Take a look at the links below to see what news and trends you may have missed this week.
Are You Putting Lead in Your Garden
Green Innovators Honored by Global Green
A Quicker, More Efficient Way to Cool Your Home
Trend: Outdoor Lanterns & Outdoor Votives
Before we wrap-up our Industry Insider interview series, we encourage you to check out the below interview with Kirk Guthrie of Linkasink. As a manufacturer of an array of beautiful, custom artisan sinks, the folks at Linkasink understand that their customers are looking for a sink that is not only high-end, but also truly unique. To meet these demands, Linkasink offers an extensive product line that utilizes a number of different design details, finishes and personal touches.
So more folks are doing the staycation thing, eating in has become the new eating out & they’re even growing their own food. The common denominator of all those things? The kitchen. Preferably one that is a pleasure to use & spend time in – that time we used to spend someplace else.
What is Garden Friendly?
One of my clients has a worm composting bin in her kitchen. If you make them correctly, the worms are perfectly happy to hang out in their cozy home, & not venture forth to co-mingle withyour foodie zone. They pull double duty - munching away on your table scraps, & producing rich compost for your garden out back. And the smell is minimal. Really. I smelled it myself.
Zoning the kitchen
But just in case you’re worried about separating the worm operation from the human ones, there’s always the option for a stand alone cabinet with countertop. That way there’s room for neatly sorting & sifting what goes in & comes out of the composting system. We often use pull-out shelving for the worm bin itself. Frees up the counter for the table scraps while you sift, or for filling the transport bucket to the garden. 
Somewhere near that same cabinet we store cardboard, which becomes compost while it keeps the weeds from taking over the garden. Sometimes we spec an entire tall cabinet dedicated to just the recycling. Since larger sheets of cardboard work better at thwarting weeds, they get their own section of a tall & deep cabinet. The remaining sections are dedicated to the usuals: glass, plastic, newspapers.
Prep for the dormant season
What do you do with the backyard bounty you can’t give away or consume as quickly as it’s produced? You freeze it. A freezerless fridge allows more space for garden goods – especially if it’s a big garden. Some people are even opting for smaller refrigerators, or even under counter fridges for 2 reasons:
Last but not least
Aside from the normal cooking features like an oven & range, we try to maximize counter space by both the sink & cooking areas. You need a place for cleaning newly plucked lettuce & peppers, & getting them ready for your taste buds. There’s also a mobile countertop option on a cart that
can be stored out of the way.
And for those who don’t want to bother with transporting the goods from the backyard to inside, there’s always an outdoor kitchen & grill option. Or, you can just graze directly in the garden.
Learn more about garden friendly kitchens by visiting Eco-Modernism’s Web site: http://www.eco-modernism.com/
Check out the below video to learn about the benefits of W.A.C. Lighting’s product line and how the company practices “responsible lighting.”
Futurists and trend-watchers agree: Multi-national design trends—coupled with a cautious economy—could greatly influence America’s housing future. Here are a few examples your business should consider to stay ahead of the curve:
We are so excited to welcome Becky Shankle of Eco-Modernism as our guest author tomorrow. We’ve posted a lot on garden trends and outdoor living over the past couple of months and Becky’s going to take us one step further by sharing her expertise on the convergence of kitchen design and the garden.
Becky has spent 22 years in building design, on a wide variety of projects , both commercial and residential, and hybrids of both. She currently focuses on the intersection of modern design, treading lightly, and the kitchen. Becky’s design style marries green materials & efficiency with simple, contemporary aethestics. She is highly mindful of both budget and the environment, and a straightforward, no-nonsense communicator. Her website is www.eco-modernism.com and provides a very fresh approach to remodeling.
During our interview with Sarah Susanka, she shared that cultural creatives are paving the way for a new way of living. We think Becky illustrates this new way of thinking to a T.
Follow Becky on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ecomod
Today, our industry expert, Angie Zajac from Tyco Thermal Controls, talks about the trend in radiant floor heating systems and identifies the reasons why there is such a growing demand among consumers to install electric floor heat throughout their homes.
Trend firm Trendwatching.com recently identified ‘Sellsumers’ as part of another phase of the mega-trend ‘consumer participation.’ Take a look below to learn more about this new buzzword and how Sellsumers will impact the home industry.
What Are ‘Sellsumers’?
Trendwatching.com: “Whether it’s selling their insights to corporations, hawking their creative output to fellow consumers, or renting out unused assets, consumers will increasingly become Sellsumers, too. Made possible by the online revolution’s great democratization of demand and supply, and further fueled by a global recession that leaves consumers strapped for cash.”
As more and more consumers look for ways to participate in this trend, it will undoubtedly begin to affect the home industry. For example, here are some predictions:
Arik Tendler of CaesarStone understands that consumers want their homes and the products in them to be durable and beautiful. After all, we don’t live in museums, and the average homeowner’s lifestyle demands products that last. That said, CaesarStone’s product line has been designed with durability and beauty in mind.
When purchasing CaesarStone countertops, consumers can expect the best in service, design, durability and selection.
The conveniences of modern living shouldn’t be sacrificed as you attempt to go green. At HomeIntel we love the products that allow people to make responsible yet realistic and reasonable choices. At times, living unsustainably may be a hard habit to break, but there are tons of green home products that make it easy and fun.
Here are a few of our favorite green things for your home.
Do you have any of these things in your home? What are your favorite green products?
