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BIDS' LINK PARTNER AND CONTRIBUTOR WWW.LOWIMPACTLIVING.COM Recently Featured on HGTV's "Living With Ed" A SPECIAL OFFER TO BIDS MEMBERS: Attention Green Interior Designers and Product Providers! Low Impact Living, the leading green home site online, wants to help you find customers looking for your services. "Contact Low Impact Living and mention your affiliation with BIDS and you’ll get $75 off of an annual listing! PLEASE mention on your application that you found us through BIDS." Shayna R Prunier, LEED AP Director of Business Development and Design Low Impact Living CLICK BELOW TO JOIN LOW IMPACT LIVING'S DESIGNER DATABASE! BECOME A "GREEN" PROVIDER HERE! |
Pantone Names Color of the Year
Blue Iris will appear in fashion, cosmetics, and home products,
according to the manufacturer.
by Mairi Beautyman, Interior Design · December 12, 2007
Blue Iris is the color that will carry trends in 2008, says Pantone. The paint manufacturer
has selected Pantone 18-3943 as the color that will push the market in the upcoming
year.
"From a color forecasting perspective, we have chosen PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris as
the color of the year, as it best represents color direction in the coming year for fashion,
cosmetics and home products," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the
Pantone Color Institute(r).
One of the more than 3,000 colors in the company's eco-friendly lineup, Blue Iris is
billed as a combination of the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and
spiritual qualities of purple.
Pantone paints yield 50 percent more coverage per ounce than any product produced
in North America, according to the manufacturer, and can be scrubbed without color
change or burnishing.
Blue Iris will appear in fashion, cosmetics, and home products,
according to the manufacturer.
by Mairi Beautyman, Interior Design · December 12, 2007
Blue Iris is the color that will carry trends in 2008, says Pantone. The paint manufacturer
has selected Pantone 18-3943 as the color that will push the market in the upcoming
year.
"From a color forecasting perspective, we have chosen PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris as
the color of the year, as it best represents color direction in the coming year for fashion,
cosmetics and home products," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the
Pantone Color Institute(r).
One of the more than 3,000 colors in the company's eco-friendly lineup, Blue Iris is
billed as a combination of the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and
spiritual qualities of purple.
Pantone paints yield 50 percent more coverage per ounce than any product produced
in North America, according to the manufacturer, and can be scrubbed without color
change or burnishing.
| "Iris" Named 2008 Color of the Year! by Pantone |
VISIT WWW.LOWIMPACTLIVING.COM Recently Featured on HGTV's "Living With Ed" REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS OF BIDS' GREEN LIFESTYLE & PRODUCT GUIDE |
Livinglass, a leading manufacturer of decorative transparent and translucent laminated glass panels, offers ecologically responsible products that utilize recycled, recyclable and renewable resources. Capturing an array of natural materials between sheets of real luminous glass, Livinglass products are durable, impact-resistant, structurally stable, and resistant to UV damage, chemical deterioration and water penetration. Livinglass can be installed with off-the-shelf glass hardware or customized for the most innovative installations. |
| Green emerges as theme of NAHB show. The Washington Post (2/15, D3, Lengel) reports that while the crowd at this week's International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., may be a "bit thinner than in the past," a few green designers and builders have been able to weather the downturn in the housing market. Clark Wilson, chief executive of Green Builders of Austin, Texas, "said he is doing just fine" because "the appetite for green homes in Texas is no longer limited to celebrities." Wilson noted that the green market is still a "fresh concept." However, he admits "that other builders he has talked with here are 'pretty down.'" David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), said, "There's a deep sense of concern about the market right now." Seiders said he "now predicts a turnaround in the latter half of this year, but other less-optimistic economists see no improvement until 2009 or later." Donna Reichle, NAHB staff vice president for media and public relations, admitted "the NAHB staff is hearing that 'people who are building green have a little bit of an edge in this down market,'" reports MarketWatch (2/15, Hoak). The show featured the NAHB's launch of its "green building program, a way to certify homes as being environmentally friendly." However, "the message hasn't only been about the virtues of sustainable and energy-efficient housing." It is also about "how green building can help builders sustain their own businesses and distinguish new homes from existing ones in a slow market." David Rodgers, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy, said, "A lifeline out of this soft housing market is to get green. We believe we need to make green homes, green buildings as ubiquitous as American flags lining main street USA." Rodgers added, "Consumers are looking for differentiation in a housing market and they're looking for homes that help them respond to increases in oil, home-heating costs, electricity costs, natural-gas costs." According to Florida Today (2/15, Blake, Price), "A survey done for the National Association of Home Builders found that many people would be willing to pay more for a green home, if lawmakers are willing to offer incentives or rebates to help defray the extra costs." James Haggard, information coordinator at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, "said more builders each year grasp the benefits of green technology," and the "sector seems to grow each year as more energy-efficient technologies decrease in costs." |
From ASID: Eye on Design:
Smarter, Not Bigger, Is Better: Energy efficiency, flexible floor plans and outdoor living spaces top
prospective home buyers' list of essential features, courtesy of MarketWatch. Butler said her
magazine's reader panel identified four things consumers want in their next house:
1. They want a home that is able to accommodate their modern lifestyles. The most important
part of that home is the place where family and friends gather, the kitchen and the family room.
