Episode Twelve: Interior Design

Interior Design

Our challenge today is to create an interior of beauty and functionality while keeping our health and the environment in mind. We need to find cabinets, furniture, and fabrics that are eco-friendly and healthy for us to live with. Then, with a family that loves home-cooked meals and spends a lot of time together, we need a great kitchen with superior design and functionality. Finally, we need to find out if we've designed the whole house with the proper feng shui for health and happiness.

— Building Green host Kevin Contreras

Feng Shui

Kevin invites Victoria Miller, a Feng shui expert, to get her opinion of his architectural plans before he begins building. Victoria explains that, for the most part, Feng shui is intuitive to most people. Victoria is from the Form School of Feng shui and uses a bagua map to guide her assessment.

Victoria returns after the straw bales in place. She gives Kevin some advice on the demarcation of his front door and compliments him on his curving staircase. A straight staircase causes what Victoria refers to as an energy waterfall. Feng shui attempts to slow down the energy in a house so that it is a relaxing place to come home to.

Green Extreme

A green extreme that Kevin experiments with is using straw bales as furniture. Kevin throws a party for friends when the straw bales are up (but the home is unfinished) and uses bales as seating and bedding. It's not a permanent furnishing solution, but a very green temporary one.

Eco-Chic

Kevin travels to the home of Zem Joaquin, the Eco-Editor of House & Garden Magazine. He's heard that she knows green interior design quite well and is curious to see the inside of her home. Zem asks Kevin to remove his shoes and explains that it's an easy way to keep dirt and toxins out of your home.

Zem shows Kevin a number of items in her home, including: hemp fabrics, a table carved out of single piece of reclaimed wood, a rug made in Nepal from recycled purses, organic bedding from Pottery Barn, a green sleep mattress, and a foot pedal that runs her kitchen sink.

On Zem's web site, ecofabulous, she stresses that you shouldn't have to sacrifice style to have a green home.

Building Health

Building Green health expert Alyssa Alvord explains that interior design elements can have a direct affect on our health. When considering hard furniture, typically made of wood, we must consider the material and the finishes used. Both can potentially outgas toxic chemicals into the indoor air. For example, formaldehyde is present in most particleboard, which is a very common material in contemporary furniture.

Soft surfaces, such as couches and mattresses can also outgas harmful chemicals. It is important, then, to know what your furniture is made from, and to choose nontoxic alternatives.

Modern Furnishing

Kevin checks in with interior designer Vanessa Grant about natural fabrics and furnishings.

Together, they visit Kim Kieler at Kim3 International Furnishings to pick out used vanities that Kevin would like to use in his home. Kevin also wants to use recycled armoires for coat closets. Kim explains that their restorations are done using organic lacquer.

Kevin's purchasing mantra is "Buy the best you can buy." His vanities were not expensive (about $500 dollars a piece) and cost far less than custom cabinetry would have.

Inside the Design

Kevin purchases his entire kitchen from Valcucine. Valcucine specializes in low-maintenance, high-density kitchen accessories and hardware complete with recycled, nonpolluting components and energy-efficient technologies. They manufacture their own products with minimal environmental impact. Their kitchens are also ergonomically designed.

Their Ricicla line is made entirely of recycled materials. And Valcucine does not use formaldehyde or synthetic varnishes.

Kevin's kitchen goes from empty to entirely finished in three days.

Easy Steps

Kevin loves his PVA (polyvinyl acetate) towel. It is not organic material in the least, but it can be used over and over again, and never needs to be washed unless it is soiled by organic material. Using one of these towels can eliminate the washing of thousands of traditional towels.

Next Week on Building Green: The Finale