Eco-Friendly Decorating Easier Than Ever
Homeowners need not sacrifice the appearance of their home in order to go green with the rest of the country. As more homeowners struggle with high utility bills and are becoming more concerned about the environment, many are updating their homes to be more eco-friendly.
Building 'green' homes is becoming popular. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders reports that green construction will climb from 2 percent of all residential housing in 2005 to between 5 and 10 percent in 2010.
For those in existing homes, there are many easy, affordable things that can be done, right now, to make that home more earth conscious.
* Lower the temperature on your thermostat.
By lowering it just one degree, you can reduce heating costs in your home by nearly 4 percent.
* Install low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads.
These help reduce water consumption and water heating costs by as much as 50 percent.
* Repair leaky faucets.
One drop per second from a leaky faucet can waste as much as 10 gallons of water each week.
* Purchase appliances with the Energy Star rating.
An Energy Star-qualified refrigerator would save enough electricity to light a home for more than four-and-a-half months compared to a refrigerator from 1990.
* Select renewable resources when purchasing flooring products.
Bamboo and cork surfaces are excellent choices for those wishing to purchase an eco-friendly product that will also provide a beautiful look in their home. Bamboo is actually a grass and replenishes itself naturally in the wild, so by using bamboo, you preserve the habitat of endangered wildlife. In addition to bamboo, cork is another great selection for those wishing to have a green or eco-friendly home. Cork is considered a green product because the same tree can be harvested numerous times. It is also durable, acoustical, long-lasting and is the best flooring available for allergy sufferers.
One popular retailer of bamboo and cork flooring is Lumber Liquidators. The company offers 13 varieties from three brands -- Morning Star Bamboo, Supreme Bamboo and Schön Engineered Flooring -- in varying sizes of floor boards and finishes. Lumber Liquidators also offers four different cork flooring options from Lisbon Cork that all come with a 25-year warranty.
'We're at an age where consumers are becoming more concerned about what they put in their bodies, and in their homes,' says Tom Sullivan, founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators. 'At Lumber Liquidators we've recognized this and have strived to make eco-friendly products like bamboo and cork floors readily available to our consumers at a great price.'
Building 'green' homes is becoming popular. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders reports that green construction will climb from 2 percent of all residential housing in 2005 to between 5 and 10 percent in 2010.
For those in existing homes, there are many easy, affordable things that can be done, right now, to make that home more earth conscious.
* Lower the temperature on your thermostat.
By lowering it just one degree, you can reduce heating costs in your home by nearly 4 percent.
* Install low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads.
These help reduce water consumption and water heating costs by as much as 50 percent.
* Repair leaky faucets.
One drop per second from a leaky faucet can waste as much as 10 gallons of water each week.
* Purchase appliances with the Energy Star rating.
An Energy Star-qualified refrigerator would save enough electricity to light a home for more than four-and-a-half months compared to a refrigerator from 1990.
* Select renewable resources when purchasing flooring products.
Bamboo and cork surfaces are excellent choices for those wishing to purchase an eco-friendly product that will also provide a beautiful look in their home. Bamboo is actually a grass and replenishes itself naturally in the wild, so by using bamboo, you preserve the habitat of endangered wildlife. In addition to bamboo, cork is another great selection for those wishing to have a green or eco-friendly home. Cork is considered a green product because the same tree can be harvested numerous times. It is also durable, acoustical, long-lasting and is the best flooring available for allergy sufferers.
One popular retailer of bamboo and cork flooring is Lumber Liquidators. The company offers 13 varieties from three brands -- Morning Star Bamboo, Supreme Bamboo and Schön Engineered Flooring -- in varying sizes of floor boards and finishes. Lumber Liquidators also offers four different cork flooring options from Lisbon Cork that all come with a 25-year warranty.
'We're at an age where consumers are becoming more concerned about what they put in their bodies, and in their homes,' says Tom Sullivan, founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators. 'At Lumber Liquidators we've recognized this and have strived to make eco-friendly products like bamboo and cork floors readily available to our consumers at a great price.'
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