How To Turn Your Space Into An Industrial Masterpiece

June 29, 2018 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

Below is a guest post from a provider of epoxy flooring (full disclosure….). S Interior Design agreed to share the post because it contains good ideas on how to introduce the style of industrial design into your home.

The Industrial Revolution is the age of steam engines, smoke-belching machines, and large factories. When companies started moving their operations elsewhere, these large factories were left to rot. To make use of these wide spaces, some people chose to convert the warehouses and offices into homes. This was the birth of industrial interior design.

The industrial interior design focuses on taking notable shapes and features used during the Industrial Revolution and turning them into something modern. This does not mean that that your entire place should look like a warehouse, instead, interior designers will strive to add a modern twist to the industrial feel of a room.

If you’re wondering how you can do this without the help of an interior designer, then follow these tips.

Find your inspiration

The Industrial Revolution brought a lot of mechanical pieces to the world and you can add them to your home. But before doing this, it’s best to know the inspiration behind a room. What do you plan to do with the room? What is it supposed to be? How is it supposed to function?

Once you figure that out, you can search for inspiration online or from magazines about the industrial interior design. You don’t have to copy them piece by piece, but you will at least have an idea of what kind of industrial feel you want to portray in your room.

Design your floor

One of the most notable parts of your room is your floor. If you want an obvious industrial look, then you might want to change the type of floor you have. Usually, an industrial look has a cement floor with an epoxy coating to make it shiny and flawless. An epoxy coating adds extra protection as well.

You don’t also have to stick to the color of cement. You can paint your floor the shade of gray you want to resemble a metallic look or you can go for monochromatic colors of black and white. Tip: if you don’t want to change your floor, you can paint the walls instead. You can either have a bricked brown wall, or a silver-painted one.

Mix and match metal and wood

When it comes to mixing modern and industrial styles, you don’t have to be cautious about having metal and wood in the same room. Some people think that these two do not go together as metal items give a sleeker look to things. However, with the right match, you can still make use of that old wooden table you may have.

Keep it minimalistic

Despite having accessories on your wall or mechanical clocks and lights, an industrial interior design is still supposed to be minimalistic. This means that you have to shy away from over-decorating your space or adding too much fluff to it. As a guide, always ask if it’s bulky or the color scheme is too loud.

Put these tips together and you can already design your own industrial-inspired room. If you are having a hard time, you can get cut-outs of the things you want to put and try putting them together to know if they will look good in the space you have.

Green Remodeling Trends for 2016

July 8, 2016 by Suzanne Lasky 2 Comments

Below is a guest post on the subject of how to incorporate environmentally friendly features and materials into your home. One they left out that S Interior Design recommends is to switch all light bulbs to LED type.

Green Remodeling Trends for 2016

By Mary Sauer

Each year, the green building industry makes major advances, increasing the availability of green home products while decreasing the associated cost. And that’s why there’s no better time than now to switch to more environmentally responsible products for your home. This is especially true if you’re already planning to make small updates or do a major home remodel. Here are this year’s most popular green remodeling trends to help you plan for a home that’s as stylish as it is green.

Home Automation

Smart home products have been around for some time, but only recently have they become an accessible and affordable option for homeowners of all budgets and lifestyles. With the help of a smart thermostat, you can easily regulate your heating and cooling system from any internet enabled device, including your smartphone. Not only is it incredibly convenient to be able to control the temperature of your house from anywhere, it allows you to make changes that will reduce your use of your HVAC unit. Even the smallest changes, like bumping your temperature by a few degrees while you are away, can greatly reduce your overall consumption of electricity and cut your monthly utility costs.

Additionally, through the use of automated lighting you can control when your lights are on or off with the click of the button. Simply by scheduling the lights in your home, you can avoid the energy waste that so often occurs when we leave home in a rush and forget to power off the lighting throughout our homes.

Solar Appliances

For many, making the switch to solar power feels unattainable due to the overall cost of making the switch. Because of this, more homeowner are making smaller switches to solar, choosing solar appliances as a more realistic option for their budgets. One of the most popular solar appliances is the solar water heater, which has an average cost between $1,500 and $4,500. Some heaters can be purchased for as little as $500, especially if you plan to install one yourself. Homeowners who make this investment not only reduce the carbon footprint of their home, but also see an estimated 50 percent drop in their water heating costs. Other popular solar appliances include solar powered refrigerators and solar powered chargers for electronics like smartphones and laptop computers.

Environmentally Friendly Flooring

Reducing the energy consumption in your home is great first step, but it isn’t the only factor to consider when remodeling. Another element to consider is how the manufacturing of your home and building products impacts the wellbeing of the earth—something that we at Modernize are passionate about. Conventional carpet has been found to release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air, which reduces overall air quality and negatively impacts our health. And traditionally harvested hardwood flooring can have a devastating effect on our world’s forests. That’s why we encourage you to look into more environmentally friendly flooring options such as reclaimed wood, bamboo, or cork flooring, and low VOC carpeting as a healthier and greener option for your home.

