Blog on Indoor Air Quality

1. EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE
By Patricia Gaylor
Last year I wrote about the ReVISION house in Las Vegas
and how a tight building envelope can create some indoor
air quality issues if the proper materials aren’t selected.
And as time goes on, I’m happy to say it’s getting a lot
easier to select furniture and products that meet the
criteria for good IAQ.
Both the VISION and the ReVISION houses in Orlando
this year are again designed with good indoor air quality in
mind. Here are some great interior features that promise a
clean, healthy (and gorgeous!) interior design:
MOHAWK, a frontrunner in sustainable choices in flooring,
leads the way with an amazing engineered wood floor
that’s green on many levels. We’re using a vintage hickory
wide plank floor in the VISION house that’s actually
salvaged from old buildings, so there’s no virgin lumber
used on the surface. It’s engineered as well, so the
amount of salvaged wood used goes even further. It’s
bonded to a no-added-urea formaldehyde substrate called
PURE BOND that doesn’t off-gas any toxins. Not only is it
a super green product, but it really looks great in our urban
farmhouse. It has an aged appearance with a nice patina,
so it looks like an existing floor in a New York City loft or
factory building…very cool!

2. MOHAWK QUEENSTOWN VINTAGE
HICKORY
The ReVISION house is a deep green retrofit of an
existing home. It has the same tight building envelope as
the newly constructed VISION HOUSE, due to the foam
insulation from HONEYWELL, as well as the gorgeous
stone look façade from SURETOUCH that increases the R
value on the exterior by virtue of its ingenious foam panel
installation.
The interior design of this home is a calm and uncluttered
NAPA STYLE, with simple lines and much less of the
“Tuscan Villa” look so popular in years past. The flooring is
ceramic tile throughout the main areas. Easy to maintain
and keep clean, tile harbors no dust mites which can
trigger an asthma attack in some individuals. Many of the
choices I made from an incredible array of ITALIAN TILE

3. have green attributes. For example, the faux wood
planking tile from EMIL that is being installed in the
breakfast room is manufactured using no harmful
chemicals or heavy metals, and emits no VOC’s. In the
laundry room, I’m using a thin tile from EMIL called
GREEN LITE that’s about half the thickness of regular tile,
and can be installed OVER existing tile that would
normally have to be demolished and wind up in a landfill.
All of these tiles are being installed with adhesive and
grout from MAPEI, which are low VOC.
The bedroom furniture from STANLEY’S YOUNG
AMERICA collection has recently been awarded
GREENGUARD certification. When purchasing furniture
for infants and young children, not many parents consider
what goes into the manufacture of the furniture they select.
Did you ever buy a piece of furniture and get it home, only
to discover that when you opened a drawer, there was an
unpleasant odor of paint or varnish? Not only can this odor
be unpleasant, it could harm you. Growing immune
systems in young children, or kids with compromised
immune systems shouldn’t be exposed to any materials
that can possibly trigger an adverse reaction. Stanley’s
Young America furniture collection has dozens of
GREENGUARD certified pieces to choose from in
wonderful colors and finishes. Stylish and affordable, this
furniture is not only healthy, but you can add pieces later
so it can grow with your child through the years. It’s made
in America and built to last. I’m using pieces from the MY
HAVEN collection.