Designing an eco-friendly home

Nowadays, the environment is never far from people’s minds, and a more natural and eco-friendly look for your home is becoming ever more appealing, benefitting you both aesthetically and financially. The eco-friendly home will be the next great step in interior design, with the need for sustainable materials and less energy usage being what the future group of designers emerging from an interior design course will have to focus on if they want to meet their customer’s needs. So, why not swathe your rooms in the finest that the environment has to offer, with some of these great tips for a greener home?

Decorate your home with plants

Plants and other types of flora are a fantastic way to give a more natural look to your house or apartment, oxygenating your home and removing harmful toxins from the room. And, the great thing about plants is that you can populate your rooms with ones that suit its style. So, try to find a plant that will match your décor to gain a brighter, fresher feel in your ho

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Fill your home with organic and natural materials

It’s important to be using environmentally sustainable materials when redecorating your place, meaning that you should avoid all plastic, particleboard and chromed metal when refurbishing. Although the use of more sustainable products is more expensive, it really is the optimal choice if you’re looking for a home that will aid the environment. The use of wood, marble or stone blocks can be a more eco-friendly alternative if you’re after tables, flooring or kitchen counters and, while it might dent your wallet, it certainly won’t compromise your style.

Use energy-efficient windows and lighting

The use of more energy efficient windows and lighting in your home can benefit you in a vast number of ways. If you use special coatings on your windows, for example, you can insulate your house far more effectively and save on your heating bills. Also, if you’re looking to cut down on heating bills even further, be sure to insulate your walls with environmentally conscious fillings. This is also the case with your light fixtures, with the use of lighting specifically designed to cut down on power creating a cheaper to run and more eco-friendly system.

Make your paint that little bit greener

While you don’t have to cover your walls in a literal sea of green if you don’t want to, it will be necessary to invest in a low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint to really give you that eco-edge on your walls. This will contribute to global warming far less. You can also try recycled or biodegradable paints, which will give you the same coating but be far kinder to mother earth.

Let in the sunlight

If you can populate your home with enough windows, including skylights, it will be possible to use far less electrical light fittings during the day, saving both your budget and the planet. It’s a case of the bigger the window the better, with more natural sunlight creating a healthier looking and feeling home.

Call in an eco-designer

If you’re renovating your home to become more environmentally friendly, then there are now a number of specialist interior designers who can help you out, and many more who will work with sustainable materials at your request. Designers such as Eco Nest, for example, will do their best to try to make your New York apartment a markedly greener environment, making sure that you get a home that won’t pollute the environment. So, if you’re looking to make your home more natural looking and more efficient, you know who to call.