It’s becoming easier and easier to make eco-friendly design choices on the inside and on the outside of your home. These design choices can add fantastic aesthetic value to your home, while also making it an environmentally savvy place.
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Begin Your Eco-Friendly Design Transformation
Creating an attractive interior and exterior doesn’t have to be detrimental to the environment. More and more people are choosing environmentally friendly options as they redesign their homes. However, it’s common for people to want to make their homes more eco-friendly but is unsure how to do it. An expert from a solar panel company in Cherry Hill added, “Many people don’t know where to begin when it comes to making aspects of their interior or exterior more sustainable; because they don’t know where to start, they end up not making any eco-friendly changes at all.”
In order to inspire you to make your home a more eco-friendly place, here are some ideas and starting off points for you to begin your eco-friendly home design:
Use Energy Efficient Lighting
Using energy-efficient lighting is one of the easiest design tips to make both your interior and exterior more eco-friendly. LED lights specifically are the best option when it comes to energy-efficient lighting.
LED lights have a prolonged lifespan and use only about ⅓ of the energy than standard light bulbs use. Due to their prolonged lifespan, they don’t need to be replaced as frequently which also cuts down on waste. LED lights are a smart design choice and are suitable for both indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures.
Repurpose Instead of Rebuy
Repurposing furniture rather than rebuying it is an outstanding home design tip that will save the environment and will allow you to create the exact piece of furniture you have in mind. Unless a piece of furniture is so severely damaged that it can’t be repaired, repurposing it is a fantastic choice because it will cut down on waste. Repurposing can simply mean repainting a vanity, or it can mean completely refinishing and resurfacing a table; the possibilities are endless.
If you need a particular piece of furniture in your home design that you don’t already possess, consider buying that piece at a secondhand shop and refinishing that. You will be saving the environment while also having the ability to design exactly the piece of furniture you’ve imagined.
Go Chemical-Free
When redesigning a room or exterior it’s important to use products that are chemical-free. Chemical-free decorating will aide in your overall health, while also not emitting toxins into the air.
Use Low VOC Products
VOC, volatile organic compounds, are extremely harmful to the environment and your health. VOCs are gases that have been linked to causing cancer and creating extreme air pollution. Products containing large amounts of VOC can include:
- Paint
- Furniture
- Carpets
When buying decor for your home, make sure to only buy products that either say they do not emit VOC or that they have low VOC.
Use Organic and Natural Design Materials
Organic and natural materials will not only save the environment, but they will also add a rustic and aesthetically pleasing look to your interior or exterior. Using organic and natural materials simply mean choosing materials that are not detrimental to the environment and come directly from the environment, without the use of harsh chemicals and synthetic additives in the construction process. Some organic and natural design materials include:
- Recycled wood
- Woven metals
- Industrial brick walls
- Ceramic
All of these materials are practical for both indoor and outdoor home designs.
Install Smart Home Appliances
Smart home appliances are great additions for interior and exterior home designs. These appliances have the ability to save the environment in a number of different ways. Some smart appliances to consider installing in your home include:
- A smart irrigation system- these irrigation systems can be manipulated from your mobile device from remote locations. Smart irrigation systems give you the ability to conserve water because though they work on a timer like other irrigation systems, this timer can be changed based on weather, and time of year, only turning on when necessary.
- A smart thermostat- smart thermostats can be manipulated from your mobile device from remote locations. These are beneficial to the environment because they can save energy by allowing you to turn down your heat/air condition when you aren’t home, cutting down on the amount of electricity used in your home.
- A smart lighting system- if your home uses timers to turn lights on throughout the day and night, investing in a smart lighting system is a great way to invest. Smart lighting systems are controlled through an app on a mobile phone or device, allowing you to turn on lights when desired from remote locations. This is beneficial to the environment because you can turn them on when necessary, rather than at the same time every day when you may not be home.
An Eco-Friendly Environment
Consider some of these design tips as you create your dream interior or exterior. All of these design tips are simple, affordable, and will add some sort of value to your home all while making it an eco-friendly place to be.