I love the clean lines and fresh white feeling of this loft.  I am also drawn to the combination of the new cement forms and the recylced and more rustic accents... 

ECO Furniture

How many way's there are to improve the quality of your life and the surroundings you live in.  Furniture, we don't really think about where and what it is made of and how it is made all that often.  And then there is style and comfort! There are some really great companies out there making furniture that respects the planet.  What does it mean to choose green furniture? And what impact does it really have on the environment? I don't have all the answers, but one way to look at it is that ANY choice you make to lightly or heavily benefit the environments well being is a good one.  So choosing green furniture may mean looking in grandma's attic or finding a company that uses only renewable resources for their raw material like Vermont Woods Studio (www.vermontwoodsstudio.com) Or find a company whose upholstery is organic like Lee Furniture check them out at www.leeindustries.com.  If you are in New York city ABC Carpet and Home is also a great store to visit, they have a whole line of eco furniture that is just beautiful, not to mention the store is inspiring.  And I am serious about checking out old thrift stores for recycled furniture...If the upholstery is wretched, get it revamped with organic cotton!  The site www.modgreenpod.com is awesome for fabrics.

Spring Transportation

Spring is really here now and it is time to get the bikes out... no matter what style or kind you have, it is high time we all bike more. So take your buggy to the shop or get your tools out and tune up! Greese up the chain or oil up the saddle.

CHOICES

We have so many choices to make in our lives... how do we know what the best ones or the right ones or even the wrong ones are? In my opinion staying educated and thinking about the future of what we are surrounded by are the most important things. Ultimately forward thinking is thinking in logic terms. Local, healthy, renewable and low environmental impact. How we fill our houses with stuff effects everything about us... Choices. Choose items that you know more than half of the ingredient list, choose materials that come at least partially from something that was grown in the soil sustainably.

COLOR in the WINTER

There is nothing like a little burst of warm comforting color in the chill of the winter, especially toward the middle to end of the season when the white and grey seems endless. This space seems like it would do the trick of a pick me up! The plaster texture is also quite appealing. Check out the American Clay website for some plaster inspiration.

WATER consumption & ENERGY usage

Paying attention to our individual water consumption in our daily lives is part of the whole picture of being "green," though it is hard to gage how much we actually use there are ways to start at the top with the products we purchase as well as taking shorter showers (for example). Check out the Earthday Network wesite for some facts on water usage. There is amazing new technology out there for clothes washers, toilets, faucets and shower heads that have low flow options as well as load sensors. When purchasing a new washer and dryer there are two easy facts to consider; The WATER FACTOR and the MODIFIED ENERGY FACTOR.

The Water Factor (WF) measures the water usage per cycle in gallons per cubic foot of washer space... the lower the WF the more efficient the machine is.

The Modified Energy Factor (MEF) considers energy used by the machine as well as the water heater for each cycle and by the dryer to remove the remaining moisture...the higher the MEF is the more efficient the washer is.

Energy Star requires that the WF be less than 8 and the MEF be higher than 1.72... to find out what your washer is or to find info on a new washer you can find the product criteria on the Energy Star website. And to see a table of products with their WF and MEF listed you can check out the Wash Wise website.

Toilets are another water drain in the house and according to the U.S. EPA, a family of four could save more than 16,000 gallons of water per year simply by replacing a traditional toilet with a high-efficiency toilet. There is a leading Australian company called Caroma that has a dual flush system so you can use half the amount of water for a pee flush!

Plants for INDOOR air quality

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