Sustainable & Stylish Recycled Glass Tiles & Countertops

Curava surface products make excellent countertops, fireplace surrounds, 

outdoor kitchens, bathroom vanities, shower/tub surrounds, tabletops and furniture.  Curava provides the essential balance of aesthetic, sustainabilithy and materials construction.  If you are considering a kitchen remodel or have decided to change the look of your bathroom Curava should be placed at the forefront of your decision making.      

Curava products are made from resin and 100% recycled glass and seashells.  The seashells that are used to produce the tiles are not altered in any way.  The patterns of color and shine in the tiles and countertops come directly from nature.  The other components that make Curava environmentally friendly are the recycled beer, wine, and water bottles along with defective glass and post-industrial sources.  Curava is also stain, scratch and heat resistant. 

The countertops last a long time requiring minimal care and maintenance.  The production of the tiles also uses zero water waste and very small amounts of electricity for each slab produced.  Curava can also contribute to LEED points because of the recycled content and low emitting materials.  

For more information please visit www.ggreendesign.com or call 508-477-7988.

Marmoleum: A New Take On Linoleum

Marmoleum, a flooring product made of an organic blend of wood flour, cork, jute, rosin, and linseed oil, is not only sustainable but has the ability to be cut into many unique forms and designed to complement your personal style.  The process of creating this versatile product involves combining the blend of natural materials, pressing them together, and drying. 

The result produces sheets or tiles in a wide array of colors and textures. Some Marmoleum floors use a mix of colors to form checkered patterns, realistic imagery, and thousands of combinations of intricate and geometric patterns.  

                           



          Benefits of using Marmoleum

-       Green flooring made of all-natural / renewable materials

-       100% biodegradable

-       Reduces dust mites/ other allergens

-       Anti-static properties allow for ease of cleaning

-       No VOC’s present or toxic substances

-       Long lasting & durable
Easy maintenance

-       Inexpensive

-       Resistant to stains and tearing

    120+ colors of sheets / 30 colors of tile

For more information on Marmoleum flooring and a complete listing of 2013 colors contact ‘g’ Green Design Center at 508-477-7988 and visit us online @ http://www.ggreendesign.com.

Indoor Air Quality

In the coming years, millions of homes will be retrofitted to improve energy efficiency, adding upgrades and installing green features.  When combined with the opportunity to decrease utility costs, consider potential indoor air quality concerns as you make selections for these projects.


                               While some of us are under the assumption that air quality is higher indoors than the polluted outdoors, research has found that the levels of twelve common organic pollutants are actually two to five times higher inside homes than outside.  Surprisingly, this is also true for homes in rural locations.  People average 90% of their time indoors, which poses a greater health risk due to indoor air pollution.  
   
                          The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designed protocols to provide practical guidance on home assessments and corrective actions to maintain or improve indoor air quality along with energy efficiency retrofit and remodeling projects. Some of these indoor air quality issues that often arise and are exacerbated during home energy improvements include: moisture and mold, asbestos, radon, carbon-monoxide, pests, materials emissions, whole-house ventilation for distributed contaminants and more.  

 

So how does this translate for the homeowner who seeks to improve or maintain the indoor air quality of their home when considering upgrades and home makeovers?  We recently had a young couple in our showroom, with several children, looking for flooring options. One of the adults has a chemical sensitivity and was looking for a material that would not aggravate this.  We suggested, Marmoleum®, a product very similar to linoleum flooring, however it is made from an organic blend of wood flour, jute, rosin, and linseed oil. This mix is then pressed together and dried to produce sheets or tiles in a tremendous variety of colors. Marmoleum® does not contain any VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which are commonly used in flooring adhesives and have been linked to decreased indoor air quality and respiratory illnesses.  

American Clay, a natural alternative to plaster, helps to buffer the effects of moisture in a room.   The continual exchange of moisture into dry air inhibits the growth of mold, toxins and pollens and reduces energy use. American Clay is available in four different finishes and unlimited color options. 

Air purifiers provide another option to improve indoor air quality.   

Air purifiers can remove many types of indoor pollutants from the air, including tobacco smoke, biological contaminants such as pollen, mold and animal dander, and household products and pesticides.

