Cloud Berry is a Scandinavian online boutique that sources out high quality ethical and environmentally friendly products. Many of their products are design icons rich in Scandinavian heritage.
Littala Kastehelmi Bowl : Designed in 1964 by Oiva Toikka
Le Klint Joker : Designed in 1970 by Christian Raeder
If you live with single glazed aluminium framed windows, you might find drafty in the winter and sweltering in the summer. You can either crank the heat or pump the AC. Neither bodes well for environment, or your utilities bill. So what are your options?
Replace your old windows with new high performance windows . At the very least you'll want to use gas filled, double glazed windows with a Low-E coating. The gas fills the space between the two window panes preventing heat loss, while the Low-E coating keeps the warm air in during the winter months, and cool air in during the summer months.
If you don't have the option of new windows, there are alternatives to saving the energy lost through old in-effecient windows.
Buy a Low-E coating film you can apply yourself. Make sure you buy the invisible kind, rather than tinted kind.
Caulk your windows, and place new weather stripping around your doors. Those gaps around your windows and doors let out a ton of heat, by filling the gaps you can cut your loss by 50%
Pull the shades! In the winter months, during the day, leave curtains open and blinds up. This way the sun can warm your space naturally. As the sun sets, trap the heat in by closing your curtains and dropping your shades. Double lined curtains and cel shades make for great window insulators.
Interstyle Ceramic & Glass in Burnaby offers some of the most exquisite glass tiles I've seen. Interstyle will source scrap glass to create beautiful recycled glass tiles. The collection includes Aquarius, where crystalline colours are suspended in clear glass. Or Agates, made entirely of recycled glass and polished to form glass pebbles.
Did you know - One ton of glass produced from raw materials creates 384 lbs of mining waste. If 50% of that glass were made using recycled glass, the mining waste would be cut by %75 to only 96 lbs and air pollution would be cut by 20%. Yet 8% of the waste in our landfills is made up of glass. Seeing as glass can be recycled over and over and over again, it is so important that we recycle our glass bottles and jars. You never know where it might end up, a glass tile, a drinking bottle, even a marble!
So this weeks green tip co-insides with my recent bathroom repaint. We're talking Low VOC paints. VOC's are Volatile Organic Compounds added to our paint to help it spread and roll easily, and dry nice. However as paint dries it off gasses these VOC's polluting the air we breath. Which is why paint companies are now offering Low-VOC and No-VOC paints.
A popular Low-VOC paint is Benjamin Moores Aura. Personally, I don't like the smell of it. It's one of the few paints I've worked with where the smell irritates me. I also find it can be difficult to work with. It does however get great coverage, and has beautiful depth of colour, and even in a flat sheen it's still easily washable. But buying this paint is big bucks, and I often wonder if it's worth $68 a gallon retail.
In my own bathroom I used Sherwin-Williams Zero-VOC Harmony in eg-shell. Usually eg-shell has to much shine for my liking. But the Harmony eg-shell looks more like a satin, and is perfect for the bathroom. I've also used Harmony in many of my clients homes, and every time they tell me how excited they are to come home to fresh paint and not have the "fresh paint smell." Harmony is washable, and also gets greats coverage. What I like best is the price - $42 a gallon retail.
Just remember VOC's are air polluting chemicals, if a paint is free of VOC's that doesn't mean it's free of chemicals, there still resides fungicides and biocides which help prevent the growth of mould and mildew. Also the tint can be toxic, lighter colours require less tint vs. bright clean colours or dark moody colours.
Todays green tip is literally green! House plants, not only are they beautiful but they purify our indoor air of pollutants. They're living art. They add interest, shape, character and colour of course.
I prefer large specimens, their more aesthetically pleasing, lively and sculptural. When it comes to larger plants keep it simple!
Keep your plant in its plastic container then place it in a decorative pot or basket. You can disguise the plastic pot by placing some rocks or dry moss on top. You don't need to have a green thumb to make it grow. Water when the top few inches of your soil is dry and make sure your soil has proper drainage. Trim off dead leaves and dry bits. If your plant has smooth leaves, wipe them with a damp cloth. Remember sunlight can make or break a happy plant, some require more than others so placement is key to keeping it happy. Once your plant is established, don't move it!
