22 Apr Down2Earth Interior Design celebrates Earth Day 2020

We are a sustainable, eco-friendly interior design team.  In fact, it’s one of the first things you will learn about us when you visit our website:

Down2earth Interior Design, llc (d2e) is a unique design practice that focuses on creating sustainable, low-maintenance, and beautiful interior environments for residential and commercial clients.

We are always excited when new green products come to the market, and we love to share with our clients different ways we can be more green when it comes to design projects.  We also do what we can personally and professionally to be mindful of the foot print we leave behind.   For Earth Day 2020, the founder down2earth interior design, Amy Cuker, has some thoughts on sustainable design to share:

I think a lot of consumers are also concerned about the state of our planet.   We need to consume certain resources if we want a comfortable environment, but both homeowners and designers want to feel like we’re making choices that don’t come at the expense of future generations. While thinking in a sustainable way is not and should not be a design “trend”, the climate movement is picking up steam, and designers and furniture makers are getting on board.   The design industry is broadening our definition of sustainability as well, beyond natural resource consumption to how we treat workers and everyone in the supply chain, and how we give back to the communities in which we operate.

On the product front, I’m seeing more and more products that use recycled material (tire rubber for flooring, copper engine coils for vanities, reclaimed wood for tables and desks, post-consumer porcelain for tiles or recycled bottles turned into new glassware).  We’re seeing more green roofs and I’m working on my second project right now that has a green wall. The first green-wall project we did was in 2013, and that was for a zero net energy house. We thought that was cutting edge but now I’m actually hearing about net positive projects, where a building actually produces more energy than it uses. (Click here to read more about the Net Zero Building project in Philadelphia that we shared previously.)

Net Zero Building: Green Street Project Philadelphia

Here’s some really exciting news on the product front: Fireclay Tile has gone Climate Neutral and has pledged to be zero waste by 2021.  To learn more about this we encourage you to visit their site, click here.

Fireclay Tile is climate neutral at its factory

Fireclay Pledged to go zero waste on tile production by 2021

You may also remember Amy’s exciting news of switching over to an electric vehicle, so when she does make on-site, in-person visits and runs project related errands she will be doing so from her Hyundai Kona EV. Amy had some fun with this environmentally friendly decision by asking our audience to vote on a personalized license plate. Check it out to see what the winning vote was, click here.

This earth day, you may be looking for more advice on how to minimize your environmental impact.  Let’s take a look at other blog posts we’ve shared over the years with some great ideas.

A place that is easy to start is to reuse furniture and décor. You can do this with existing furniture by simply painting it, moving it to a new room to give it new purpose, or reupholster it.  The ideas are endless and we often help our clients find new uses for furniture they already have.

You can even shop for used furniture and home décor items, and used items (or vintage as we like to think of them) usually cost less than buying new.  Amy paid a visit to one of the Habitat for Humanity Restores, which are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers. In the link below, you’ll find some of her ideas about how to repurpose some vintage finds. Check it out >

Speaking of vintage finds, the Philadelphia Inquirer also interviewed Amy in a feature of buying furniture on the cheap. Amy focused on quality and value, and you can read more about it here. >

Meanwhile, Jillian took an estate sale find and brought beautiful sconces back to life in her own home’s renovations.  Talk about a vintage find!  Read More > 

And here are some additional articles we’ve shared in the past that give more insight into green design:

Houzz Trend Report: Greening Interiors (a Q& A with Amy) >

Top 5 Things LEED Interior Designers want you to know >

Kitchens with a Conscience, Ways to renovate with less waste >

Happy Earth Day everyone, we hope you are staying healthy, safe and are well.  If you need a virtual consultation for some help, we are here! Just let us know >