Are you considering renovating or revamping a room in your home soon? Do you care about your impact on the environment, but don’t want to sacrifice style? There are plenty of eco-friendly options for your next home remodel. With just a little more creativity and research, you can turn your home into an environmentally-responsible haven that you can enjoy and take pride in. Australian Solar Quotes gives you some tips and tricks to make your home an eco-chic abode. They even have a solar calculator! Click here to try it out.
Paint
One of the easiest ways to restyle a room is to give it a fresh coat of paint. Choose any tone and colour your heart desires, but be aware that not all paints are created equal. If you’re interested in preserving the environment and protecting yourself from those fresh pain headaches, choose a paint without volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are common in many paints. Read the label and look for paints with low VOCs or no VOCs. After all, who wants to breathe in more fumes and synthetic chemicals than necessary?
Flooring
There are several types of flooring options available for your home. From tile to wood to vinyl, the options seem almost endless. If you’re considering vinyl, then maybe you should make the switch to linoleum. It’s a fabulous hypoallergenic continuous flooring option that offers the same durability and style options as vinyl. Linoleum is made out of natural components such as linseed and flax oil and pine resin. The best part is that it’s affordable, starting at only a few dollars per square foot.
If you’re looking for another style for your flooring, you may also want to consider cork and bamboo options. Hardwood floors can be environmentally-friendly, so long as the wood was harvested from sustainable forests (ie. no clear cutting).
Furniture
Furniture is often a head-scratcher for people who want to make a ‘green’ choice. The tricky thing with furniture is that it so often is made up of several different materials, making it difficult to tell whether the overall environmental impact of the piece is acceptable. One of the best ways around this problem is to go vintage. You can acquire great home furnishings at garage sales and auctions, often for prices that will make you smile. Vintage pieces, while often a deal, may need special treatments such as refinishing or painting to make them look brand new.
As environmental stewardship increasingly becomes a popular trend, it will become less difficult to find new furniture options made from sustainable materials. Currently, some of the only options available are at specialty retailers who design unique pieces made from reclaimed substances.
Window Coverings
Bamboo blinds are a great way to incorporate style and environmental-friendliness into your home. Since bamboo grows very rapidly, harvesting it doesn’t have as much environmental impact compared to harvesting a forest of trees. They add a natural, warm feel to any indoor space. Bamboo blinds aren’t very expensive compared to equivalent wooden blinds so you can make a more responsible decision without breaking the bank.
Organic cotton curtains are another great way to go. Cotton that is grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides means that there are less chemical sprays being used in agriculture practices, which is better for plant, animal and human health. Organic cotton has the same performance and durability as regular cotton and can be any colour, meaning that you can make an eco-friendly decision without anyone being able to tell the difference.
Solar Power
Incorporating solar power into your home isn’t as expensive or complicated as it once was. It’s a great way to way to help the environment while reducing your energy costs. Harnessing solar energy (by converting sunlight into electricity), is becoming more accessible each year with emerging government rebates and increasing affordability on solar powered systems.
You can also choose from a wide range of solar accessories including solar lamps, clocks, and electrical appliances. Decorative solar powered lighting, like solar LED light strings and solar stakes, are also fantastic and easy way to create a festive atmosphere in your backyard and garden. Find out more about solar products on Australian Solar Quotes.
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