Home Intel provides a few of the online resources we plan to watch in 2010

At Home Intel we’ve mentioned our extensive reading list of online home design and eco resources, and we’ve even highlighted a few of our favorites. Today we’re giving a list of top sites we’re keeping our eye on in 2010:

Inspired Designer – This blog is a chronicle of interior designer Kristin Boise’s discoveries, ideas and projects all related to the home. This blog features beautiful images and a variety of ideas for modern, traditional and country tastes when it comes to home décor.

Houzz – We love this online community where homeowners, professionals and all design lovers can come together to share and get ideas on home décor and design. Houzz takes what could be an overwhelming amount of information and divides it neatly for visitors to find what they’re looking for by searching by style, space and city. Houzz features new trends as well as tips on how to maximize what you have and deal with most any design dilemma imaginable.

Lorna Sass At Large – Lorna Sass is one of our new favorite citizen bloggers for 2010. Her blog has a focus on her experiences in the kitchen and cooking with strong tie to living a more sustainable lifestyle and making greener choices. Lorna provides a very real look into her everyday life and shares some great advice and lessons learned along the way

Modern Hippie Mag – Modern Hippie Mag is an overall eco-lifestyle site. It’s the perfect place to go for product reviews, tips and ideas for living more environmentally conscious at home with family, fashion and food (to name a few categories).

Kitka Design Toronto – Kitka is the blog where Juli and John of Toronto share their favorite home design related findings and share updates on their recently opened showroom – Mjölk. With a focus on Scandinavian style and innovative home products that have modern yet warm appeal, there is no shortage of beautiful images and posts to scroll through on this site.

The list of who we’re following is never ending and the above blogs are just a highlight of what we’re looking forward to in 2010. What blogs, sites and online publications are you following in the new year?

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Eco-Friendly Practices With a Seasonal Twist

Complements of All Holiday Treasures

Unfortunately there is no universal formula or “to-do” list to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle. Because there are so many ways to approach designing a more sustainable lifestyle it’s best for households to do an audit on a regular basis to really see where there is room for green improvement.

Timing your eco-lifestyle audit with the change in weather is a great way to ensure you’ve got a customized plan that adapts to the unique seasonal conditions. Below we’ve listed a few of the most popular “green tips” and given them a winter/holiday twist.

Packaging – Avoid purchasing products with too much packaging to go green year round – There are plenty of ways to customize this for the Fall and Winter. Be sure to make a statement when purchasing gifts and ensure they reflect your eco-values. We like this idea from Re-Nest that suggests using apple packaging for ornament storage.

Water Conservation – There’s nothing worse then pulling back the shower curtain or opening the bathroom door after a hot shower and feeling the cold air rush in. At HomeIntel we understand the appeal of long hot shower on a cold day. But with an appropriate exit plan and a little creativity we suggest you push yourself to get out of the shower this winter instead of staying in longer and wasting extra water and the energy used to heat it. We love Dwell’s idea of using a PHID (portable humanoid insulation device).

Energy Efficiency – A big topic when the weather gets colder is how to be energy efficient and have as warm a home as possible. Beyond programmable Thermostats there are a number of efficient options including space-heaters like this one from Vornado. The Daily Green outlines simple practices that make great weekend projects to help homeowners keep the cold out and energy use down.

For more ideas on how to be eco-conscious this winter check out this list of helpful and creative ideas – everything from winterized composting to bringing evergreens indoors to block the drafts.

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