"Women, especially, want their home to be part of the solution and not part of the problem for
them," Butler said.
2. They want a home that is flexible for their future needs. Half of the readers on the panel under
the age of 43 said they were going to need a dedicated office at home in the coming years, as
more anticipate working full-time from the house.
One-third of the baby boomers on the panel said they anticipated that their house would have to
accommodate an aging parent who would move in in the future, and one-quarter said their house
would likely have to handle the return of an adult child.
3. They want a house that is "special for me." There has been a proliferation of specialty spaces
within homes where hobbies and activities take place, and those spaces need organization and
storage. Laundry rooms, mud rooms, family rooms and kitchens are all important areas where
special touches can go a long way in personalizing the space: built-ins in the family room,
restaurant-style cooking equipment in the kitchen, mud rooms with organizational centers and
laundry rooms with fold-away ironing boards among them.
4. They want green options.
What they don't want, necessarily, are bigger houses. The NAHB survey found that 58% of buyers
would rather have a smaller house with high-quality amenities than a bigger house with fewer
amenities. They also preferred a typical kitchen and living areas to an expanded kitchen at the
expense of other living spaces 63% to 37%. Nearly half of consumers said they would take a much
larger family room and do away with the living room.
Smarter, Not Bigger, Is Better: Energy efficiency, flexible floor plans and outdoor living spaces top
prospective home buyers' list of essential features, courtesy of MarketWatch. Butler said her
magazine's reader panel identified four things consumers want in their next house:
1. They want a home that is able to accommodate their modern lifestyles. The most important
part of that home is the place where family and friends gather, the kitchen and the family room.
"Women, especially, want their home to be part of the solution and not part of the problem for
them," Butler said.
2. They want a home that is flexible for their future needs. Half of the readers on the panel under
the age of 43 said they were going to need a dedicated office at home in the coming years, as
more anticipate working full-time from the house.
One-third of the baby boomers on the panel said they anticipated that their house would have to
accommodate an aging parent who would move in in the future, and one-quarter said their house
would likely have to handle the return of an adult child.
3. They want a house that is "special for me." There has been a proliferation of specialty spaces
within homes where hobbies and activities take place, and those spaces need organization and
storage. Laundry rooms, mud rooms, family rooms and kitchens are all important areas where
special touches can go a long way in personalizing the space: built-ins in the family room,
restaurant-style cooking equipment in the kitchen, mud rooms with organizational centers and
laundry rooms with fold-away ironing boards among them.
4. They want green options.
What they don't want, necessarily, are bigger houses. The NAHB survey found that 58% of buyers
would rather have a smaller house with high-quality amenities than a bigger house with fewer
amenities. They also preferred a typical kitchen and living areas to an expanded kitchen at the
expense of other living spaces 63% to 37%. Nearly half of consumers said they would take a much
larger family room and do away with the living room.
Sector: Corporate/Commercial
Location: Architect/Specifier: Bligh Voller Nield
Product(s): Shades Roller Shades FR Effortlessly cheery, and eminently
professional – that’s the aesthetic of this tower in Sydney, Australia’s central
business district.
Housing a who’s-who list of financial firms and other prestigious businesses, the
recently renovated 24-story building is airy and filled with light. With over 500
windows, the tower is sure to impress while providing tenants with a breathtaking
view of the nearby Darling Harbour – a sight that greatly adds to the aesthetics.
To control the light, the roller shades provided by Luxaflex Commercial – an
Australian division of Hunter Douglas – became a key design element. The
translucent fabric of the shades reduces glare throughout the slick, open-plan
offices, and employee-friendly amenities like kitchens and the cafe.
The designers used the roller shades beyond their traditional duties to further
delineate spaces within the office – two boardrooms use the opaque fabric for extra
privacy.
