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CREATING
SUSTAINABLE HOME DESIGN: GOING GREEN IN NYC |
With recent concerns about the impending environmental dangers of
today’s climate crisis attracting so much attention in the
media and our day-to-day lives, going green is not only becoming
more popular among NYC homeowners but a necessity if we want to
make a difference in reducing the carbon imprint on the planet we
call home.
For example, while most New Yorkers are looking to maximize space
and convenience when choosing their home renovation projects, they
aren’t always aware that each choice they make has environmental
consequences. In fact, 3 billion tons of raw materials are used
annually in construction in the US and more than 30% of US waste
is construction debris.
What this means is that New Yorkers looking to decrease their impact
on the environment need to get smarter in terms of the products
they choose for their NYC home design fantasies.
Of course, some homeowners choose to go green not just for the environment
but because of the direct impact it has on their own lives. Choosing
energy efficient appliances will mean smaller gas and electric bills,
saving you an enormous amount of money over several years. But there’s
also the issue of indoor air quality. The EPA ranks indoor air quality
pollution among the top environmental risks to public health and
in some “sick” buildings chemical concentration can
sometimes be 100 times higher inside than outdoors. Avoiding harmful
chemicals in paints, adhesives, and fabrics can be particularly
important for children, the elderly, or those at risk for respiratory
diseases.
But urban dwellers who want to go green sometimes face bigger challenges
than suburbanites with the same ambitions: Most New Yorkers live
in apartments and condos in older buildings, and the prevalence
of pre-war structures means that most of us inhabit spaces built
before anybody had ever heard of global warming. Years of renovations
by previous inhabitants can further complicate your efforts to create
a healthy living space.
Instead of focusing on overhauling your entire home in one fell
swoop, however, consider greening your space one room at a time.
By considering certain key focus areas during each step of your
design, you’ll soon find yourself with a healthier, more efficient,
and more socially responsibly abode than you ever thought possible.
Reducing Energy & Water Consumption
The first step in any green renovation is to reduce the amount of
energy and water you use. This can translate into converting appliances
like air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators
and toilets to energy and water efficient models. Just to give you
an idea of the kind of impact this simple switch can make, consider
that an average top loading American washing machine uses 50 gallons
of water per load and 933 kWh per year. But an efficient washing
machine (like the Bosch Nexxt Washer) can use as few as 13 gallons
per load and 178 kWh. That translates into an enormous savings for
you and goes a tremendous way in reducing your carbon impact.
Other things you can do include using florescent instead of incandescent
light bulbs, using dimmer and master light controls, keeping a heat
thermostat in each room so you can turn off heating or air conditioning
in unoccupied areas, replacing your current toilet with a low-flush
model, and converting to a low-flow enhanced natural pressure showerhead
like the Methven SatinJet 2.5 gpm.
Adopting any one of these strategies will go a long way in saving
you money while improving your and our planet’s health.
Materials
The second step in greening your home renovation is to think about
the design materials you choose. In general, you want to replace
non-renewable resources with renewable ones or virgin with recycled,
use low or no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) materials, and use
safe adhesives. This is important because some home renovation materials
can produce significant offgassing in your home or office. Offgassing
is the process by which building materials release chemicals (or
VOC) into the air through evaporation. Offgassing may continue for
many years after installation.
Painting & Wall Covering
Just think about the whole lead paint catastrophe and it becomes
pretty clear why safe paint and wallpaper adhesive is so important.
Not only do some chemicals leach out into the air, but paste and
paint can chip or crumble into dust over time and then, in turn,
be ingested by inhabitants. Non-VOC paints and adhesive are readily
available from a variety of sources like Sherwin Williams and AFM
Safecoats and are usually comparable in price to their non-green
counterparts. Also, when looking for a decorative paint-like product,
consider a safer option like American Clay plaster as it’s
made from natural clay, recycled aggregates, and natural pigments.
Flooring
Nothing’s more elegant than a glossy wood floor, but when
you’re considering materials try to use a greener option.
Try using wood reclaimed from other buildings, stumps or milled
beams. The Antiquity Collection by Mohawk has a wide variety of
reclaimed wood for flooring. If that doesn’t appeal, try using
wood from fast-growing (and thus renewable) trees like bamboo, eucalyptus
or coconut. Specific brands to consider include Plyboo, which offers
bamboo and coconut flooring, among others. Lyptus ® products
by Weyerhaeuser are made from eucalyptus.
If wood isn’t your thing, other options include Marmoleum,
a linoleum made from green materials like flax rosin, jute, cork
and wood flour. EcoDemo also has a line of recycled leather tiles
that may add just the right touch of distinctive flair to your Chelsea
loft.
Tiles & Countertops
Just as with recycled wood for your floors, there’s a wide
variety of recycled glass, stone and ceramic tiles for you to choose.
Some companies, like Oceanside Glass Tiles, use up to 80% recycled
glass in some of their colors. Others companies to investigate include
Medici Mosaics, Fritz Tile and Vidrepur Mosaic. From mosaics to
terrazzo, there are a variety of options to achieve your green ambitions.
In fact, tile has a longer useful life than any other flooring alternative,
which reduces waste.
You’ve got even more options available when it comes to countertops.
Some innovative products like Icestone use recycled glass mixed
with cement. Other brands include Richlite, which make paper countertops
that can be used as a cutting board; the Avonite Recycled Collection;
Plyboo (made from end grain bamboo strips); Eleek, which uses recycled
aluminum) and Alkemi (made from aluminum scrap waste). True Form
concrete countertops in which part of the cement is replaced by
micronized silica are another option because cement production consumes
a lot of energy. By reducing the cement in the products we can save
this energy rather easily. Moreover, concrete countertops are a
somewhat green product in that all ingredients can be found anywhere,
therefore reducing embedded energy costs you would incur by, say,
importing some exotic stone from across the world.
The goal of successfully greening your New York City home is to
conserve natural resources, increase energy efficiency and improve
your indoor air quality. By choosing smart appliances, replacing
energy and water guzzlers with efficient products, and choosing
green materials to adorn your walls and floors, we can make this
planet a better home one room at a time, one person at a time, one
city at a time.
The MyHome Solution
At MyHome Design we’ve spent years developing ways for New
Yorkers to reduce their carbon imprint on the planet, so stop by
to discuss the ways you can translate your dream into an eco-friendly
one. We offer a full array of environmentally safe products as well
as Design Consultants who are well trained in developing an eco-friendly
home design philosophy for you. We have also created a brand new
line of custom furniture and cabinets made with environmentally
safe materials meant to enhance your home design while addressing
the climate crisis. Our furniture and cabinets are second-to-none
in quality and environmental safety, giving clients the chance to
decorate brilliantly as well as guiltlessly. Call us immediately
to find out more and start making a difference today. |
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