Welcome to Andrea Schumacher Interiors' new earth friendly products page
Here are a variety of websites to help you “green” your home. We will be adding and refining these lists frequently — please check back!
According to the National Safety Council, we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors and 65% of our time inside our homes. Let’s start being more aware of what we are putting in our homes and offices – they can be beautiful, sure, but beauty is absolutely more than skin deep.
Bamboo flooring is made from bamboo plantations – not from wild habitats. Bamboo is a highly renewable resource, harvestable only four to six years after being planted. EcoTimber has four formats of bamboo flooring: solid, engineered, strand woven and tile.
Cork Floating Floor from Expanko offers the beauty of cork with the ease and versatility of a glueless installation. During the manufacturing process, all raw materials are consumed, either for the finished flooring product or as an energy source. Additionally, all recommended finishes, sealers, and adhesives are water-based and environmentally friendly.
DMI cork is responsibly harvested every 9 years by a time-honored method that does not harm the health of the tree. Cork is warm, quiet, comfortable and resilient, and naturally resistant to pests and mold. Comes with a factory-applied, acrylic-urethane matte protective finish. Multiple styles. Easy to install and maintain.
Endura Wood based in Oregon, is a “one stop shop” for a wide variety of environmentally friendly flooring options. Endura supplies both Certified and Rediscovered / Antique wood flooring in many different species. Some of their flooring producst are exotics, though still FSC certified.
IceStone is made from 100% recycled glass that is mixed with cement to create a highly durable, aesthetically beautiful and green concrete surface. Due to high recycled content, VOC-free ingredients, IceStone durable surfaces are ideal for projects seeking LEED certification.
PaperStone is an earth-friendly composite surface created from 100-percent recycled papers and a petroleum free resin. It resists scratches and holds up well over time. Depending upon the project, the use of PaperStone may contribute up to nine LEED points.
Squak Mountain Stone is an environmentally friendly slab and tile product company based in Washington State. This is a composite of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash (a waste product from coal smoke) and cement. It’s unique to the green market dut to its resemblance to to natural stone.
For an eco-friendly modern/industrial look, or just something different than what is out there for countertops and other surfaces, check out Alkemi. These surfaces have earned SCS certification as well as LEED credits. Aluminum milling scrap that would be burned into a heavy pollutant smoke, make up 60% of the surface volume.
EnviroGLAS offers the EnviroSLAB countertop made from post-consumer and post-industrial recycled glass.
Encore Ceramics is a ceramic tile business in southern Oregon that makes beautiful handcrafted ceramic tiles and has a strong commitment to eco-responsible manufacturing. The EPA has ranked them the #71 company in the nation in 100% green power purchase and #4 in the nation in the “Industrial Goods and Services” sector. Their next step is 100% energy self-sufficiency.
The Viridian line from Modwalls is SCS Certified for a minimum of 98% pre-consumer recycled content. Contents include old windows and windshields. The Viridian recycled glass tile series comes in two lines: Viridian Pearl & Viridian Industrial.
Debris tiles by FireClay contain 50 percent post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials. Available in more than 200 colors and a variety of sizes and patterns, Debris’ clay and terra cotta bodies include granite dust from sandblasted electronic parts and glass salvaged from bottles and windowpanes.
AuroUSA boasts the highest environmental, toxicological, and technical performance among natural paint brands. The company claims to have created the highest quality paint while making the fewest ecological compromises.
Bioshield pledges to uphold the highest environmental and social standard of responsibility and accountability. They carry clay paints and plasters, solvent-free paint, color washes, kinder paints, and casein milk paints in a wide range of colors.
Benjamin Moore’s new Natura waterborne paint has zero VOC’s and is available in over 3,000 colors. It was named one of 2008’s Top 10 Green Building Products by Building Green, Inc.
When it comes to healthy metals, stainless steel immediately comes to mind as a sterile metal that is used often in sinks and medical equipment. While it can be beautiful it many applications, stainless steel has the ability to feel cold and lifeless. Native Trails is tapping into the natural hygienic properties of copper in their lines of handmade sinks. If you didn’t know copper had healthful properties, honestly, neither did I, but it is an exciting and eye opening discovery.
Composite materials are a logical way to create sustainable building components. A percentage of recycled waste material is diverted from its landfill trajectory, and with the help of a binding agent or manufacturing process, a “new” material is created. We have seen various types of composite materials here on 3rings, some examples are Icestone, Paperstone, and Nylodeck. Each of these materials takes advantage of a different waste type (carpet, paper, and glass) while managing to create durable, functional products.
Stone Forest is the creator of some of the most beautiful “nature inspired” sinks out there. Not unlike the way water naturally pools within indentations on a rock, Stone Forest’s sinks are at harmony with the water within them. Instead of forcibly containing the water, these sinks instead provide water with an intuitive place to rest. Materials such as stone, copper, bronze and bamboo put traditional white porcelain to shame when given the goal of designing a bathroom retreat inspired by nature.
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