The Fresh Air purifier by keeps indoor air fresh and clean day and night. By duplicating the same processes nature uses to clean the air outside, Fresh Air purifier by ecoquest keeps indoor air fresh and clean. Collectively known as ActivePure, these processes work together synergistically to eliminate smoke and odors, and reduce airborne contaminants.  
  
Let us know your questions.  Come into our showroom to see these products for yourself. Prepare yourself to take a deep breath.



     

Or, visit us on line at www.ggreendesign.com.  
Questions?  Email us at info@ggreendesign.com or give us a call at 508-477-7988. 

From the Bamboo Grove - A Wealth of Renewable Bamboo Flooring Options

If you are looking for flooring products that are sustainable, cost-effective, beautiful, durable and easy to care for, then bamboo flooring is a great idea for you.  Bamboo floors have become a wonderfully popular and reliable product with many stylistic changes over the last decade.

EcoFusion, one of our many bamboo sources, offers a range of possibilities of looks and feels.  Yes, you read correctly, feel.  Hand scraped varieties provide the more textured feel similar to antique traditional hardwoods.  EcoFusion flooring products blend renewable and recyclable products from the earth and “fuse” them into innovative flooring solutions for the home. Renewable bamboo and recycled hardwood scraps from furniture factories are turned into beautiful flooring fashion.   All EcoFusion bamboo products meet the standards for credits under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design) Green Building Rating System! 

FEATURES of this beautiful and responsible product include:

• The ONLY 100% vertically integrated mill importing directly into North America (EcoFusion grows, harvests and processes their own bamboo)
•  Manufactured using 100% Moso Bamboo harvested between 5 and 6 years for ideal strength
•  Proprietary engineered cross-grain bamboo core for optimal performance and stability
• No added urea formaldehyde or other harmful VOC’s
•  FSC bamboo available (custom order)
• 35-Year transferrable warranty

These floor coverings are available in lock/float, glue down, or staple/nail. 

EcoFusion is 3 times harder than oak and come in at a great price point.  What’s not to love? Please come down to the showroom where you can view a large variety of colors/stains and textures. Or, visit us on line at www.ggreendesign.com.  Any questions?  Email us at info@ggreendesign.com or give us a call at 
508-477-7988. 

Compostable, Sustainable, and Biodegradable Cookouts, Oh My!

Now that the summer season is in full swing, you will undoubtedly having some great outdoor gatherings and cookouts.  Whether you are hosting a gathering, or attending a pool party, consider alternative dinnerware options that offer quick and easy clean up comparable to the traditional plastic utensils, Solo cups, and paper plates.  

At ‘g’, we are dedicated to helping people find products with the function that we are used to, while being environmentally responsible. We carry a variety of disposable products to help meet all of your entertaining needs. We offer cornstarch disposable utensils that are suitable for foods up to 200° F, and unlike their petroleum-based counterparts, these utensils are made from annually renewable resources.  These utensils are also compostable and can be washed for additional uses if so desired! There is also a line of plant based, 100% compostable straws, cold cups and disposable wheat straw plates.   Looking for another incentive? Our supplier donates 25% of their net profits to grass roots social and environmental organizations, making your dollars go even further towards a sustainable world.

If you are looking for an alternative to Styrofoam, you may like Bambu’s all occasion veneerware bamboo plates. Made from 100% organically grown bamboo, these beautiful plates are sturdier, and are designed to hold a full plate of food. Use and dispose without worries, these plates will biodegrade in just 4-6 months!

When you are ready to clean up your party, consider using BioBag certified compostable trash bags. Manufactured in the U.S., BioBags are made with GMO free crops (genetically modified organisms) and contain no polyethylene, a plastic that mostly ends up in landfills and takes several centuries to degrade.

You can still have fun, while being environmentally conscientious, and who knows, some of these products may be fun conversation starters or even make great party favors. 

Come visit our store for all or your environmentally responsible entertaining needs, or visit us on line at www.ggreendesign.com.  Any questions?  Email us at info@ggreendesign.com or give us a call at 508-477-7988.


Have a great party!

