Sustainable Design Practices in Action
I realize that the impact of one’s choices on the environment are not always front and center for many people when making decisions related to updating their homes. It takes conscious decision making and planning. It’s hard work.
There’s so much information out there that it's hard to know where to start, what to believe and it can be extremely overwhelming at times. On top of that, finding the right products can involve a tremendous amount of time and effort, a luxury that many don’t have.
For all of these reasons, I’m here to help. While I’m still evolving as a designer and learning, I realize that I have a great breadth of knowledge of the industry that I should share with you to help you make your decisions.
I’ve already shared with you the 5 sustainable practices that we use when working on projects, and now I’m going to share with you a recent project that’s at the tail end of construction. I will show you how we applied the 5 R’s from the circular economy. That way when it’s time for you to get started you have more information and ideas in your tool box to get started on your journey.
Our project that we call the Forest House had really good bones, but it had been poorly renovated to try to sell the house. This is one of my pet peeves because the finishes are usually cheap, not green and are often poorly finished. This was the case with this house. Despite this ethical obstacle we were able to apply our sustainable practices and the R’s of the circular economy, rethink, redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle:
Recycle: Cabinetry, countertops, lighting, appliances, floating floors were all that could be salvaged and in this case, donated. In this case we organized this through Habitat for Humanity.
Rethink: We did not tear down any walls, instead we used the existing footprint and rethought out the space. For example, an office off the kitchen became the dining room, and the nicest room of the house that had been designated the dining room by the previous owners became the music and reading room.
Reuse: Instead of tearing out the existing hardwood, we refinished the ¾” solid red oak hardwood floors and added additional FSC approved pieces with a local supplier, in areas where the floating floors had been.
Redesign: We took older pieces of furniture that looked tired and gave them a new life through reupholstering and finishing others. When choosing fabrics for recovering we chose ones that were predominantly OEKO-Tex certified, but there aren’t as many available by textile suppliers so there were a couple that were not.
Reduce: There are aspects of this house that aren’t perfect, but that adds to the charm. Instead of tearing out, and replacing perfectly good trim throughout the house and cabinetry in the dining room or living room, we instead added new hardware, painted with non-VOC paints and gave both the trim and cabinetry a whole new life.
The next time you renovate, I hope this helps you reconsider your approach.Try out some of our sustainable practices and the 5 R’s from the circular economy: rethink, redesign, reduce, reuse, recycle. Small steps in the right direction is the path to change.