What’s hot right now? What design trends are people raving about throughout the industry? Check back often as we’ll be updating this section with news to report.

Summer 2009

Designing With Green in Mind

While green is certainly a color to consider in your design plans, you may have surmised that this piece focuses on making design choices that benefit the environment. The good news is that going green isn´t hard to do; many "planet-friendly" products are available today and manufacturers will continue to add new options due to demand from an increasingly environmentally conscious population.

• Use rapidly renewable flooring products, like bamboo and linoleum, to help reduce the impact on land and resources
• Select low-odor paint with zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Specify sustainable furniture and fabrics that support using materials from rapidly renewable, post-consumer or post-industrial sources
• Choose energy-efficient appliances to both lower your operating costs and support a sustainable environment
• Consider whether the materials you choose are recyclable, so they can have a "next life" instead of ending up in a landfill

Diane´s Take: I´m very excited that more and more clients are asking me about environmentally friendly design options. We all need to work together to sustain our planet, and it´s very simple today to incorporate "green" into any project´s design.