Breathe Easy Painting Tips

Considering a painting project?  Chances are you have heard of VOC free paint, but how many of us understand what these initials stand for?  Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gasses from certain solids or liquids.  They contain a variety of chemicals, which may have adverse health effects, ranging from eye, nose, and throat irritation to central nervous system damage.  VOCs are more concentrated indoors than outdoors and are solvents that get released into the air as the paint dries.  They can continue to be emitted when saved and put in storage.  Products that emit VOCs include: paint, paint strippers, cleaning products, building materials, and the list goes on and on.  

Old Fashioned Milk Paint- great for updating furniture

Thankfully, there are products available without VOCs that will allow you to continue with your summer painting plans.  If achieving the look of older or country Colonial or Shaker furniture and interiors is what your after, then Old Fashioned Milk Paint is the answer.  These organic and non-toxic paints are made from milk, protein, lime, earth pigments, and clay fillers.  Old Fashioned Milk Paints are a terrific painted finish for wood materials, traditional plaster walls or stenciling.  These paints are available in 20 colors and are packaged as a dry powder.  Simply add water to make pints, quarts and gallons of your desired color.  

  

For a mixed paint for walls, we carry a line of VOC free or low VOC paints, primers, stains and sealers made by AFM Safecoat.  AFM is a company devoted to creating safe and toxic-free products for your house and have sealers, paints, stains and finishes for every surface of your home or office.   Safecoat paints are available in the traditional finishes of flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, as well as cabinet trim and door enamel, and in an exterior satin finish.  Safecoat offers a wide variety of colors, and here at ‘g’ we can match any Benjamin Moore paint colors with our Safecoat bases - that remain Zero VOC even after the tints are added.

For more design ideas, call the showroom for a color consultation at 508-477-7988

Safecoat samples

Kitchen Updates - Selecting Your Countertop - Concrete? Paper? More...

Verdicrete countertop

There is an ever-growing desire to make green design choices in our homes.  Luckily, as interest has grown, so have our choices, from recycled glass and concrete to paper, agricultural by-products, seashells, reclaimed and FSC-certified woods and more.

At ‘g’, we have clients exploring the many countertop possibilities, with a focus on an increasingly popular product, Verdicrete.  Verdicrete is an engineered and recyclable concrete and is manufactured entirely with rainwater.  This environmentally friendly product (0% VOC finishing), can be quite friendly on the eyes as well.  Verdicrete comes in a variety of standard colors, with custom color options available to suit your design needs. Finishes range from matte, with a clean, contemporary feeling, to glossy, for those looking for the highly polished effect as seen on many granite countertops. This concrete countertop is irresistible to touch with its warm and velvety quality. The cost is about the same as mid to high range granite and design options are limitless; the shape, texture and color of the concrete can be created in any way imaginable, as long as it can fit through your door (with integrated sinks, backsplashes and draining boards all within the realm of possibilities).  Available to fit yuour space, Verdicrete can be made up to 6” thick on the edges, in a waterfall design to cascade over the sides of your island, and with stylized edges to match the style of your home.

Richlite Stratum: Bamboo Embedded

Richlite Countertops

If concrete is not quite your look, Richlite may be the option for you. Richlite is a dense material made from recycled paper and phenolic resin, baked to create a solid sheet. In other words, Richlite is compressed paper, and yes, Richlite paper is recycled paper. The final product is exceptionally strong, yet maintains a warm and organic look.  If durability is an important criteria for you, rest assured that Richlite is heat resistant up to 350°F and stain resistant.

Richlite has been used for industrial and marine purposes and as a skatepark surface for years and is SUPER durable. To quote it’s manufacturers, “The kitchen is Richlite’s least challenging environment.” Richlite can be a cost effective option for you if you are looking for a responsible material that will bring a natural warmth to your counter surfaces. 

Interested in learning more about these products?  Please come into our showroom, or view them on our website at: http://www.ggreendesign.com/green-products-buildingmaterials.htm#KitchenCountertops

Curious to see how these products can work in your own home?  Just use our ‘Create Your Space’ guide to begin getting answers to your questions at: http://www.ggreendesign.com/survey-designaspace.htmhttp://www.ggreendesign.com/survey-designaspace.htm