Everyone’s talking about green and we’re not talking about a green dress or how green the lawn is. Green homes involve recycling used material when remodeling. When buying new products, green home owners look for sustainable materials like bamboo or locally grown lumber to minimize the impact to the environment.

Green homes are energy efficient, minimize the amount of water they use and maintain healthy air by introducing fewer VOCs into the house (learn more at Green Homes for Our Children’s Future).

Green is also adventurous, exciting and helping us break through traditional thinking. Tomorrow’s home doesn’t need to look like the houses we live in today! Check out these innovation green home ideas

Building an energy efficient house today is really important given rising fuel costs, and insulation is a key component to reduce the energy our homes use. Building homes today is more complicated as architects and builders integrate new materials and technology, often driven by green building standards coming from industry leaders and/or government.

Deciding how to insulate a home is incredibly complex. Keep reading to learn who makes the decision, who influences the decision maker and why homeowners need to understand more about the construction industry and how it affects your home, your family and the environment.  READ MORE

Where do you go to buy a new desk lamp? If you need the light right away, you’ll drive to a local store based on how much you want to spend. For a child’s bedroom you might go to Walmart. If you’re putting the lamp in a living room or your home office, you might visit a lighting store. If you’ve got more time and like buying online, the possibilities are endless but where do you start?

Most consumers will pick a light based on how it looks, nothing more. The LittleFootprint light is a very special product. The story behind its design and manufacture illustrates how we can become smarter consumers. It’s a story about making green decisions when buying products and materials. It’s about buying products made in the US (more jobs) and making decisions about the materials used (less energy, more recycled content) and it’s beautiful too! Learn more about being a smarter consumer.

Green homes, going green, thinking green … aren’t just fuzzy concepts we can ignore. Our world is a huge bowl of natural resources and when they’re used up, things that aren’t sustainable like bamboo or locally harvested hardwood, won’t be there for our children.

With world population growth (2.5 billion people in 1950, 6.5 billion in 2005 and more than 9 billion in 2050), we need to take action now to conserve the earth’s resources. Today many people realize energy is a critical resource and pretty soon we’ll start to learn that fresh water is limited too. Learn small steps you can take today, to protect the future for this little guy! READ MORE

Smart consumers know there’s more to green paint than color. Smart consumers want paint that doesn’t smell or give off chemicals. They know they need to buy products with data (ingredients) to support their claims of being green. The good news is consumers are doing more research before they buy, to insure they’re getting green products that protect their home, family and the environment.

Not only do you want to make sure you’re getting what you want in a product, you also want to know that the product is safe and healthy for you and your family. For years, paints have contained what are known as VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs emit fumes into the air which you breath and potentially lead to asthmatic or allergic symptoms, headaches and/or general immune system suppression. Get tips on buying healthy, green paint for a green home. READ MORE

Interior architecture and design is a continually evolving industry.  Just like fashion, we can’t help but notice the ever-changing design trends of the season particularly when magazines, newspapers and television shows keep us abreast as to what’s hot and what’s not from one year to the next.

Technological advancements together with popular culture tend to set the stage for these new trends in the home design industry.  Implementing every newest craze into your home renovation or design project isn’t what’s important – the goal is to incorporate those trends that have the staying power and that become the new lifestyle standard without ever appearing dated. READ MORE

Earth Day reminds us we can protect our earth and our environment by making smart choices in our everyday lives.  The first Earth Day occurred 40 years ago. Today’s world has more challenges but at the same time, the go green movement is making everyone more aware of the actions we can each take to live green.

Manufacturers are creating more green products by using renewable resources like bamboo. Building codes are requiring more energy efficient products. Builders are working with home owners to select the right mix of green, energy efficient products and materials to build green homes. Each of us has the opportunity to help create a healthier, cleaner and more prosperous future for ourselves and generations to come. READ MORE

Green is one of today’s hot, trendy topics that everyone is talking about. You might wonder which comes first, people talking about green or businesses promoting green topics through traditional media channels. A potential problem exists because everyone is using green terminology but there are very few standards to insure there’s real value behind this green terminology.

Some industry associations are beginning to create certification programs like the National Association of Home Builder’s Green Programs. There are also lots of non-profit websites related to going green. READ MORE