Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for environmentally-conscious consumers, especially when it comes to their homes. Melania Holiat is Director/Designer of Trade Mark Design & Build, based in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and is also a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Here, she discusses how you can make your home as eco-friendly as possible, beginning with the early planning stages.
As far as sustainability in design is concerned, we primarily deal with using eco-friendly materials in the building process. That means that the materials were either reclaimed or recycled from previous conditions, or that they are earth-friendly materials in and of themselves. Examples of earth-friendly materials are bamboo, glass, concrete or any material that contains a low VOC, or a low volatile organic compound, which means they have low emissions as far as toxic chemicals of their products are concerned.
Donating Unwanted Items
Another popular trend when it comes to sustainability would be when you are ripping out kitchen or other existing products to make room for new ones, that you donate them instead of throwing them away. At Trade Mark Design & Build, we donate kitchen cabinets to various organizations - churches in particular - that would still use the products, rather than just throwing them into a landfill.
We also recycle anything that could be recycled. For example, wood flooring removed from a barn could be refinished and used in restaurants either as a floor, or as tables and furniture. We see a lot of lot of that in our industry; it’s a popular way to rescue an item that has been used previously and put it to new use in a new way, so to speak.
Fashion Trends in Sustainability
Some characteristics are particularly noticeable when it comes to sustainability, meaning that items are not new and may have been used before as something entirely different. If you notice weathering on items, oxidizing, or distressing, that means that an item is not a new one.
These are all becoming popular trends that are part of the process of age and wear and tear. Rather than paying for something new and making it look older, we are using old things because they look great. Think of the shabby chic look, for example, or antique or vintage. Those are all sustainable trends that are resurfacing.
Saving the Forests
At Trade Mark Design & Build, we also try to use materials that grow back quickly, to help save land and forestation. An example is the bamboo that is becoming so popular. One reason for its popularity is because it is a material that regrows quickly. It is actually a grass and therefore grows 15 times faster than a typical tree, so it can be harvested without damage. Also, it grows from the point where it is cut and is a durable material that wears well and grows at a rapid rate.
Finally, we hold most of our materials in one location until we are ready to ship, to create less gas pollution and wear and tear on vehicles that are transporting and emitting emissions. So we pollute the environment a lot less and also save on gasoline, all part of our commitment to sustainability.
