Products & Certifications
15 Feb Dining Chairs Don’t Have to Match Table
Elissa’s friends had some questions when she showed them the inspiration photo she had chosen for her dining room makeover. They included: “You’re doing wallpaper, seriously?” And, “You do realize that those chairs don’t go with that table, right?”
Clearly, she recalls, her friends didn’t realize that wallpaper is back! And who says the chairs have to match the table? No designer we’ve ever heard of.
Her vision for the room was clear and there were some unchangeable requirements.
29 May Is Your Retailer Ready for New Formaldehyde Rules?
National standard for composite wood products and products that contain them goes into effect June 1, 2018 Three years have passed since complaints erupted on 60 Minutes about excessive amounts of formaldehyde emitted by some laminate flooring products that were sold by Lumber Liquidators. 60 Minutes reported that some of these products did not comply with California Air Resources Board Phase II (CARB II) limits for formaldehyde, which only applied in the state of California. At the time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was working on making CARB II limits a national standard that would close a gap in the existing rule: Instead of applying only to composite wood products, it also would regulate finished products that contain composite wood products.17 Aug Diary of a Healthier Home Reno
Couple chooses chemical-free carpet, dustless sanding and low-VOC finishes for 1960’s ranch makeover, and gets it all done between closing and move-in.
The hardwood floor in the living room and front hall had been refinished. They were welcoming upon walking through the front door of the ranch home Pam and her husband, Jim, were buying in a Cincinnati neighborhood.
The spacious kitchen, with an older tile floor, also was inviting. But the great room, back hall and three bedrooms were covered with worn carpet and ready for an update.
Pam had a plan to pull it all together into a cohesive, flowing look. But like most people who contact the Natural Interiors® program, she had specific requirements: Any new carpet preferably would be made of natural fibers, and it would be free of stain-proofing chemicals. Any floor finishes or paint would be as low-VOC as possible for the application.
“I wanted help finding products and properly vetting them for chemicals of concern and hazardous air pollutants,” Pam said. “I wasn’t being a purist. I just wanted to take all reasonable steps to minimize possible toxins.”
30 Jul The Future Is Here
Green building practices and technology will magnify as the cornerstones of mainstream architectural and interior design
It was difficult enough to explain the benefits of people- and planet-friendly flooring when I first got into the business years ago. Many flooring dealers I called on would hold back snickers and raise their eyebrows.
Had I also mentioned that some buildings would one day be one with nature, or constructed in weeks instead of months, I would have been laughed – and likely escorted – out of the room.
Today, a little more than a decade later, those who have not changed their mindsets know not to reveal their opinions in mixed company. Their hometown in Greater Cincinnati, OH., has become a national leader in green building and interior design, and home to some of the most experienced architectural and interior design minds in the country.
With help from several of them, I’ve put together this list of national trends that merit attention because they’re here to stay and will guide the future of architectural and interior design.
06 Mar When It’s Natural and They Know It
A growing number of flooring consumers know more about people-friendly products than mainstream flooring salespeople do
When a consumer is intent on finding a specific product and spends hours researching it, she might be more knowledgeable than the salesperson when she gets to the store.
Jennifer Lutz recalls how frustrated she was when she went to a mainstream flooring store, asking about natural carpet and hard-surface flooring that had third-party indoor-air quality certification. This drove her back to the computer and her Google searches, which put her in contact with Natural Interiors.®
“I didn’t feel like the salespeople at the store knew what they were talking about or even understood my questions in regard to certifications and VOCs,” says Lutz of Lebanon, OH. “It is very important to me, and I do not want to spend money to buy a product that does not meet my standards.”
20 Jul Part 2: Natural Is …
Once frowned upon by healthy-home experts, engineered hardwood flooring is becoming a people- and planet-friendly choice
If you are looking for a new hardwood floor in today’s popular, wider widths, you most likely have seen engineered flooring.
Unlike solid hardwood flooring, an engineered floor is put together in layers, using adhesives. And when the healthy-home movement began more than a decade ago, these products were a no-no.
But with today’s No Added Urea Formaldehyde (NAUF) adhesives, used by many leading manufacturers, concerns about unhealthful chemical emissions are diminishing. And because engineered products use the premium wood species only on the product’s surface, planet-friendly product seekers can make a stronger case for engineered hardwood.
02 Jul Natural Is …
Today’s natural interior design aesthetic includes many flooring products, from natural-fiber rugs to luxury vinyl tile. For this customer, natural means chemical-free wool.
Elena Page, M.D., knew what she would do when it was time to replace her carpet. An occupational and environmental medicine physician in Cincinnati, OH., Page has a lot of experience in how chemicals can affect indoor-air quality.
All carpets from major manufacturers these days have CRI Green Label Plus Indoor-Air Quality certification, ensuring that the products meet safety limits for Volatile Organic Compound (VOC ) emissions set by the state of California. But that wasn’t enough for Page.
“I wanted to be sure that whatever I put in my home was not an emitter of VOCs,” she says. “I also care very much about what the workers are exposed to in making the carpet, and synthetic carpets expose them to a variety of harmful substances, some of which are carcinogens.”
24 Apr A Private-Label Precaution
Indoor-Air Quality Certification on original product does not automatically apply when that product is sold under a different name
More and more Natural Interiors visitors have been inquiring about flooring products that have names we don’t instantly recognize.
These are products from known manufacturers. But the retailer is offering the product under a private-label name.
This practice is common in the flooring industry, and the private-label product usually is of the same look and quality as the original. Nonetheless, third-party indoor-air quality certifications – such as FloorScore, GREENGUARD or CRI Green Label Plus – are not automatically transferable to the private-label name.