CasaSugar

Casa Quickie: Avoid Carpet Burn

CasaSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:15:41 -0700

This type of carpet burn, though, is the type that can scorch your indoor air quality. If you're getting new carpeting installed in your home, you want to watch out for nasty VOCs, which can make the indoor air quality in your home positively dismal, and contribute to asthma, lung irritation, and even long-term breathing and health complications.

So, if you're going to install carpet, minimize VOCs by buying carpets that have a Green Label. This label ensures that the carpet has been tested and shown to have lower levels of VOCs by the Carpet and Rug Institute's indoor air-quality carpet testing and labeling program. To further minimize your exposure to VOCs, make sure to air the house out for 48 to 72 hours following installation.

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Nice and New: Amenity Muir Bed

CasaSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:00:46 -0700

If you admired the pretty bedframe that took second stage to Amenity's botanical organic duvet covers, then you're in luck, because the bed frame is now available for purchase. The Amenity Muir Bed ($1,540 – $1,980), which was designed by Nicole Chiala, has a straightforward, spare design that will appeal to the warm minimalist in you.

To find out what makes this bed so eco chic, just read more.

The bed is made by local artisans from solid, reclaimed Douglas Fir and finished with low VOC, water-based materials. This means that not only will you get great indoor air quality, but that no trees were chopped down to make your lovely, modern-lined bed frame. I'm personally smitten. Are you?

This Just In: Leonardo DiCaprio To Buy Eco-Friendly Condo

CasaSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:26 -0700

According to New York magazine, actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio is in the process of buying a unit at Riverhouse, an eco-friendly high rise in New York City. Although the price for Leo's unit is unknown, these units usually sell for between $800,000 to $4 million, depending on the size.

Riverhouse is truly an eco-friendly high rise (and I wouldn't expect anything less in a home purchase from the eco-friendly actor). The 264-unit building was built with only nonpollutant materials and uses solar-powered energy. Its eco features include programmable thermostats, which reduce energy use, around-the-clock filtered air, and a $1 million graywater and black-water treatment facility in the building's basement. The building is attempting to achieve LEED Platinum status, the highest rating through the US Green Building Council, and also features locally quarried bluestone, recovered barn wood. low- or no-VOC adhesives, paints and carpeting, and recycled, salvaged, and biodegradable materials.

The building also includes a children's playroom, an organic bakery, an indoor 50 foot-long lap pool, and an indoor children's Light House. Leo's rep confirmed the condo purchase, saying, “Riverhouse is a prime example of how green technology is both accessible and achievable for new residential developments - it is a groundbreaking building.”

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Casa Verde: Hazardous Chemicals in Paint

CasaSugar — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:19:51 -0800

If any of you are painting during Renewal month, you may want to get some more information on what's going into your paint.

For a video that will tell you more about safe paints, just read more.

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Casa Verde: Zero and Low VOC Paint

CasaSugar — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:00:06 -0700

Most of us probably don't think much about the hazardous chemicals we inhale in our own homes, but using low or no VOC paint is a simple way to improve your indoor air quality. VOCs, or "volatile organic compounds," are the chemical solvents found in most house paints, and because they evaporate at room temperature, the preservatives give off unhealthy fumes.

The safest interior paints contain no VOCs. But zero VOC paints, such as those made by Yolo Colorhouse tend to be pricey. For a cheaper option, try low VOC paint; Treehugger has some great recommendations about the best brands. Whether you choose a zero or low VOC option, look for the Green Seal certification on the label.

Win an Eco-Chic Painting Makeover!

CasaSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:16:16 -0700

I've been pushing low-VOC paint for a while now, but I know that painting in general takes a lot of time and energy. Who needs the hassle, right? If you've been too busy or uninspired to try low-VOC paints in your home, then I'm here to help - with a lot of help from CertaPro.

To wind up this month's theme of Eco Chic, CertaPro is giving away its services to provide paint for one room in your home (an approximate $1000 value). All of the materials and labor will be included in this prize. All you have to do is pick out the room color! CertaPro will do everything from provide the paint to move the furniture to follow up after the job is complete.

If you're interested in winning an eco chic painting makeover for one room of your home, just take our quiz! To enter, you must log in and take the quiz below. Your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by completing the quiz once you are logged in. You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member and log in before you take the quiz. If you're not already a member, just register here for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored. Contest ends Monday, July 7, at noon (PDT), and is only open to US readers. Click here for Official Rules.

To find out more about CertaPro's green business practices, read more.

CertaPro uses low VOC paint which prevents smog, and air pollutants in the ozone, and Zero VOC paints are now available for residential projects. CertaPro will only use solvent primers when necessary. When using solvents, which can cause health problems, they use low odor products. CertaPro does careful calculations to buy exact amount of paint needed. This reduces excess paint. The leftover paint is labeled for future touch-ups, used in future projects, or donated to charity. In addition, CertaPro uses quality paints that eliminate the need for multiple coats and repainting.

To find out even more about CertaPro’s commitment to eco-friendly techniques, check out Thinking Green.

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Dressing My Walls: Blue Bedroom

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:06:33 -0700

One of the changes I made this month for Dress Your Walls was to paint the bedroom blue. It used to be a drab beige with a weird brown border along the bottom (this was pre-CasaSugar move-in), and it took two coats of low-VOC primer and two more coats of low-VOC paint to get the color right.

Cool colors, such as blue, brown, and grey, are thought to promote concentration and calmness. so they're great for bedrooms and offices. I know that I feel calm and happy whenever I walk into our new blue bedroom.

October is Dress Your Walls Month

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:31:58 -0700

Welcome to October! This month we're going to have a ton of posts that help you to figure out how to take best advantage of your home's walls. From the best online stores for affordable art to low-VOC paint to contests giving away silk-screened posters and wallpaper, we've got it all. So settle in, bookmark your favorite posts, and get inspired to dress your walls in style with Casa! And please let us know: What's your most urgent wall issue? Art? Paint color? Wallpaper? Paint techniques? Bring on the questions; we'll get to the answering!

Casa Verde: A Handmade Home Gets Some TLC

CasaSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:15:18 -0700

Last year, I told you about my brother's handmade home, which he built in an eco fashion for a surprisingly small amount of money. However, nothing much had been done with the home's interior. This year, he and his wife made a lot of interior changes in the home to spruce it up. To see what this previously unfinished home looks like now, check out the slideshow.

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Home Away From Home: A Skate-Inspired Hotel Suite

CasaSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:30 -0800

Skateboard label Etnies is rolling into the world of hospitality. The California-based brand has designed a skate-inspired hotel suite in Laguna Beach's Casa del Camino. But you won't find any Etnies logo monogrammed sheets here. "We didn’t want to make it look like a trade show," said VP of marketing Don Brown. "We focused more on the culture of skateboarding, taking the movement, curves and shapes and injecting that into the design."

Elements include wheel tracks on the ceiling, a mirror framed with skateboard wheels, mounted skateboards for guests to use, and "Go Sk8" artwork in the bathroom. My favorite piece is the God Father Lounge Chair, a leather chair and ottoman inspired by Eames's iconic Lounge Chair, made of pieces which remarkably resemble a skateboard deck. It's part of the Skate Study House collection, which I wrote about back in 2008. Continue reading.