Many of us know what we like as soon as we see it, we are drawn and connect with natural products of beauty. We have in our minds eye of places we have visited or seen in pictures of far away places where the backdrop of decoration sets the theme of tranquility and peace with ones surroundings. Also too as many of us know the rigors of coping with allergies, not just from the foods we eat but the products which make up our everyday living space.

But where do we find the resources and know how to reconstruct our own surroundings to fit with these concepts. Firstly we may find natural wall finishes and decoration by looking back in time. Venetian plasters made from lime and marble for a good green alternative, easily sourced it has a highly breathable quality allowing for moisture to pass in and out. These finishes are tough too as they posses similar properties of strength as limestone and marble. They may be combine too with other easily sourced or recycled products. Decorative enhancements such as crushed shells and mother of pearl give a ever changing and intriguing appearance. Black sand too or the traditional terracotta, itself made from clay is collected from the waste of the roof tile industry.

So before looking for the furnishings and detail to finish a room, start with a new canvas. Deconstruct and then create a beautiful living space using natural organic elements and design from around the globe.

If you are interested knowing more about Polished Plaster or Venetian Plaster please look at our site.

Find more about the author John Holmes on http://www.polished-plaster.co.uk

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Focusing on its economical advantages – environment friendly products can be easily promoted as low-priced solutions yet with same effectiveness. For instance power saving lighting fixtures and water saving faucets should be seriously implemented through national housing projects and will save a great deal of energy and a vital natural resource such as water. Solutions concerning window treatments will prevent heat exchange between interior and exterior environments thus indirectly saving energy consumption required for warming up or cooling surroundings.

Environmentally Certified products including electrical fixtures, window treatments, paints, plumbing valves, flush valves and water piping systems should be strictly applied through local building codes.

The adoption of the recycling concept can barely be seen due to a missing recycling industry. The product cycle and the benefits are not clearly apparent among ordinary individuals and daily consumers; again because of absent media material.

Ecological awareness has to be presented to our kids in schools at early ages in form of solutions and personally-affecting benefits. Media should focus on economical advantages simply touching everyday consumer in case of using eco-certified labeled products. Also introducing a green product as a healthier and more hygienic solution could be another aspect. Finally governments have to add on environmentally certified fixtures as essentials within building codes.

Mohamed M. Khalifa: an interior designer and founder of Flair Egypt; an interior design, decor and planning practice. Flair provides innovative design solutions and fine contracting services for residential, commercial, office and hospitality projects. More info and free consultation available at http://www.flair-egypt.com or send an email to m.khalifa@flair-egypt.com

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Window treatments, available in a great many styles, including those we are discussing here, can help control light and heat from entering or exiting a room. There are three main types of environmentally friendly blackout or sleep window shades, light filtering roller shades, and solar window shades. These can be functional or decorative, or both.

Blackout, or sleep window shades are made of thicker fabric or vinyl coated materials or they are made of wood. Wood roller shades offer the greatest insulation and moisture control, and cost the most. The lightweight vinyl coated fabric window shades that are dark are also used for blackout window shades. The roller shades can be adjusted to allow any amount of light into a room, or to fully darken the room for sleeping. They are great for night shift workers, the elderly, and children, who all need to have darkened rooms for better sleep conditions.

The light filtering roller shades are translucent, allowing light into a room, and many are very light colored or decorator fabrics. These provide privacy and light control, but do not darken the room. They fit well into many decorator schemes, and make rooms look lighter and friendlier.

Solar window shades are precision screen window shades, which are light controlling, yet you can see the outdoors view through them, as with regular screening materials. They cut glare, and give some privacy, but do not eliminate the view as the other two styles do.

All the window shades can fit inside the window frame or outside it, depending on how much light control the homeowner desires, and what fits best with room decor. All have a steel headrail system for valence and to hide the workings of the shade. Slats generally are two inches deep, although some are only one inch deep. For deep window frames, mounting inside the frame is recommended. Slats are very thin, about an eighth inch thick. They can close tightly and provide insulation and full light control when closed.

The ecologically minded homeowners can use roller shades to save money and cut electrical bills. Adjusting the slats to allow bounce lighting is one way to multiply the amount of light entering a room. You can set the slats to reflect light either up against the wall or down on the flooring. Light colored ceilings multiply the light, sending rays around the rest of the room. This means you do not have to run electrical lighting as much during the darker hours of the day.

Using roller shades to keep hot sunlight out of a room can reduce air conditioning costs. Direct sunrays can heat up a room to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and actually can be used for passive heat in the winter, which is good. That is a time to have the window shades up and let that sunshine into the room. But, in summer heat, keep rooms cooler with your roller shades down.

The modern roller shades have advanced technology for the mechanisms used to raise and lower the window shades, so the homeowner does have better control for setting the level of the window shades, and it is easier to use. Some heavier wood roller shades even have motorization lift systems. All around, using roller shades fits right into an ecologically minded lifestyle very nicely.

Judith Persit is a featured speaker of interior design in a large school. She began in this project after a hunt for design choices in window treatments. Ms. Persit writes regarding roller shades. Roller shades can be interesting, you can learn more about window shades at her website with many design ideas.

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Materials galore
First, check out the wide variety of materials that you can use to construct ecologically safe real estate properties. One material to use is bamboo, which is a very cheap and accessible material that grows quickly and does not harm the environment. Using bamboo for your home can begin with the scaffolding used to build the outline of your home. You can also create walls that are made entirely from bamboo. A versatile plant, even the leaves are sometimes used in traditional Asian homes for roofing. Check out stones, rocks, and clay for building the foundations as well as the walls and fences of your home, since these are also ecologically friendly and will last a long time. They can, however, be expensive especially if you are using materials that are expensive. Wood is also one of the most frequently used of the ecologically sustainable building materials. Keep in mind, however, that wood logged from old growth forests are to be avoided.

Aesthetic benefit
Apart from the advantages of sustainability, these materials also have the added benefit of providing aesthetic appeal in themselves. While concrete walls need to be painted or covered with wallpaper, the use of wood, bamboo, or stone for construction gives the home an instant texture and character that is otherwise difficult to achieve. In fact, some interior designers go to the trouble of covering concrete walls with bamboo strips, or wood panels. Here are some of the common real estate elements where ecologically safe materials can be used.

Walls and flooring
The walls and flooring are some of the best places to use ecologically friendly building materials. Parquet floors are some of the most popular wood floors, while wood panels can also be used as walls instead of concrete. Partitions between parts of homes that do not need thick divides can also be made of bamboo partitions. Homes that need better ventilation can also benefit from the use of bamboo sliding walls which allow air to circulate especially in small spaces which are one of the primary characteristics of homes today – such as apartments and condominiums in the city.

With the right use of ecologically sustainable building materials, the environment and your real estate property does not have to be at odds with each other. So go ahead, go green while enjoying yourself in your new home.

For real estate options that make use of ecologically friendly materials, check out San Diego Houses for Sale and Real Estate in San Diego.

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