The Design District
Re-Green Your Interior Design
The building community has LEED. Now the interior design community has REGREEN, a product of the collaboration between the American Society of Interior Designers’ Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Unlike LEED, which gives builders points and then certifies them LEED based on their high scores, REGREEN is a set of guidelines, meant to give homeowners, interior designers, and contractors the know-how to create a “greener” interior during remodeling, from products to entire energy systems. (This is a large download, by the way, so be prepared. But good thing it’s tree-free.)
According to the FAQ page,
The REGREEN residential remodeling guidelines help make your home renovation project green, from installing a new dishwasher to remodeling your master bathroom to refurbishing an entire home interior. REGREEN addresses the major elements of any green renovation project, including the site of the home, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality. The guidelines blend product selection, building systems integration and proven technologies into a seamless compilation of green strategies and case studies for the homeowner, builder and design professional.
The REGREEN guidelines can be applied to a variety of home projects, from remodeling a kitchen to adding a major addition, from redoing a back yard to executing a gut rehab. Homeowners can either use the guidelines for their own do-it-yourself projects or visit with a professional who can apply REGREEN as a design guideline.
The program doesn’t endorse any specific products or brands, but they do have this handy checklist to help you make buying decisions, whether its paint, appliances, or building materials for your interior.
I know the LEED certification program has its fans and non-fans. But I’m hoping this is a step in the right direction for eco-friendly remodeling in places outside Portland where it’s not a given. Places like Iowa (where I lived for a bit) where finding a contractor who understands green building is near impossible, which is the story I hear from many friends there trying to remodel their homes in a responsible way, but are finding it so difficult it’s almost not worth it. Hopefully this will be a handy resource for those people.
