Green interior design is a style of interior design that focuses on eco-friendliness. Although it is not necessary to be green in order to have an eco-friendly home, it does make sense to use environmentally friendly materials when building and planning a home, especially if you are planning on living in one for a long time.
A good example of this is the kitchen countertops made from wood. Investing in furniture made of solid wood is a smart choice for those looking to lower their environmental footprint. Wood pieces are typically held together by basic joinery techniques rather than adhesives which means they require less energy and emit fewer VOCs during production – making this type of purchase even more worthwhile!
Although popular, Furniture made of MDF and particleboard is not healthy for humans or animals. It’s composed primarily out sawdust, which can lead to serious health problems such as cancer if you’re exposed over time.
A good alternative would be solid wood furniture that needs more care but doesn’t have any negative side effects on your well-being unlike the poor quality furnishings offered by cheaper brands who use cheap materials like Formaldehyde-based glues (formalin) resin paints etc…
Such an approach is quite revolutionary since we have been so accustomed to buying commodities made from non-sustainable sources which we don’t even know where they come from or are not aware of their origins.
Definition of Green Interior Design
Each year, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) releases its Green Building Criteria. The DOE ensures that building codes require production and use of energy-efficient equipment, appliances and materials. The criteria are intended to be a baseline measure of how much energy is used in a facility that meets codes.
One of the criteria is Green Interior Design (GID). As you may know, it simply means the interior design of the building where it is being used.
GID does more than just setting standards for green building; it also serves as a marketing tool for designers to demonstrate their green credentials. The way we define GID today ranges from simple steps to specific techniques, from hardware specifications to software enhancements. We can think about GID in terms of:
- Best practices for creating sustainable buildings
- Best practices for reducing carbon emissions
- Best practices for improving air quality
- Best practices for reducing water usage
At Instyle Deco Paris we like to integrate these practices into our projects here in Thailand.
When we talk about environmental sustainability, air quality can play an important role, especially in Bangkok, since it is not uncommon for the AQI (Air Quality Index) to reach unhealthy levels. Designs should take this into consideration and offer Green solutions. When using energy-efficient appliances and systems, you not only help the environment by saving energy but also reduce your carbon footprint. But green interior design goes beyond these basic points: making sure buildings are well built and maintained; integrating environmental performance into everyday life; designing furniture that works with the environment
Principles of Green Interior Design
I’m a bit of a green interior designer and by extension so is Instyle Deco Paris. I like to see things done right and for the environment, so I try to think about my projects from an environmental standpoint.
You might think this would be true for every project, at all stages of life. But you’d be wrong, not everyone is driven by the greater good. The key here is to spend some time thinking about both the furniture and their potential impact on the environment before you embark on any project. The more time you spend in this way, the more likely you are to get results that will benefit all involved (in this case, customers and the planet).
Eco-friendly materials for Interior Design can be anything from bamboo to cork. Cork is a natural product that comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. It is a sustainable resource because the trees are not cut down in order to harvest the cork. The bark grows back, and the trees can live up to two hundred years.
Bamboo is another sustainable material. It grows very quickly, so there is no need to clear forests in order to grow bamboo. It is also a strong material, so it can be used for a variety of purposes.
Both cork and bamboo are good choices for flooring because they are soft and comfortable underfoot. They are also easy to clean and maintain.
For Upholstery, the chemicals in flame retardants have been linked to a wide range of health problems such as impaired fertility and IQ, developmental problems for children. Skip the man-made materials made from polyurethane foam (poly-foam) wrapped around dacron – opt instead choose organic upholstery that is earth friendly with no harmful toxins!
So, what is “green interior design?” As such it isn’t just about minimizing waste or minimizing landfill – although those are certainly good things as well as very important goals in themselves – but rather making sure your designs aren’t contributing additional waste at all times throughout their lives by keeping them clean and organized. Think of how much energy goes into cleaning clothes over their lifetime in laundries – perhaps more than is saved by purchasing them! So why should our products contribute anything at all?
The easiest way to think about green interior design is by breaking it down into steps:
- Discuss how your product/project makes itself useful
- Discuss how much energy it takes to produce/manufacture your design features
- Discuss how much energy your interior design uses in its lifetime (including electricity)
Then work toward minimizing the impact.
How You Can Make Your Home More Energy Efficient and Environmentally Friendly?
Green interior design affects the way we live our lives and how we decorate our homes. Although there is much to be said for having a clean, fresh and inviting home, there are also many reasons to take care of the environment when it comes to your home.
One significant reason is that green interior design can make you feel good about your home by making it more energy efficient, healthier and more pleasant.
The energy efficiency of your house can be measured in terms of how much power you use, as well as whether or not you’re using any electricity at all. The better your house, the less energy it will use – so if you want to cut down on energy use and help save resources, improve your home’s efficiency can really pay off.
1) Energy-efficient lighting:
Lighting should be a big part of the way that you decorate and feel about your home. You can easily change out those incandescent bulbs for LED lights or even CFL lights that have a shorter lifespan than incandescent bulbs (but which produce just as much light). Lighting should also rely on LED bulbs with long enough lifespan so they don’t burn out early (or turn into mini heaters). Many LED lights can be changed out with CFLs that last longer than incandescent ones so they’ll keep working longer (they’re typically worth buying over time).
2) Energy-efficient appliances:
If you have an air conditioner or furnace, they will use a lot of energy; especially if they’re new models that don’t have warranties or other incentives to reduce their power usage. If you buy a new fridge every few years or every couple of years at least (the lifespan is usually announced somewhere like “10 years”) then switching them off should decrease their power consumption substantially. A fridge uses about 3 kWh per day; a freezer uses about 5 kWh per day; and an air conditioner uses about 8 kWh per day. You could replace each one of those appliances with one that only uses less electricity – which would save lots of power that would otherwise go to waste.
3) Conserving natural resources:
We already mentioned the fact, that using sustainable materials should be favoured in the overall design.
Conclusion
Green interior design is basically interior design that is environmentally friendly. There are two main categories in this regard:
- Solar energy
- Eco-friendly fabrics and materials.
The first category involves the use of solar power to generate electricity. One example of this would be making a room with a high ceiling (like a garage) with an array of solar panels to provide all the electricity needed for the house. A second example is using bamboo, which has a natural affinity for sunlight, to make furniture like bookcases and desks. It’s important to understand that not only does the material used have an environmental impact, but also how much energy it uses. Since bamboo takes up a lot of space, it would typically be used in low-ceilinged spaces like garages and closets.
The second category is eco-friendly fabrics and materials that are sourced from renewable resources (like cotton or wool). These products typically take up less space than other fabrics because they don’t need to be dyed or processed to look good and do not require chemicals (which can harm our health). In addition, they are often more sustainable as well since they are biodegradable and compostable.
These two categories are key areas when it comes to green interior design because they help shape the design to become Eco-friendly.
We believe this is an area where we can make big strides in our homes and contribute to a greener future. To discuss your project and get some insight into Green Design please contact our consultants at Instyle Decio Paris to help you bring your vision to life.
