House Rules for Making Every Day Earth Day

Our top tips for sustainability in the home from the smartest new products to the simplest common sense steps

1.      Take a deep breath. We have fallen in love with several low to no VOC paints of late and find the lack of smell and high quality of the product (making for fewer applications and better wear) offsets the slightly higher cost of the paint. Stark’s partnership with the UK’s Paper and Paint Library has resulted in a beautiful palette which we return to time and again. Benjamin Moore’s Natura and Aura paints can be mixed in any color from their fans or matched to a sample. Fine Paints of Europe has some great color collections and high performance no VOC lacquer-like paints

2.      Pay more, buy less. Purchasing heirloom-quality antique and vintage furnishings not only brings style, life and history to a home, but it is also a smart way to support sustainable luxury. Older items are made by hand or by using traditional techniques that would cost far more to replicate today (if you could even find skilled artisans to do the work!) and you won’t have to replace these items any time soon

3.      Re-purpose! A first step in many of our decorating jobs is to first assess what items should be re-used in the new design scheme. Repairing and recovering well-made upholstery or lacquering a case piece in an unexpected hue can recontextualize the piece– making it fresh and exciting in the new space and saving virgin resources from being expended in the process

5.      Ditch the Windex! Ellen has long espoused the benefits of good clean living-and cleaning! With the ever-widening variety of ecologically sensitive and chemical free cleaners there is no reason to pollute the air in your home or workplace with noxious gases in the interest of a clean and beautiful space

6.       How many Federal regulators does it take to screw in a light bulb?  The new-age, old dilemma is how to save energy without casting a sickly green glow. We are ever on the lookout for alternatives to the ill-designed corkscrew CFL. PLUMEN looks to be a viable contender - the sculptural design is a great sub for the stylish retro Edison bulbs many fixtures are designed to showcase. It also sports the fun, high-low, old-meets-new dynamic that can instantly update a space

7.  Beware materials your grandparents would not recognize As much as possible, stick to real goods like wool, linen, fsc certified wood, etcetera. There are some high-tech products that are great like FLOR and Caesarstone but their green story is front and center so you know what you are getting. Not so with some polyester or pvc products which can actually expose us to endocrine disruptors and other toxins.

8.     Let there be light. Use layered window treatments to control solar gain and heat loss. Thermal comfort =lower energy bills. Plus it’s a great way to bring beautiful textiles in to your home design

9.      Hit the road. Up and coming designers are embracing new technologies for conservation of energy and raw materials. From the Milan Furniture Fair to the Architectural Digest Show to the ICFF we love seeking out the hottest new pick from a rising star. How satisfying it is to know your new find conserves valuable resources, or has a zero carbon footprint?

10.     Waste not, want not Instead of using anything disposable, invest in vintage tabletop wares by the likes of Georg Jensen or Waylande Gregory. It’s exciting to not only have impressive supplies for hosting, but to also have an investment whose value will grow with time

11. Go with the Flow You never miss your water until your well runs dry. The world will be faced with severe water shortages in the coming decades.   Install low flow plumbing fixtures and toilets as replacement opportunities arise around the house. A stylish favorite here at EHD is the Purist Collection from Kohler. Toto also has some smart options

12. Shop Local Sourcing furniture and accessories close to home not only means instant gratification in many cases but also greatly reduced shipping distance; this not only cuts down on your costs but also limits the carbon output and use of fuel to bring your goodies to their new home. Low carbon footprint and instant gratification; that’s a winning combination!

13. Support independent local business In addition to the aforementioned boost of minimizing the schelp, buying from small business owners in your own neighborhood not only keeps bustling storefronts open on your main street but also gives you convenient access to cool stuff (and who doesn’t love cool stuff?)

Polychromie Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier's original 18 colors formulated for the Villa La Roche in Paris

We received this fabulous gift recently from a loved one returning from Paris.  A petite afterthought from a museum gift shop has made our week here at EHD where, as you may have noticed, we think about color a lot.  When assigned to write about low VOC paints for 1stdibs we pulled out our numerous fans and laid them out to examine the palettes and how companies chose to present them.

For example, Farrow and Ball has an accordion fold brochure which we leave strewn about the office quite frequently because of the tactile joy of every small square of real paint.

Donald Kaufman's archival boxes full of sumptuous large scale color cards are also a frequent inspiration.

This affinity paint fan from Benjamin Moore was our introduction to their Aura paint line and almost put us off trying the new line just because of the unappealing color adjacencies in this fan.

the "sad-making" Affininty line

Luckily Aura is available in any of the Benjamin Moore colors and can be matched to any color as well (pigment does bring the VOCs up a bit but usually stays well below the off-gassing of a standard paint base.)

 the "happy-making" Peacock Paint fan - the "satsuma" made many appearances in our projects

We happened upon Christopher Peacock's collection for Fine Paints of Europe when writing about environmentally friendly paints and used their colors here and here.

In addition to our love affair with the newly arrived Corbu palette (which at first seemed random and a little weird and drove us to immediately investigate and fall in love with the Villa) just today we learned that Stark has teamed with "renowned color specialist" David Oliver to present a beautiful range of colors inspired by the London Paint and Paper Library. This pair of accordion fold brochures (they know us so well!) boasts details of the historic roots of the palette as well as the sustainability-minded features of the paint itself. All finishes are "no VOC" and the high gloss lacquer is "low VOC".  Pretty impressive.  We are currently looking for the perfect application for their "squid ink" - an indescribable green blue black, murky and dense in the best possible way.

 Courtesy of Paint and Paper Library, Squid Ink and Moss

Our fascination with this collected ephemera of color cards, paint fans and accordion folded brochures must track back to the inspired hand of the creator.  Le Corbusier was guided by a vision of a Parisian villa; the "Polychromie Le Corbusier" fan is a road map of these plans: the pink floor leads to the brown ramp which wraps up to the landings in shades of white and gray so subtle that they seem to be a trick of the light.  There is great talent and vision in developing these hand-held testaments to a building, a feeling, a brand, or even an historical era.

Now we just have to think of a sufficiently inspiring thank you for our considerate and oh-so tasteful Parisian traveler.

photo: Simon Glynn www.galinsky.com