Green living is a choice we make in the way we lead our lives. It comprises the food we eat, the home cleaning products we use, the design finishes we select, the air we breathe and even the floor we walk on. It starts from the ground up, literally!
As green design specialists, we decided to take a greener design approach to help you achieve healthy living.
As we saw in one of our articles, pollution inside our home can be greater than outside. How about minimizing it by and keeping chemicals away from our feet and body, and making our home more beautiful too?
Three healthy and green steps to take:
Our golden rule, “Please remove your shoes,” goes a long way:
By making a rule in the house for your loved ones and your visitors, it will not only keep germs and viruses at bay, by pesticides and contaminants as well. It will also keep your floors cleaner and extend their durability. Hardwood floors suffer from heavy traffic and high heels.
Be an eco-friendly designer to your home:
Select organic rugs or runners for your entryway. How about "Organix" rugs at Ochi and Company, or a 100 % wool carpet for your home, or even organic bamboo floors? Prices are not as expensive as one thinks.
Try Simple Floors San Francisco. California Carpet carries Eco-Timber, which is FSC certified floors from sustainably harvested forests.
Armstrong Carpet, Metro Floors, Abbey Carpet and Rugs of San Francisco, Sunway Floors, and T & K Hardwood Floor at 1725 Mission Street are also sources we recommend and that you should check. You can also contact Suzy Bamboo for bamboo-related questions.
If you're unsure or simply do not have the time, you can also hire a design professional who will pass along discounts and has access to very competitive labor for installation.
Open your windows:
Airflow is needed. Air must circulate in your home. Open your windows daily. Stale air is toxic. You can freshen the air with nontoxic air fresheners.
Lastly, fill your home with beautiful plants and trees:
Areca palms, bamboo palms, dracena plant, lady palm and rubber plant have been rated by NASA in an official study as the top 10 air purifying plants, proven to purify the air we breathe.
Greenworks at the San Francisco Flower Mart (now open to the public) is one the many great local nurseries there.
Want more Green design ideas or to know about the latest trends and styles? We are the San Francisco Green Examiner and the San Francisco Interior Decorating Examiner. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and check our Blog.
We are also SophiSticateinteriors.com.
Comments
Love the EFP air freshener. The best!
Bamboo floors are super easy to take care of and we have had them for 5 years now...
How do you clean wool carpet? isn't is supposed to be dry cleaned only?
Dear Cynthia D,
Cleaning and Caring for your American-made Rug
• Use rug pad to preserve life of rug (sold separately)
• Blot spills immediately with a clean, dry white cloth
• Professional dry cleaner is recommended
• Vacuum regularly. For best results, raise beater bar or brush roller height to the highest setting.
• Avoid direct, continuous exposure to sunlight
I hope this helps.
How durable is bamboo flooring and is it comfortable on your feet?
Thanks for this article. It totally makes sense what you said about removing our shoes.
I NEVER KNEW PLANTS COULD PURIFY THE AIR.!! WOW
I heard orchids were good for purifying the air? is this true?
The Problem with bamboo floors is sun discoloration, what do you recommend?
I have many of the plants recommended, and yes it does make a difference in the air I breathe
I love wool rugs, but i am afraid of wall to wall wool carpet. heard they are hard to take care of?
I discovered the Unifresh and i love the lavender scent. An excellent alternative to toxic room sprays!
Love this article. So Informative. Thank you
Love how you connect everything design, food and plants etc....and show us how to lead a healthier yet more beautiful life
I see you mentioned the food we eat and ia we breathe as being very important of course!!!
my husband and i discovered Vital Choice Seafood and Earth Friendly Products after we read you articles about them.We did not have time to comment in last article, so now we are. Thank you for your great recommendations!
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