Green and beautiful: Make design decisions that please the earth and the eye

by PJ Bremier, Marin IJ reporter
Wednesday, April 01, 2006

Redesign: Remodeled by one of the Designing Women speakers, Carmen Mateo, this Novato kitchen was as green as owner Larry Kass could make it. (Provided by Green Fusion)

GOING "GREEN" can mean different things to different people. It even breaks down along gender lines, says Sophia Balestreri, co-owner of Green Fusion Design Center in San Anselmo, the Bay Area's largest resource for green building products and natural home furnishings.

"I noticed that a lot of the people coming into the showroom were women who were very concerned about creating the healthiest environment they can for their families," she says.

To meet that interest, Green Fusion is offering a free seminar geared towards women but welcoming to men who are interested in creating beautiful green design and then holding onto the vision throughout their projects.

"Designing Women," part of the store's two-year old Healthy Home Event series, will feature three women experts in green architecture, kitchens and baths and interior design on April 12. "I wanted to feature women who design because I feel that most of the time it is the woman in the family who is driving the design," Balestreri says.

Making your house healthier, however, doesn't mean you have to recreate your entire home. "Green design can be as simple as buying a can of zero-low VOC paint that doesn't have terrible fumes," Balestreri says. "Or try organic bedding that let's your body breathe."

Options are what Carmen Mateo, Green Fusion's kitchen and bath designer and one of the evening's speakers, will spotlight in her talk. The focus will be on cabinetry but she and other staff members will field questions about countertops and tile products.

Interior designer Deborah Coburn (right) works with her client Lynne Frame, who wants to make her new home in Inverness as green as possible. (IJ photo/Robert Tong)

"The countertop materials are always exciting," Mateo says. She also loves cork flooring for kitchens she says because "they're easy to clean, not hard on the knees, you don't need to worry about dropping things or breaking or denting them. They're not new, but they're certainly improved."

By being at Green Fusion, she says, "I'm exposed to new products and information on a daily basis. Everyone here is always questioning our products and the manufacturers, asking if this is the best product available, are there others, how do they compare, etc."

That's information she likes to share. "I have a few clients I'm working with currently and the women are choosing the finish colors and materials," she says. "I find that women are very focused on the design and how well things can be accessed. Some need a small space for a laptop or a place to do their bills and check recipes."

Larry Kass took on both challenges when he redesigned his 700-square-foot Novato kitchen. Educating himself on green alternatives kept him busy for at least three years, both on the Internet and visiting local showrooms. One of them was Green Fusion Design Center, where he found not only his cabinets but also his kitchen designer, Mateo. That's when he says he "went into hyper-drive" with the project.

He chose Forest Stewardship Council certified lumber for framing, blue jeans for insulation, Neff Cabinets and marine-grade ply box construction. He compromised on the dark green Madagascar Labradorite granite countertop because he loved it, and because, he points out that green building is "a new industry and it's not always possible to have a completely green project."

He calls Green Fusion Design Center his main resource because it's "a repository of information," he says. "Now, my kitchen is absolutely beyond belief," he says. "It far exceeded any expectations I had."

Green architect Whitney Schrauth, founder and principal of the Sausalito-based firm of Sustainable Architecture & Consulting, will discuss sustainable architecture at the seminar. She's worked on numerous green homes in Marin, the Bay Area and nationally after her awareness was raised about the impact that the building industry has on forest devastation.

"The more I learned, the more I realized that as an architect, I had a responsibility to design and construct structures in a more appropriate manner," she says. "After being met with resistance from bosses and clients who didn't really care or understand what the green thing was all about, I decided to open my own firm that would specialize in sustainable design."

It also allows her to also act as a green consultant to homeowners or to existing project teams.

"Some clients have come to me not really even understanding what green architecture is, while others had a very specific idea of all the sustainable elements they intended to utilize in their project," she says. But she always includes basic green elements such as formaldehyde-free insulation, zero VOC paints and stains and energy-efficient systems and appliances in her projects. "They are examples of things that do not necessarily cost a penny more," she says, "but yield such high results in terms of building efficiency, indoor air quality and overall comfort."

In her presentation, Schrauth will address the concept of sustainable architecture, which nearly always uses nontoxic materials, recycled content products and reclaimed wood and conserves nonrenewable resources. She'll also tackle the process of hiring a green architect, creating a green vision and making sure it's implemented.

Before considering building any green home, she encourages homeowners to clarify their requirements and budget. "I strongly suggest that people thoroughly research then assemble their design team early on- builder included," she says. "A strong green vision, a realistic budget and a trustworthy, competent builder are fundamental in avoiding the common sagas that one often hears regarding design and construction."

Research can also help dispel some common myths such as the idea that a project will cost more and possibly look "weird." Schrauth counters that argument by saying that "some things like solar panels certainly cost more than not having solar panels, but they do pay themselves off after a number of years, and things like zero-VOC paint are the same price as the normal, toxic version.

The biggest surprise for women is that they don't have to sacrifice style. "Green design need not look any different than its non-green counterpart - the style can be whatever style you desire," Schrauth says.

When it comes to healthful home furnishings and beautiful interior color, Deborah Coburn of San Rafael looks to nature. This design consultant, the third speaker, observes and follows nature's strategies. "Nature also has a way to make things disappear like the camouflage of a chameleon," she says. "So if someone has pipes, I can paint them out and they seem to disappear. When I do exteriors, I look to the palette of the site so that the house will sit quietly. When I did the Canyon Ranch in Tucson, I collected samples from around the property, such as soil, berries and cactus and used them as inspiration for the exterior."

She'll bring at least three color palettes named Grand Canyon, Nantucket and Columbia River to visually acquaint people with the concept of choosing a color scheme from nature.

Biomimicry is a concept she'll discuss and the principles found in Janine Benyus' book by the same name. "One principle is that nature uses local expertise; another is that nature banks on diversity, and a third is that in nature all things are inter-related," Coburn says, which she translates into interior design.

Coburn also considers re-use in her environmentally conscious design. "We already have enough," she says. "I like to design with what my clients already have so that the things they own become the things they love."