that the remaining roots help prevent the soil being washed away in the heavy rains typical in tropical areas. Soil erosion can be a big problem when vegetation such as [...]
Categories: Interior Design