How to Bring Green Essentials into Your Home this Fall

Guest Blog #159, Entry #634, August 30, 2011

If you’re like most of us, the hot sunny summer weather is starting to take it’s toll, and you are ready to usher out summer and welcome in fall. Fall brings in cooler temperatures, gorgeous foliage colors into your decor and a sense of relaxation and comfort into your home. Today, my Guest Blogger shows you how to bring green decor ideas into your indoor and outdoor home.

Bring fall colors into your decor and furniture

Image courtesy of HGTV.com

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Fall is a great time for warm, rich colors. Chocolate brown, golden yellow, rich oranges and reds are all a part of the fall color palate. But the most important color for fall is “green”.  Fall flooring, furniture, and paint can be incorporated in your home, all while being green.

Green, From the Ground Up

Natural cork and bamboo are the perfect flooring combination for a sustainable home. Both are renewable, harvested in a natural habitat, and satisfy LEED credits. Natural Cork underlayment provides acoustic and thermal insulation. Bamboo flooring boasts a unique appearance that is complimentary to many decors. Like other natural products, differences in tone and appearance give the flooring singular character. For carpeting, if you have wool carpet, keep it. Otherwise, it’s best to use modular carpet tiles. Several eco-friendly companies offer stylish carpet squares that use non-toxic dyes and are made from recycled materials. Many manufactures offer to recycle it when you are done with it. The squares can be self-installed and don’t need support from toxic padding.

Reuse and repurpose for decorative green options

Image courtesy of thenateshow.com

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Furniture

The greenest furniture is recycled furniture. Finding a piece of furniture you like, in excellent condition is ideal, but not always an easy find. A green alternative to re-vamp furniture is using eco-friendly upholstery or fabric, or paint the piece with a low VOC paint for a fresh look. Reclaimed wood is a popular option for fall. Large furniture retailers like Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and West Elm carry reclaimed wood pieces as well as many online and local furniture stores.  Salvaged window and mirror décor is a hot trend for fall. Use architectural salvaged items and repurposing them can give your home and walls added interest. For accents, used lamps and lighting fixtures that have compact florescent bulb compatibility are the best choice. Pillows that are environmentally friendly can also be covered in recycled upholstery. Quick seasonal color-changing fixes such as bedding and linens can transform a bedroom and bathroom by purchasing organic and eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo, hemp, flax, and many other green blends.

Low to No VOC Paint

Due to environmental regulations and increasing consumer demand, paint companies have developed new house paints that emit little or no VOCs.  This is achieved by using water, or sustainable raw materials like soy and sunflower oil, as a base instead of traditional, petroleum-based oil solvents. Whether the color is bold or neutral, these paints can achieve the look and environmental goal you desire.

Bring eco-friendly exteriors into fall

Eco Exteriors

Solar panels are in-vogue, and for good reason—financial and environmental benefits. But, if the thought of solar panels on a roof is repulsing, there are now more aesthetically pleasing ways to gain the benefits of solar. Solar shingles are becoming more popular, and they look very similar to regular roof shingles. Another fun option for solar is Solar Ivy. Solar “leaves” are arranged on a home to absorb sunlight and have the look of ivy. As the weather cools down and the home heats up, solar is an excellent option.

My name is Chelsea Wyles and I work and blog for Cooler Planet. Cooler Planet helps you take steps to reduce your impact on the planet, while saving you both time and money. We’ve developed an extensive network of pre-screened Green Professionals that can help you toward your green goals.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.