Green Interior Design Activities
When most people think of being environmentally friendly, they think about hybrid cars and recycling bins, but a lot of conservation can come from interior design. Not only can the design of a room lead to less energy consumption and waste, but it can also be created using recycled or refurbished materials. If you are interested in learning more about green interior design, there are several facets that you can explore.
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Build a Model
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The best way to truly understand green interior design is to actually design a green room or house. Brainstorm ideas on how to create more environmentally friendly houses, such as constructing the frame with recycled wood, re-using "gray" wastewater to water the lawn, installing large windows and skylights to cut down on electric lighting and decorating with recycled or vintage furniture, appliances, fabrics and found objects. Construct a model based on your ideas, using recycled materials such as an old cardboard box or scrap wood.
Growing Plants
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Plants actually help filter the air and keep the temperature around them constant, so they are a beneficial addition to a green interior. Additionally, if you grow your own herbs or produce, you can save not only money but also energy, because your food will not have to travel long distances or be sprayed with pesticides and fertilizer, which require lots of energy and detrimental substances to manufacture. Purchase herb seeds from a local gardening store and plant them in a homemade window-box, or try to grow a plant from the seed of a purchased avocado by sticking toothpicks in it and suspending it in a jar of water.
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Recycled Decor
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If you are considering redecorating a room, don't rush out to buy brand new decor. Instead, visit vintage or antique stores to search for potential decorating options. These stores offer countless pieces of furniture and a treasure trove of old knick-knacks that could be perfect for your design plans. Recycled decor not only prevents perfectly useable items from winding up in the dump, but it also inhibits the production of unnecessary new items and adds an alluring element of history to your home. Even if you aren't redecorating your own home, you can still visit vintage shops and come up with potential uses for the items you find.
Cutting Energy Consumption
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Many homes use more energy than they need without even realizing it. To assess how much unnecessary energy your home is using, calculate how much energy your home uses on average by looking at your energy bills. Then count all the objects in your house that use energy, such as light bulbs, televisions, radios, clocks and refrigerators. Try to come up with ways to reduce the amount of energy that each of these objects uses. For example, you can change your light bulbs to more eco-friendly, energy conserving brands, and you can plug your electronics into a power strip so you can turn them off easily when they aren't in use.
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References
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