This fiddle leaf creates a cool canopy over the sofa and adds a sculptural element to the room. Elle Decor
Did you know that your kitchen is the biggest energy consumer in your home, and your fridge is the number one energy sucker?
* Refrigerators 15 years or older consume 50% more energy than modern Energy Star models.
* Side by side models, and models with external water and ice dispensers use up to 15% more energy than a freezer on top/bottom style refrigerator.
* Keep your fridge full not crowded. The mass of food helps keep the fridge cool, but be sure not to over crowd so air can circulate evenly.
* Keep the condenser coils and door seals clean.
* When you open the door, cold air escapes. Better organize your fridge so you can find items quickly, and items you use frequently should be easily accessible. This way you don't have to keep the door open as long.
* BC Hydro will pay you to pick up and recycle your old fridge.
The best rated Energy Star refrigerators are Sun Frost refrigerators based out of California. They come in custom laminate colours and wood veneers. Yes, they do cost more initially, but you better believe they'll save you a ton in the long run!
This isn't a good energy saving idea - Close The Fridge!
This morning I woke up with the worst cold ever. So todays green tip is going to be quick. Encorp Recycling centres accept more than just bottles and cans. You can also recycle electronics, and paint tins (full or empty.) On a recent reno, I had recycled over 30 empty paint tins. The contractor for the job didn't understand why I just didn't crush them and add them to the garbage pile? It's important to recycle and dispose of "garbage" responsibly.
If you're considering a new area rug, or even wall to wall carpet - consider FLOR. FLOR is a design system made up of carpet tiles that come in a range of beautiful colours, designs and textures. FLOR products are produced in sustainably focused facilities using recyclable and renewable materials. And because your rug is made of indvidual tiles, should you ever have an ugly spill or pet accident, you won't need to replace your rug, just replace the damaged tiles. Then you can return those damaged tiles to FLOR to be recycled into new materials.
Fair-trade aims to ensure that producers in poor countries get a fair price for goods and services, as well as safe working conditions and healthy business relationships. Fair-trade shops are filled with unique decor from all corners of the globe. Talented artisans work to create one of kind handmade items. Many of these items are eco-consious and are made using salvaged wood, recycled glass, pop tins, vegetable dyes, magazines and coconut shell.
I like having decor in my home that I know was hand made by a skilled artist, and by purchasing it I'm helping that artist succeed in their craft, rather than have them work in poor conditions and hawk their goods for pennies.
Hand cut and hand painted by skilled Haitian artisans. Children of the world recycled from a 55 gallon metal drum.
Metal Wall Hanging - $100
Vietnamese Recycled Paper Bowl - $12
India Enamel Painted Brass Vase - $50
Imagine having a smokeless fire that burns clean and comes from a can. It doesn't require a chimney flue, and can be placed anywhere in your home or yard without any installation requirements. It's simple, flexible, effective and cozy, and it's fuelled by the renewable energy of Denatured Ethanol. You're able to manipulate and control the size of the flame and the amount of heat generated. All you need is a burner or a range and your set.
Denatured Ethanol is made from plants and does not release any toxins or carbon dioxide into the air. It's clean and it's safe. One quart of denatured ethanol can burn for up to 5 hours depending on the size of the flame.
In regards to your range, you have many options. Ranges comes in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit your personal style and abode. Some are free standing and portable, others can be mounted to the wall, or you could have a custom burner or range built in.
My favourite ethanol fire place is the minimal Piet from Cavallius Design. It is so beautiful. It's egg shaped dome is insulated so even while the fire burns hot, it's ceramic shell won't burn your fingers - this also means you can snug it up close to the wall. It's easily portable too, just think in the bedroom tonight, on the patio tomorrow.
For a minimalist look the Fusion - Eco-Smart Fire is clean lined and open on both sides which gives a unique sense of space.
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