Lately, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has been raising awareness of sustainable design through lectures and workshops on the subject. How are interior designers going green these days?
Trudy Dujardin, founder of Dujardin Design Associates Inc. of Westport, started incorporating sustainable design into her work in 1987 while working on a big project on the harbor of Nantucket Island.
“The whole project kind of put me on the map and now they call me the pioneer in green design,” Dujardin said. “People that are waking up to the green and environmental who weren”™t calling us before are calling us now. It”™s a whole new segment of work for us. We”™re very busy and we”™re loving it.”
Her firm specializes in “eco-elegant” sustainable design and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Not all of Dujardin”™s clients are going green, “but I educate them and at least put the choices in front of them.”
“We”™ve got to work on the indoor air quality,” Dujardin said. “We”™re always in containers, and we”™re rarely outside, especially in New England.”
Dujardin said many of her clients come to her because their children are asthmatic or allergic to the “skin” of the house, or walls, ceilings and floors.
“Basically my motto is a healthy home is the ultimate luxury,” Dujardin said. “We don”™t want to put fabrics laden with chemicals in the house.”
Joe Stabile of JR Cattington Interiors in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., said Energy Star appliances are popular with clients who are re-doing their kitchens.
“They conserve energy, reduce the use of water and they”™re very efficient,” Stabile said.
Stabile also said low-flow valves and toilets that conserve water are growing in demand.
Stabile said the paint that”™s being recommended now has low VOC”™s (volatile organic compounds).
He said radiant heat in the flooring, in which hot water or sometimes electric tubing is installed underneath the flooring to radiate heat, is very effective, efficient and comfortable.
Ceiling fans are also important; they circulate the air to cool in the summer, while warm air gets pushed down in the winter.
“Florescent lighting is very economical, as well as low-voltage lighting,” Stabile said. “Tinting the windows for UV control is also very energy efficient.”
Stabile said Kravet Furniture and Fabrics are eco-friendly because its products use recycled materials in the construction of the furniture and fillings, such as soy in pillows and cushions.
“There”™s such a big trend towards sustainable design, which is wonderful,” said interior designer Dianne Wells of Waccabuc, N.Y.-based Dianne Wells Interiors, L.L.C.
“Designers and clients becoming more aware, and everyone across the board is trying to produce products that are more conducive and friendly to the environment.”
Wells said the building industry is becoming savvier as well, “because clients are asking more and more for materials that respect what is going on in the world around them.”
Wells said lately, many clients are putting projects on hold and trying to incorporate new items with old.
“I think a lot of designers definitely are feeling the pinch given what is going on with the economy today,” Wells said. “Clients are more concerned about putting their house on the market, and instead of moving they will do more renovational work.”
