Keeping it green

The redecorating bug has bitten you hard and you’re looking for some ways to update your tired-looking home. However, you also want to join the “green” society by making your home stylish but healthy and environmentally friendly.

You can start from the floor up, and environmentally friendly decorative flooring is just what you need. Select something that allows you to choose from many colors and interesting textures, have simple installation and afterwards will require easy maintenance and cleanup.

Materials like harvested sustainable hardwoods and ceramic tile aren’t your only eco-friendly choices. A better option might be Marmoleum Click, an all-natural flooring made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosins and limestone.

With a visit to www.themarmoleumstore.com, you can match colors, look at decorative designs already created or plan out your own.

“Previously, linoleum was available only in large sheets and generally required professional installation,” said Scott Day of Forbo Flooring, manufacturers of Marmoleum and Marmoleum Click products. “But Marmoleum Click makes installing a simple linoleum floor, or even a complex design, very easy.”

The product is available in 12-inch by 36-inch panels or 12-inch by 12-inch squares. The panels click together, much like most other floating floors, to create a durable, attractive surface.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind when creating fashionable designs for the floor in a room:

Room size and shape

A dark color or busy pattern may not suit a small or long, narrow room, because it may make the room look smaller. Stripes or diagonal patterns, however, can create optical effects that completely transform a room.

Function

A living room or bedroom often lends itself to darker, warmer colors. A clean, crisp environment may be more appropriate for a kitchen.

Furniture

The more furniture there is in a room, the smaller the floor area that is visible, so a simpler pattern is often the best choice. Amazing effects can be achieved by a well-chosen pattern.

After the floor is finished, you can move onto furniture. Some green ideas are to reuse your current pieces that are solid in construction.

A new color of paint, slipcovers, reupholstering or adding decorative furnishings can give the room an entirely new look without throwing anything away.

If your furniture can’t be saved, look into garage sales for used pieces that have simple, traditional lines that won’t look dated in a short period of time. Also, look for furniture built from natural products finished with stains or paints with limited environmental hazard.

When it’s time to tackle the walls, look for paints that contain little or no volatile organic compounds. Latex- and water-based paints with a flat finish typically fit into this category.

These paints provide little to no chemical leakage from the walls to the air as the paint is applied and dries, keeping the air inside your home cleaner. If you have a project planned, it’s not hard to keep the project green and environmentally friendly.