If you are new to the world of environmentally responsible living, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of change that’s needed to improve the future of our planet. But every improvement you make matters, and you can begin reducing your carbon footprint by making even the smallest of environmentally-friendly home improvements for a greener future.

LED Lighting: Pros and Kind of a Con

January 13, 2015 by Suzanne Lasky 1 Comment

Below is a guest post on the subject of using LED lighting options for the interior and exterior of your home (or office for that matter!). S Interior Design specifies LED light options for all of our client projects. Even if it is simply replacing existing recessed can light bulbs with an LED option, the new light output can make a big difference in how the space looks. [Read more…]

It’s Good to be GREEN

March 25, 2013 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

No, I am not talking about green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, or green eggs and ham, but green in terms of selection of eco-friendly materials to complete your home remodel. Below is a guest post that describes some good ideas about how you can ‘think green’.

Making your home remodel as green as possible

When remodelling a home you have to make environmental concerns a priority now, not just because of government regulations and stipulations, but also because we have a duty to build buildings and homes that use as few resources as possible, will operate without depleting natural resources on an ongoing basis, and will stand the test of time and be durable and liveable for many years to come. This might sound like a challenge if you’re remodelling a home, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t mean your remodelled home has to be a complete off-the-grid tepee without electricity or running water, it just means that you should use approved green products and appliances when doing your constructions. Information about green solutions is readily available; just browse design and construction firms like Unique Design. Green design doesn’t have to affect the appearance of your remodel either, just the mechanics of it. Here are some pictures of green remodelled homes:

It is now very easy to power your kitchen or bathroom by using solar energy, so if you are doing works on your plumbing or light fittings you should think about this. Solar energy will also attract generous rebates from the government, meaning that your energy bill will dramatically decrease.

Plumbing fixtures are good place to focus your attention as well, as faulty or inadequate fixtures are responsible for huge amounts of leaking and water wastage. A good thing to do when in the midst of a remodel is to get an energy audit, which will show you exactly how and where your energy consumption is going. It might be a revelation to find out exactly how energy is used in your home, and then you’ll know what the big consumers are and how you can save on energy expenses. Most people find that energy is used for a few hours in the evening, across two rooms, the kitchen and the bathroom. As a general rule, good quality products are better for the environment because they use energy more efficiently and last longer, meaning that they stay out of our landfill for longer.

Start the New Year ‘Green’

January 3, 2013 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

As many of you are aware, the Pantone Color of the Year is Emerald Green. Besides incorporating Emerald Green into your decor, you can get ‘Green’ into your home in another way. Bring Eco-Friendly materials into your world. The guest post below gives some easy ideas about how to do that.

Quick and Easy Eco-Friendly Additions to Your Home

If you are looking for great ways to add eco-friendly things to your home, there are many options that you can choose from. No matter if you want to add to your kitchen, dining room, patio or bathroom, one of the most effective ways to stay true to environmentally friendly methods is to install new flooring and energy-efficient appliances to your home.

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Bamboo flooring is the best alternative to use when replacing any type of wooden or carpeted floor covering. Comparatively, bamboo is more renewable than hardwoods from other sources. It takes a tree up to fifty years to grow large enough to produce enough wood to make flooring, while it takes bamboo a maximum of five years to grow to full height. Bamboo flooring is also a lot easier to make than regular wooden flooring – the manufacturing process does not require any chemical treatments to make it long-lasting and durable. Bamboo does not need to be actively replanted like trees because of its rapid rate of spreading and growth.

To go along with your new bamboo flooring, you will need some energy-efficient appliances. You can get refrigerators, washers, dryers, dishwashers, toilets, and even water heaters that can save your household and the environment by using less electricity and creating less waste. Your new appliances can come in many sizes, shapes, and levels of environmentally friendliness, and are usually eligible for a tax exemption during the year that you purchased them. Compare energy guides to see which machine operates most efficiently! These appliances save water and use far less energy than older, power hungry machines. The best part is, they’ll save money in the long run!

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You can also change your cleaning habits in your home both for clothes and floors by switching to “green” cleaning products and detergents. Your bamboo flooring will stay clean simply by using water and eco-friendly cleansers once or twice a week. The durability of the bamboo will prove to be a great reason to redo your entire house with this type of flooring. It won’t scuff or mark as easily as other wooden floors and will not stain nearly as easily when kept finished and clean.

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Your floors will stay shiny and strong with a little love and cleaning. Bamboo will be a great resource to use in the future instead of regular wood because it doesn’t take as long to replenish as trees do. The process that companies use to grow bamboo is not as harsh on the environment as the process of growing trees and harvesting lumber. Bamboo does not require the chemicals and pesticides that many of the larger hardwood trees require.

You can take a few steps to use more eco-friendly materials in your home, and replacing your appliances, cleaning supplies, and flooring are just a few things that you can do to change the overall appearance and eliminate waste in your home. Taking a few small steps to save the environment while enhancing your living space can help to make a difference in the world around you.

Erin Devine is a freelance writer and editor for Floor & Décor Outlets, a factory direct flooring store. In her free time, she maintains her own blog about all things home renovation and interior design, DIY Home & Floor.