Interior Design Tips & Help

Home owners have gotten significantly more environmentally conscious in the past few years. This is not very surprising, as going green is beneficial both for yourself and for the environment. What you get is a healthier lifestyle and loads of economical savings and what the environment gets is sustainability and respect, so it is a win-win situation.

If you are building your home from scratch, there are many techniques for constructing a green home which your architect will most probably know. However, since most people either buy a ready house or rent one, they do not have any control over the building process. What you do have complete control over though is the interior design of your living space. Following green interior design methods is perfect for these cases. You might feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of information available on green interior design, so here is a list of 7 simple things you can do to make your home greener.

1. Start using certified non-toxic glues, paints, finishes, cleaners and polishers. Besides being eco friendly, they help in keeping your home environment less toxic.
2. Replace your carpet or linoleum floor with wood or bamboo. Bamboo is a great material because it is cheap and it is a very fast growing plant. Plantations dedicated to growing bamboo for floors and furniture exist, making this choice particularly environmentally friendly. Woolen rugs are also a good green interior design choice for covering your floor.
3. Make sure to update your electric devices with newer, energy efficient and stylish equipment. You can also replace your old light bulbs with LED lights to save some additional energy, further reducing your carbon footprint.
4. Make sure your rooms have good and controllable ventilation so the air gets renewed constantly. Ceiling fans not only look better, they are also a lot more energy efficient than air conditioners.
5. Check if your doors and windows are well insulated. These can be replaced much more easily than your wall insulation and will make your home much more energy efficient.
6. Choose furniture made from recycled metal. Materials like metal and glass, unlike paper, retain their quality even when recycled, so they are an excellent choice.
7. If you absolutely have to buy wooden furniture, try to ensure that it is made from wood that was cut locally as this will save he huge amounts of energy which would be spent in transferring it from a remote location.

What you need to remember is that most of the gains of green interior design are long term. It will take some time until you actually save money, or until you start noticing that the space you are living in has become healthier simply because you feel a lot better in it.