Location: Architect/Specifier: Bligh Voller Nield
Product(s): Shades Roller Shades FR Effortlessly cheery, and eminently
professional – that’s the aesthetic of this tower in Sydney, Australia’s central
business district.
Housing a who’s-who list of financial firms and other prestigious businesses, the
recently renovated 24-story building is airy and filled with light. With over 500
windows, the tower is sure to impress while providing tenants with a breathtaking
view of the nearby Darling Harbour – a sight that greatly adds to the aesthetics.
To control the light, the roller shades provided by Luxaflex Commercial – an
Australian division of Hunter Douglas – became a key design element. The
translucent fabric of the shades reduces glare throughout the slick, open-plan
offices, and employee-friendly amenities like kitchens and the cafe.
The designers used the roller shades beyond their traditional duties to further
delineate spaces within the office – two boardrooms use the opaque fabric for extra
privacy.
The 3R's Still Rule -- NRDC's This Green Life, -----February 2008
It takes resources to manufacture and transport all products, even those
made from recycled content. At the very least, energy is spent. And
spending resources leaves the world poorer, not better off.
So do what you will if you are itching for something new -- there are no
environmental police here -- but don't kid yourself. Buying nothing is
better for the earth than buying green. There are exceptions, of course. If
your current car or appliance is a terrible energy-waster, you may save
resources in the long term by replacing it with an energy-efficient model.
And it's better for your own health and your family's to replace products
that could leach toxins, such as PVC baby toys.
More often, though, it is greener to follow the old dictum: reduce, reuse,
recycle. I know you've heard it a thousand times before, but with the
"green" word now co-opted in the service of sales, the three R's are a
phrase -- and a principle -- worth reviving.
In addition, try these ways of reducing your use (and abuse) of resources:
Buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials, especially
paper and bathroom tissue.
Choose electronics and appliances that are energy-efficient. Ditto for
cars, which you can also share.
Buy stuff made close to home. Less energy was used transporting them
to the store.
Buy used. craigslist and eBay make it easy.
Avoid goods made with materials whose extraction or processing are
especially destructive, such as tropical woods and most gold jewelry.
Avoid overly packaged goods. The packaging is a total throw-away.
Avoid things made with toxic materials, such as most household
cleansers.
Cut back on water use at home.
Waste less energy on lights and equipment.
Eat less meat.
It takes resources to manufacture and transport all products, even those
made from recycled content. At the very least, energy is spent. And
spending resources leaves the world poorer, not better off.
So do what you will if you are itching for something new -- there are no
environmental police here -- but don't kid yourself. Buying nothing is
better for the earth than buying green. There are exceptions, of course. If
your current car or appliance is a terrible energy-waster, you may save
resources in the long term by replacing it with an energy-efficient model.
And it's better for your own health and your family's to replace products
that could leach toxins, such as PVC baby toys.
More often, though, it is greener to follow the old dictum: reduce, reuse,
recycle. I know you've heard it a thousand times before, but with the
"green" word now co-opted in the service of sales, the three R's are a
phrase -- and a principle -- worth reviving.
In addition, try these ways of reducing your use (and abuse) of resources:
Buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials, especially
paper and bathroom tissue.
Choose electronics and appliances that are energy-efficient. Ditto for
cars, which you can also share.
Buy stuff made close to home. Less energy was used transporting them
to the store.
Buy used. craigslist and eBay make it easy.
Avoid goods made with materials whose extraction or processing are
especially destructive, such as tropical woods and most gold jewelry.
Avoid overly packaged goods. The packaging is a total throw-away.
Avoid things made with toxic materials, such as most household
cleansers.
Cut back on water use at home.
Waste less energy on lights and equipment.
Eat less meat.
| Massachusetts college students to design housing for Dominican Republic. Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology (2/14) reported that six civil engineering students from Massachusetts's Merrimack College "plan to head to the Dominican Republic to help design safe and economical housing in the Caribbean seaside country, according to the school." The students are hoping "to design economical housing that can better withstand harsh weather conditions, such as hurricanes and earthquakes," as, "[i]n the country's poorer communities, houses are not built to withstand such extreme weather, so residents often face the risk of injury and homelessness." The David Educational Foundation is funding the project. |
| The Dominican Republic is a colorful tapestry of Spanish, French, Haitian, and African influences woven by a rich and storied history. Christopher Columbus described this lush land as "a beautiful island paradise with high forested mountains and large river valleys". This statement is still as true today as it was in 1492. In addition to the comforts of sun, sea, and sand, the Dominican Republic offers an exciting and unique cultural experience that will captivate your senses. |
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