chemical-free-furnishings / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

  Protecting your indoor air quality: Any renovation or building project is exciting, but it can also be exhausting and emotionally taxing. Right at the end when it's time to furnish your new space can be one of the hardest times to stick to your environmental convictions. When you are finally ready to move in, the tem...

Remember linoleum? Meet marmoleum! Remember linoleum, that durable but boring material found on most kitchen and bathroom floors of older homes? These days, its called marmoleum and it comes in bright colors and faux finishes. Whatever name you call it, it’s generally considered both the greenest and healthiest floor c...

With the intention of reducing the speed at which flames can spread, fire-retardant compounds are added to almost all the materials we furnish our homes with: children's toys, curtains, carpets, mattresses, sofas, electronics, plastic, etc. How flame retardants work: The chemicals generally used as flame retardants are...

Formaldehyde-free MDF made from rice - available at distributors in USA & Canada There is a natural and Formaldehyde-Free alternative to MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) made of rice straw hitting the green building market soon! That’s a reason to breath a sigh of relief (literally and figuratively) since a lot of p...

Removing source contaminants and moisture from homes helps keep air healthy for occupants, and helps keep home humidity down. Excess humidity in houses can cause moisture damage, but what is not often considered is that added energy consumption involved, as heating moist air requires significantly more energy than hea...

Given that we spend about three quarters of our time indoors (counting both home and work), it is essential that we work to ensure clear indoor air quality. Contrary to what many people believe, indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air. How is inside air worse that outside air? The air you breathe inside orig...

Natural swimming pools - what are the origins? Natural pools were inspired by the beauty and joy of swimming in mountain lakes, a team of Austrian researchers are credited with launching a movement back in the 1980's that saw chlorinated swimming pools being replaced by natural swimming pools and swimming ponds. The id...

What is the free home energy audit? Breaking News: New Canada Greener Homes Grant Scheme 2021 announced - see here for how to apply and eligibility requirements  An energy audit is a home inspection that calculates the total energy consumption of your house, including all electricity and fossil fuels for lighting, appl...

Green Home Incentives: Net Zero Home Grants & Zero Interest Home Renovation Loans for 2020 Breaking News: New Canada Greener Homes Grant Scheme 2021 announced - see here for how to apply and eligibility requirements or see here for the $40 000 interest free home renovation loan scheme in Canada Whatever the politic...

What is Passive Solar Heating & Cooling? Passive heating and cooling of homes is not new. The above image is of Mesa Verde National Park, the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in Colorado, occupied from 700 to 1300 AD. This early North American settlement was shaded from the summer sun, but fully exposed to the su...

The Canada Greener Homes Grant scheme is investing $2.6 billion over 7 years to help up to 700,000 Canadian homeowners across the country improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy bills with grants of up to $5,000 to make energy-efficient retrofits to their homes and up to $600 to help with t...