A Green Home Renovation Project Reveal: See the colourful results
When I first met my clients to discuss two bathroom renovations, it was evident from the start that a green home renovation was their top priority. Since one of my clients lives, breathes, and works in the ‘green industry‘ we came up with a plan to create two new spaces in their home. For this project, we tackled the primary bathroom and the main floor powder room.
Design and Products
For both bathrooms, we looked at a number of options that would best suite my clients. Since this home is fairly new for my clients, they have no intention of moving in the near future. As such, the design was created specifically for them.
Product
When the time came to choose product that would be considered ‘green’, it was relatively easy to make selections. Brands are going the extra mile to ensure that their products meet green standards.
Plumbing
Faucets
I chose Delta for all of the faucets for this space. Delta is
…committed to products and practices that maximize water savings, minimize environmental impact and take nothing away from our customers’ experience.
The faucets all are WaterSense® labeled which means products
- Perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts.
- Are 20 percent more water efficient than average products in that category.
- Realize water savings on a national level.
- Provide measurable water savings results.
- Achieve water efficiency through several technology options.
Toilets
When we were looking at the toilets, we chose a contrac® toilet. Contrac® takes environmental responsibilities very seriously which include
- recycling materials
- clean air technology
- water conservation
- Rainforest Alliance Certification
- Sustainable Forest Management
- Alliance for Water Efficiency
- comply with LEED standards
Counters
For the counters, I looked at a variety of options. We ended up going with Meganite® Mt. Carrara. This is the first time I have ever used Meganite® in a project. While it carries GreenGuard, GreenGuard Gold and Recycle Content (SCS), it is also antimicrobial.
AcryMed has antimicrobial protection integrated into the solid surface sheet during production. It is specially developed to enhance indoor environment surfaces by protecting the surface against deterioration, stains and odor-causing bacteria.
Meganite®.com
Tile
For the tile on the floor and the bath/shower, we chose a tile that is an Ecotile brand tile. What exactly does that mean?
“The ecotile brand is given to products that satisfy ALL of the following requirements:
- Manufactured using environmentally friendly process
- Manufacturing facility has been accredited by a 3rd party green certification program
- Accreditation standards are audited regularly to ensure best practices
Vanities
When it was time to address the vanities, we knew that we were going for vibrant colours. For the gorgeous colours for this project, our finisher used a water based Polyurethane and a water based Polyurethane matt top coat.
For the vanity materials, the MDF we used is “NAF” (no added formaldehyde). We also used PureBond® hardwood plywood which is
- formaldehyde-free
- environmentally safe
- soy based
- made in NORTH AMERICA
- cost competitive
- versatile
Construction
- All of the debris went to a facility in Calgary where it was sorted and recycled. On average, 50% percent gets recycled however at the time of this blog, we did not have our numbers for this project.
- The lumber was all FSC certified.
- The plywood for the floor patching was repurposed.
- For the glue, we used wood glue instead of using construction adhesive to prevent less off-gassing.
- The drywall had a high recycle content which met the green certification for recycled content.
- Our plumbers used environmentally friendly glue (less off-gassing).
Paint
We used a low VOC primer as well as VOC paint. We chose our colours from Sherwin Williams and used their Harmony paint line.
Lighting
We chose LED lighting for the bathroom and had dimmers installed for both bathroom.
Other Material
While our goal was to use all environmentally friendly materials, we did chose a wallpaper for the powder room that did not check the marks on our list.
Hard or Easy?
Many of you may be thinking how hard this was to pull together. To be truthful, it was not difficult at all. Our group of trusted trades sourced their materials effortlessly. I had my checklist with me by my side, and made conscious decisions for every piece that went into these two bathrooms.
My clients wished for this process to be an easy one, and it certainly was. There is a misconception that being ‘green’ is hard or difficult. It’s not. Every chance we get to make an impact on our beloved earth, we should embrace it. Let’s face it, a bathroom has a faucet so why not choose one that is certified Water Sense?
In the coming months, I’ll be writing more about this topic and how these two bathrooms were a ‘test’ for green home renovations. I can’t wait to share with you the exciting news!
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Looking to carry out a renovation in your home while keeping in mind mother earth? Contact us today to start the discussion for your green home renovation.
Shop the Look
Wishing to get a start with your own Green Home Renovation products for your bathroom? I’ve rounded up some of my favourites faucets for you.
The items below contain affiliate links. Any purchases, at no additional charge to you, are most appreciated and make this blog possible.
Bathroom Faucets
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Wow, Sheri, what an impressive post. I really loved reading about how you worked to make these 2 bathrooms as green as possible for your client. It sure looks like you achieved that, and I can only imagine how happy they are with the final outcome.
And knowing that it was easy to source these products vs difficult to source them – that is wonderful to know, too.
Here in the US, we have an organization called the Sustainable Furnishings Council, so if this client ever wants to buy furniture, and needs to know the companies that are committed to more responsible production to save more trees, this organization’s website is where to look.
Leslie, having the Sustainable Furnishings Council is so wonderful. I have looked into them before – such a great resource! Thank you, as always, for commenting.
I love the bright colors and the backsplash is so fun! Great information and options!
Thank you, Carla. The primary bathroom is so cheery.
Sheri! This is amazing!!! I love how you simplify the “talk” about green design and how you break down how to effectively make a difference without compromising beauty and performance!!! Great resources too! Bravo my friend!!! Can’t wait for more! xx
Thank you, Laura! I’m excited to soon be sharing this initiative.
Fabulous job, Sheri! I love the process and products you chose and how you have made it easy to select environmentally safe and sustainable options. Beautiful outcomes and lucky clients!
Thank you very much, Janet.
I love all the colors and how you were able to share such fast knowledge in this post!
Thank you, Lauren.
Not only is this project gorgeous, but I loved reading and learning about these new products, especially the countertops!! Beautiful job!
Thank you, Christie!
This is a wonderful post Sheri! You certainly demonstrated that you can have a space that is green and beautiful! Well done!
Thank you, Lisa.
This is certainly an impressive project! I love your attention to detail, like using the wood glue which had less off-gassing, etc. Having done a green project a few years ago, it’s the details of considering transport and packaging of products that shows what it takes to really do it right! Well done.
Thank you very much, Amy.
I love this post and how you outline how simple it can be to have a green design just by being thoughtful. I learned about some great sources and your design is beautiful:)
Thank you so much, Mary Ann.
Bravo, Sheri! By your example and excellent information, you will no doubt inspire us all to take the initiative to be mindful of the products we use. Thanks for letting us see that it’s not difficult to make these choices for and with our clients.
Thank you so much, Kelly. It really is quite easy to make decisions that will ultimately, help our world.
Better late than never Sheri to comment on your remarkable post highlighting that green design is definitely possible to also be done in high level of impact in design projects. Listing how these sources meet the sustainable standard was extremely helpful for me to learn how and why they are. Beautiful, just beautiful!
Thank you, Mitzi.