http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk A guide to a modern and sustainable house Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:37:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=288 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/buying-quality-furniture-means-greener-living/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/buying-quality-furniture-means-greener-living/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:37:28 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1478 Once upon a time, furniture was built to last. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to see a cabinet or a bookshelf pass through several generations. But things started to change around the turn of the 20th century. One of the many transitions brought on by the industrial revolution was a preference for cheaper, factory-made [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/buying-quality-furniture-means-greener-living/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/tiny-eco-house-in-tokyo/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/tiny-eco-house-in-tokyo/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:58:18 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1460 We often hear that building small means building green. Although, I cannot say I always agree that small equals eco, there is certain sense in this statement. At least, heating and electricity is much cheaper in a smaller house. I don’t know if the Tokyo architectural firm Mizuishi Architect Atelier had eco houses in mind [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/tiny-eco-house-in-tokyo/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/7-giant-herbs-you-can-grow-at-home/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/7-giant-herbs-you-can-grow-at-home/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:14:43 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1452 For those who love to cook and eat a lot of salad there is nothing better than having one’s own herb garden. To grow your own herbs, it is not necessary that you should have a large garden, as you can grow them in pots or in a small section of your garden. You can [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/7-giant-herbs-you-can-grow-at-home/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/dont-sit-on-the-fence-reuse-plastic-bottles/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/dont-sit-on-the-fence-reuse-plastic-bottles/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:58:19 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1446 As far as the plastic bottle facts go, it’s truly amazing how much plastic we consume every year. In Britain, we use estimated 15 million plastic bottles every day! Worldwide, however, people consume around 9 billion bottles per year. Sadly, only between 2.5 and 5% of the PET bottles are being recycled, depending on which [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/dont-sit-on-the-fence-reuse-plastic-bottles/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/home-owners-renewable-energy-utility-bills-rise-recession/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/home-owners-renewable-energy-utility-bills-rise-recession/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:46:00 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1442 Drastic rises in gas and electricity prices have left millions of households across the U.K. feeling the squeeze when it comes to energy bills. Last year alone saw a shocking £224 added to the average household’s living costs; an increase made even more daunting by budget and wage cuts made during the recession. Simply put, [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/home-owners-renewable-energy-utility-bills-rise-recession/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/green-kitchen-with-water-based-wood-stains/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/green-kitchen-with-water-based-wood-stains/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:57:07 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1438 This glorious green kitchen design has moved away from the mainstream “white look” as far as possible. Who has said that a kitchen has to be white anyway? These kitchen units are natural pine with some surfaces finished in moss green. But it’s not just any moss green. The material used in this picture is [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/green-kitchen-with-water-based-wood-stains/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/earthquake-prone-hotel-built-in-360-hours/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/earthquake-prone-hotel-built-in-360-hours/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:39:45 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1429 A Chinese company Broad Group has built an earthquake-prone 30-storey hotel in just 360 hours. That’s 15 days! When it comes to sustainable construction, one way of being sustainable is to build quickly. There’s no need to spend years on the building site when through proper planning and well-organised on-site work, you can build much [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/earthquake-prone-hotel-built-in-360-hours/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/switching-to-renewable-energy-companies/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/switching-to-renewable-energy-companies/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:37:15 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1423 Although the European Union has set strict deadlines for switching to renewable energy sources, the big energy companies don’t seem to be too keen to adapt the new technologies.]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/switching-to-renewable-energy-companies/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/simple-tips-for-a-greener-home-office/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/simple-tips-for-a-greener-home-office/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:47:03 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1417 With a growing number of people now working from home, the onus lies increasingly with freelancers as much as giant corporations to cut their carbon footprint in the workplace. Whether you’re looking to set up a new home office or want to green up your existing home workspace, we have some smart and simple tips [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/simple-tips-for-a-greener-home-office/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/random-pattern-parquet-flooring/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/random-pattern-parquet-flooring/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:22:10 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1406 A California-based architect studio Sutton Suzuki Architects has showcased an amazing villa that they’ve built in Hawaii. It’s a magnificent building but the thing that caught my attention was the lounge/diner area. If you look at the parquet flooring, you’ll see that the elements are in mixed colour – as a result, it is nicely [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/random-pattern-parquet-flooring/feed/ 1 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/how-to-shop-for-green-roofing-materials/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/how-to-shop-for-green-roofing-materials/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:19:20 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1398 Some, like updating your roof, are necessary whether you like it or not. Although re-roofing your home is almost always expensive, updating your roof with green roofing materials can significantly reduce your utility bills.]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/how-to-shop-for-green-roofing-materials/feed/ 0 http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/leaf-blower-worse-than-v8-off-roader/ http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/leaf-blower-worse-than-v8-off-roader/#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:34:50 +0000 admin http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/?p=1391 According to a very exciting experiment by Edmund’s Inside Line, a leaf blower is extremely unfriendly for the environment. For this test session they picked a Ford F-150 Raptor 4×4 with a 410BHP V8 engine, a small “eco-friendly” Fiat 500 with a 1.4-litre engine and a couple of leaf blowers – just like the ones [...]]]> http://www.greenhomedesign.co.uk/leaf-blower-worse-than-v8-off-roader/feed/ 0