Green Resources

The ASID sponsored webinar “Don’t Get Lost in a Sea of ‘Green’” brought up a lot of interesting challenges and issues to be faced while transitioning to a sustainable lifestyle. One challenge is the sheer amount of information available and how to determine what are false claims.

Luckily, here is a compilation of resources listed by the webinar to help you along the way:

Building Green: resource on green design, CSI divisions, LEED Credits, green products, and project case studies.
http://www.buildinggreen.com

Green Building Pages: resource for a Sustainable Design Checklist covering issues, such as, Design, Site Issues, Materials, Equipment and Jobsite and Business Practices; as well as, case studies of sustainable buildings and a green product database.
http://www.greenbuildingpages.com

National Institute of Building Science: Whole Building Design Guide: contains links to Life-Cycle Assessment tools, definitions lists, and principles for evaluating and selecting green products.
http://www.wbdg.org/resources/greenproducts.php

California Indoor Air Quality Program: IAQ guidelines and specifications, certification and testing laboratories programs, papers and articles.
www.cal-iaq.org

The Green Guide: created by National Geographic with a glossary of green words and certifications and comprehensive buying guides.
www.thegreenguide.com

Green Home Guide: USGBC’s new green homes information site with extensive info and product evaluations. “Ask a Pro” and good consumer and professional info.
http://www.greenhomeguide.com

REGREEN: created by ASID and USGBC for green residential remodeling information and resources.
http://www.regreenprogram.org

USGBC: US Green Building Council LEED programs, education programs, resources and green job listings.
http://www.usgbc.org


ASID: American Society of Interior Designer’s extensive site expressly for interior design professionals, articles and links.
http://www.asid.org/designknowledge/sustain">www.asid.org/designknowledge/sustain

Reclaimed Wood

So many people have come up with SEVERAL ideas to use reclaimed wood and recycle an amazing product. Urban Woods shares their take on reclaimed wood:

The term “reclaimed wood” may conjure many different images. Some might imagine sunken logs that have been rescued from Amazonian river bottoms, or old barn siding from a dilapidated Southern plantation, or a peasants home razed in the third world because the value of the ancient timber is more vauable than the shelter it provides. All of these woods are reclaimed by some one, some where for some purpose and by some different method.

Here are a few fun and inspiring ways to use this fabulous material!

Beams & Paneling:

Image Credit - Unhappy Hipsters

Furniture/Product:

Image Credit - Urban Woods

Image Credit - Cliff Spencer

Image Credit - Uhuru Designs

Signage:

Image Credit - Metropolis

Artwork:

Image Credit - The Alternative Consumer

Image Credit - Devon Driftwood Designs

Stairs & Flooring:

Image Credit - Apartment Therapy

Image Credit - Elmwood Reclaimed Timber

Image Credit - Straw Sticks and Bricks

Multitasking never tasted so good!

Food TV

This is a great cohesive design for someone who enjoys having a TV in the kitchen. Follow along with a cooking show, catch up on the news, or keep the kids entertained for a few while you are finishing up cooking. This hood also has a DVD input and RCA Cable outlet with touch screen commands.

Marco Valerio Agretti is the accomplished Italian designer behind this fantastic VELA Rangehood design from ILVE. Born in Perugia in Italy, Marco graduated from the University of Venice in 1991 and is recognised for his cutting edge designs. VELA is a perfect example of his creative genius. With its sleek and attention-grabbing design, the VELA Rangehood has the power to remove all cooking fumes, including indoor barbecuing and the most intense grilling or stir-frying cooking with its fantastic 4 speed touch control extraction. It also has an optional automatic switch-on and speed regulation.

Tabrasa!

We wanted to share this fabulous product with you! It's whiteboard paint and it can be applied in numerous applications! Tabrasa by MDC Wallcoverings is paint that transforms any smooth surface into a seamless high-performance dry-erase writing surface. It has been used in education, healthcare, hospitality, corporate, retail, and government locations.

It is applied in the same way you would paint a wall but they recommend that you have a professional install tabrasa. Here are a few ideas for installation:

This paint is available in white as well as four new neutral colors. tabrasa™ complements any interior design while transforming any working environment into a collaborative space, increasing functionality, and evoking creativity and impromptu teamwork. Here are some highlights from MDC Wallcoverings:

Aesthetics & Style
tabrasa™ can create various shapes for dry-erase writing surfaces including: a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall writing surface; a strip in a hallway or around an entire room; a rectangle or variety of shapes scattered across a large wall; or a design element placed over a colored surface. No other dry-erase surface offers the aesthetic options of tabrasa™.

Environmental Sustainability
tabrasa™ is the most environmentally friendly dry-erase product available due to raw material utilization, energy and fossil fuel use and air quality impact.

As tabrasa™ is applied directly to the wall surface, it doesn't require wood, steel or resin typically used with other dry-erase products. It's also produced through a stirring process requiring very little energy compared to the baking and curing processes used by other dry-erase products.

Shipping tabrasa™ requires considerably less material and fossil fuel because a single quart of tabrasa™, is capable of covering 50 square feet of space, weighs less than four pounds and ships in a very small box.

tabrasa™ conforms to all U.S. EPA regulations (including California) and is formaldehyde-free and, once dry, produces no off-gassing.

Judi Kieffer receives accreditation for Green Globe!

We at KDG are pleased to announce that Judi Kieffer has received her accreditation as a certified Auditor and Consultant for Green Globe International. Green Globe is an organization that offers certification and other sustainable programs for the Lodging and Travel industry.

She joins 59 other consultants throughout the world, representing over 187 countries. She is the only professional Consultant for Green Globe in Idaho, and the Intermountain States, although able to certify properties nationally and internationally.

Green Globe Certification (GGC) is the premier internationally recognized brand for sustainable tourism, lodging, and entertainment industries, as well as related green businesses. Green Globe is also the only certification that is endorsed by the UNWTO (United Nations World Travel Organization) and the WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council) certifying properties through a 3^rd party audit. Environmental, Conservation and Social responsibilities are benchmarked, completely online, against 248 standards.

The benefits for a certified business or property are:

*Lower operational & energy costs

*Higher employee retention and job ownership

*Immediate industry recognition and promotion locally, nationally and internationally through AAA and other medias.

*Social and Environmental responsibilities are enhanced

We are currently completing the certification process for our own building!

An informational webinar on the Green Globe Certification programs is being held at 10:30am, Tuesday, Dec. 1^st, 2009 for interested properties in the travel and lodging industry. If you are interested and would like to sign up, call us at 208-344-2680 or you can email judi@kiefferdesigngroup.com

-Kieffer Design Group

www.kiefferdesigngroup.com