Green Confessions

Sometimes I wish I could be part of that somewhat elite circle of interior designers  & green architects I've been meeting.  The combination of artistic sensibilities, real life applications & a green mission is quite appealing.

However, I am, afterall, just a novice trying to do something extraordinary in our home, while keeping an eye on my eco-friendly priorities.  It's a wonderful hobby & it complements my mission to create healthy homes & families.

Today, I must admit that sometimes it is a challenge making the choice between sustainable design & my own aesthetics.  I visited a chic new Leeds certified hotel in Laguna Beach last week.  While everyone oohed and aahed, I thought...if this is green design perhaps many will be turned off by the concept.  It reminded me of a prison, all grey & sterile.  Hhhmmm...I love color!  It inspires me & reminds me of Nature & why I want to protect it.  I love texture & hand crafted materials, even if they come from around the world & cost a bit in energy to transport them.

Then yesterday, I detoured my search for eco-friendly backsplash materials by falling in love!  Yes...I saw this glass & fell head over heals!  But...I find out...it's from China, has to come on a boat thousands of miles, manufactured under who-knows-what kind of conditions & at what environmental cost?

Still...I could rationalize because I was in love.  It's glass...not granite or marble or something causing horrific scars on the landscape.  It's non-toxic...a big plus for ME.  Someone in China is supporting a family making this stuff, so I think I'm contributing to world peace.  AND...it's just a few pounds of glass that will turn my kitchen into a "masterpiece".

I've always had a love for handcrafted, so I'm also enchanted with the idea of using hand woven Guatemalan fabric for my window seat cushion & pillows.  They may have to travel a few thousand miles, but they use "clean" German dyes, are cotton that's hand woven by women who need income for their families & don't have the synthetics & chemicals treatments so common in most fabrics.  Sustainable design means sustaining indigenous cultures & economies, as well as protecting the environment, so it all fits for me.

Just another quick note.  I found this great web site while browsing some design blogs.  This one makes me hungry to travel so I can collect all kinds of handcrafted treasures from around the world.  Novica is operated in association with National Geographic to support local craftspeople from around the world.  Awesome home decor options & more!

That's it for the week...enjoy & check out those wildflowers for more inspiration!

Greening your travels

Our getaway last week to Sedona reminded me how Nature inspires our home environment & helps us create a getaway feel each time we return home.  Another reason we love to support Bed & Breakfasts is that we've found it's more common for them to think about the simple pleasures of homey comforts, pleasant conversation and the desireability of a "green interior" retreat.  With so many visitors now suffering from allergies, asthma & environmental illnesses, it's becoming even more important to reduce our toxic exposure as we travel.  I find I sleep much better when I don't have those chlorine-soaked sheets in my face all night!

We stayed at a great little B&B on the West side of Sedona and chatted with Lori, the resident manager, about the kinds of cleaning products they used & their upcoming renovation plans for 2 of their rooms to make them "green rooms".  This is exciting to me because it is not driven by government regulations, but by the interests & requests of consumers.  Perhaps this will remind us travelers that resort services are listening...we just need to talk.  I look forward to visiting again to see their progress, & I hope more designers & innkeepers will contribute their ideas here in the future, so we can leverage our interest & knowledge to enhance this process.

We've stayed at 2 inns in Sedona.  Adobe Hacienda in Oak Creek Village & Alma de Sedona in West Sedona.  Both were wonderful, and working to create non-toxic, peaceful & friendly atmospheres.  Here's a little excerpt from the web site for Alma de Sedona:

"Enhance your visit to the spectacular Red Rock Country of Sedona by staying at this luxurious and romantic Inn. Alma de Sedona Bed and Breakfast offers a unique retreat combining modern comfort and warm hospitality in a casually elegant setting. The views from the hilltop setting are among the most spectacular Sedona has to offer."

Add to that their efforts to create a greener, non-toxic home away from home & you can see the future of travel on the green side.  All we have to do is keeping talking about the possibilities!

By the way...Shaklee Get Clean have been proven to be the most effective, economical & safe cleaning products on the market.  Shaklee has created green products for over 50 years, & that's why I am so proud to be part of this company..."In Harmony with Nature" is not just a fad for us.  I've done the calculations...using Get Clean Basic H2 is even cheaper than vinegar or baking soda, plus more versatile.  Works on every surface and in homes or inns or businesses.  Check it out if you're looking for effective PLUS green!

Sedona Inspiration

Since I've been focusing on my eco-design efforts again, I realize now that we are visiting Sedona again, that it has inspired me over the years with a similar color palette to our home.  Soft greens, terra cotta reds with splashes of blue & gold...looks a lot like a sunny day in Sedona!  That same sense of harmony with Nature that we crave in our own environment communicates itself through colors of the Earth, sky & vegetation.

The inspiration of these kinds of places also motivates us to reduce our negative environmental impact as much as possible.  With so many people in the world today, using natural materials can have a huge consequence, as you see vast mining pits in these mountains & the scars they leave on the land. Whether they are used to extract granite, landscaping rocks or metal ores needed to create every manufactured item we take for granted, they represent the challenge of reducing our impact & living sustainably.  Natural materials have one kind of environmental impact, while manufactured materials, even those we consider sustainable, must have some impact which needs to be evaluated as well.

A friend sent me an article I tweated about, & it made me glad we've decided to make the expensive commitment to install LED fixtures & lamps.  Cities are making this same kind of commitment, to the tune of millions of dollars, with the expectation that the environmental and financial savings will be realized long term.  There is, as always, an upfront cost in environmental terms, but the quality & longevity seem to outway it in many cases.  Check out my posts at http://www.twitter.com/epicgreenteam for the whole article for you science geeks.

If you have ideas about how to evaluate products in terms of long term environmental impact, please share them with us.