Eco-Chic Home Renovations

Renovating and decorating your home in an eco-friendly manner can be overwhelming if you’re unsure where to start. However, there are now more accessible options than ever to incorporate sustainability into your home design, both big and small. Give priority to sustainability when choosing everything from paint to flooring, lighting, appliances, furniture, textiles, and decor. So you can streamline decision-making and create a greener home for your family while benefiting the planet.

What is Eco-Chic Style?

Eco renovation combines eco-friendly, comfortable, luxurious, and modern interiors, emphasizing sustainability. It offers elegant home interiors that showcase incredible craftsmanship, natural materials, and sustainable design solutions.

1 Use Regenerative Materials and Natural Finishes

Prioritize naturally regenerative materials like bamboo or cork when selecting building and interior design materials. Opt for natural alternatives such as hemp, straw, or wood to enhance indoor air quality and eliminate toxic Red List chemicals.

Choose low or no VOC paint from Clare Paint, a company founded by interior designer Nicole Gibbons. Alternatively, consider a sustainable wall paint alternative like a natural clay plaster wall finish from the British company Clayworks.

For textiles give preference to natural materials like hemp, crops, or linen, a recyclable raw material made from zero-waste flax fiber.

2 Install Energy-Efficient Windows

What goes into creating an eco-friendly home? One of the first items on the list will be windows. Insulation, along with outdated or weak windows, can result in significant energy loss for your home. Windows are a leading cause of energy loss in homes. Intelligently replacing old windows with energy-efficient ones to increase insulation and reduce heating and cooling costs. This not only helps lower your carbon footprint but also decreases the amount of energy required to maintain your home’s comfort.

In addition to the windows themselves, it is worth emphasizing the importance of insulating the frames. Consider upgrading to spray foam insulation, which provides better coverage, particularly in extreme weather conditions, instead of the usual batt insulation.

3 Pay Attention to the Garden

A garden presents a great opportunity to implement environmentally friendly changes, going beyond the design of your home. The traditional lawn, with its high water requirements and need for regular cutting, contributes to emissions through your lawnmower.

Instead, consider creating an eco-friendly garden by using native plants that are well-suited to the local climate. Embrace wildflower beds to restore the ecosystem and provide natural habitats for wildlife. Native plants help combat erosion by anchoring the soil with their specialized roots.

You may be confused about choosing the right plants, but the plant identifier app solves this issue. Use the app for plants and you can find the perfect plants depending on your climate and garden features. With the help of the plant scanner app, you can find out what kind of plant is in front of you and learn from the experience of other gardeners. This is a convenient app for iPhone that can help you care for your plants. Another function of the plant app is to help identify plant diseases.

4 Add Solar Panels

Installing solar panels can be a significant long-term renovation investment. However, the upfront cost may not always be feasible. Nonetheless, it is worth considering, especially depending on your location.

Solar panels convert sunlight into renewable energy, making it a practical option for harnessing and utilizing available resources. In states like Nevada, which experience intense heat and sunlight, it only makes sense to capitalize on these conditions to generate sustainable energy for your home.

5 Natural Lighting

Consider strategically placing mirrors and reflective surfaces to maximize the natural light in a cramped room. For windowless spaces that heavily rely on artificial lighting, an alternative solution is to install subtle sun tunnels. These discreet ceiling openings effectively channel daylight from the roof, diffusing it to illuminate the entire room.

6 Green Roofing

Installing a small-scale green roof can simultaneously insulate your home and enhance your garden’s biodiversity. Green roofs create a microclimate, protect your roofing membrane, reduce energy costs, and serve as wildlife havens. Even drab flat garage roofs and shed roofs can be transformed. Soil, when dry, is a highly effective insulant.

7 Reduce Waste

To uphold our commitment to the environment, many of us have embraced the popular slogan of “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” Prioritizing the purchase of vintage and secondhand items has now become commonplace across various domains, including fashion and home goods. When it comes to renovation and decor choices, it is important to keep this eco-friendly mindset in mind.

If you are a homeowner undertaking a renovation project, take a thorough walkthrough of your space and carefully consider what can be salvaged, preserved, and restored. Instead of immediately opting for a total renovation, take a moment to uncover the original features that may lie beneath the layers of previous modifications. Exposed brick or detailed millwork can add character to your space when given some tender loving care. Explore the option of refinishing rather than replacing worn-out hardwood floors; if they are beyond repair, consider painting them for a trendy Scandinavian-inspired look.

Conclusion

Even when renovating, you can practice an eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. The less waste we create, the healthier the planet will be and the cleaner it will be for our heirs. Moreover, now there are enough ways to carry out good repairs and not leave your mark on the planet.