HOME VIEWING
Keen on green? Try these eco tips
October 24, 2009
Jennifer Wilson-Speedy
YOURHOME.CA EDITOR
Making eco-friendly choices has gone from trend to expectation. And the Pure Design (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. on HGTV) team is teaching viewers that it's also pretty to be green.
Host Samantha Pynn promises another season of slick designs with an eco twist as the team picks up the pace, explores the latest green options and even gets some tips from an 11-year-old client.
Viewers will also get "a little bit of a peek inside my brain," says Pynn, as the team collaborates on designs and gives furniture a new lease on life with fresh upholstery and paint.
To channel the eco-chic vibe in your home, and give it a bit of a facelift before hunkering down for the winter, Pynn says it's important to work with what you've got – a practice that helps protect your wallet and keeps goods out of the landfill.
"I love the idea of putting solar panels on the roof, or when you're designing a space, design with the best air quality in mind," says Pynn. But "oftentimes, we're working with the home you already have and the furniture you already have."
For a free style refresh, she suggests rearranging your furniture.
"Play with graph paper or get somebody with some muscle to move it around."
Try restyling your books and vignettes or moving artwork to a new wall or room.
To make a house full of hand-me-downs and second-hand goods look intentional, Pynn suggests unifying disparate pieces through similar fabrics and colours.
"Repetition is so huge when it comes to decorating," she says.
Vintage lamps can be connected with matching shades, a coat of paint can turn mismatched chairs into a set and using some new hardware can tie storage units together.
Pynn always has an eye out for pieces that can be improved.
"We 'upcycle' an awful lot on the show – by upcycling, I mean a piece that would otherwise be viewed as trash," she explains, like rescuing a chair from the curb (and the landfill), reupholstering it and painting the legs. Not only will the new piece ooze character, but it will also be a totally custom effort.
Upcycled projects this season include barstools that were cut down and reupholstered, shocking and thrilling the owners, and a baseboard salvage project, by the show's handyman Christian Pavey, that allowed the team to make a new floor flow with the rest of the home.
Even a coat of paint can be a huge pick-me-up, whether it's on the walls, a wood stool or a coffee table, says Pynn, who notes that brush strokes can add a great handmade look to a piece.
Fresh fabric can also pack a serious design punch: A new set of linen drapes "can make a world of difference," says Pynn, while new pillows can update your look and colour scheme with a simple toss.
When making design changes, it's important to remember your lifestyle, she adds.
If you've got kids or pets, odds are that stylish and eco-friendly light linen is not going to wear well in your home. Instead, Pynn suggests using "eco-superstar" hemp — the rapidly growing plant makes a versatile, long-wearing fabric, and has a similar look and feel to linen.
And whatever project you take on, Pynn says it's important to be realistic.
"Be able to assess your do-it- yourself skills. A botched DIY job is a waste of materials and a waste of your time."
There's now a whole new network full of do-it-yourself inspiration.
DIY Network Canada launched Oct. 19 with shows including Sweat Equity, a series that looks at what projects offer bang for your buck, and Yard Crashers, where the host picks up weekend warriors at a shop and helps them landscape.
There's also Desperate Landscapes, which makes over the ugliest yard in the neighbourhood and makeover shows Kitchen Impossible and BATHtastic.
AIRING THIS WEEK
Sunday: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8 p.m., ABC), My RONA Home (9 p.m., Citytv)
Monday: For Rent (8 p.m., HGTV), Income Property (8:30 p.m., HGTV), House Poor (9 p.m., HGTV), Love it or List it (9 p.m., W Network), Yard Crashers (9 p.m., DIY Network) My First Place (9:30 p.m., HGTV), Take This House and Sell It (10 p.m., W Network), Save Us From Our House (10:30 p.m., W Network)
Tuesday: Pure Design (9 p.m., HGTV), Dear Genevieve (9:30 p.m., HGTV)
Wednesday: Realtor vs. Realtor (8 p.m., HGTV), Real Estate Intervention (8 p.m., HGTV), Property Virgins (9 p.m., HGTV), The Unsellables UK (9:30 p.m., HGTV)
Thursday: Holmes Inspection (8 p.m., HGTV), Family Renovation (9 p.m., HGTV), Colour Confidential (9 p.m., W Network), Divine Design (10 p.m., W Network), Love it or List it (11 p.m., W Network)
Friday: House Hunters International (8 p.m., HGTV), Relocation Relocation (9 p.m., HGTV), BATHtastic (9 p.m., DIY Network), Kitchen Impossible (10 p.m., DIY Network)
Daily: Carson Can (5 p.m., HGTV), House Hunters (7 & 10 p.m., HGTV), Sweat Equity (8 p.m., DIY Network), Desperate Landscapes (8:30 p.m., DIY Network).
Read more from Jennifer in the Yourhome Editor's Blog.
Toronto Star