Wood is a carbon neutral product and provides oxygen during its life cycle.

Indoor air quality is greatly improved when wood floors are present and installed correctly.

Production of wood flooring saves natural resources because they use less water and energy than other materials.

Another great benefit of wood flooring is that it can most definitely be recycled or burned as fuel. This is not the case for various other flooring options.

Aside from looking wonderful in a home, wood floors are truly the best option when deciding on an eco-friendly material. They last for decades and do not need to be replaced frequently, if ever! Who would have thought those beautiful wood floors you step on every day could be helping the environment? 

If considering engineered wood flooring for your home, the main question you might ask is: What’s the advantage of using an Engineered wood floor over a Solid nail down floor? The answer is simple.

“Engineered hardwood floors can be installed in areas where there is slightly higher relative humidity levels. Engineered wood flooring being more stable is a great choice to use in summer homes where the heat is turned lower when no one is there. Because manufacturing engineered flooring does not waste valuable prized wood below its wear layer, purchasing engineered flooring also helps conserve our forests.”

In the Santa Ynez Valley in California a beautiful home was designed by architecture firm Fernau & Hartman Architects.  Their clients, one of which works as a visual artist and both are avid art collectors and former gallery owners wanted a home that incorporated energy-efficiency as well as a complimenting harmony with the rural landscape and Mediterranean climate of the area.  As I’m sure you have noticed above from the significant resources it certainly takes a reputable team to bring projects like this to life.  Certainly not like going to a planned neighborhood and just choosing one of three plans.  This is custom all the way and the talents of everyone involved certainly show it.  The design of the home compliments the surrounding landscape.  Well thought out and planned!

Photo Credit © Richard Barnes

Photo Credit © Marion Brenner

Want to see more of this magnificent home and get more details on the brilliant design elements from the inside-out?  Visit ArchDaily HERE

Let’s take your basic Vegas trip for example.  According to HowStuffWorks 80% of new first-time visitors go to a casino slot machine and over 70% of reacurring casino visitors do the same.  Why?  In most cases they find dealers and players intimidating at the tables.  So the drop of a coin and pull of the handle or a push of a button avoids it.  It’s only a nickel, a dime, a quarter… so who cares right?  That’s exactly what casinos bank on and that is exactly what many of us carelessly don’t think about because it’s just a little thing.

A raindrop by itself is easily considered not a big deal.  But raindrops by the hundreds, thousands, hundreds-of-thousands, millions, billions or how Google was named (by the numeral one followed by one hundred zeros) causes floods, hurricanes, mudslides and many natural disasters.  It’s not the size but more the numbers that makes the difference.

So what is the point of all this blah, blah, blah about numbers and rain?  The answer isn’t “can’t.”  The answer isn’t even the use of the word ”can’t.”  The miracle question is “How?” 

Each one of us is a raindrop and we each contribute to the use of energy and environment.  Here are just a few simple energy and money saving tips whether you rent or own commercial/residential property that you can implement today:

1) Air dry dishes rather then using your dishwasher drying cycle feature.
2) If you know you are leaving a room and won’t be returning in a few minutes turn things off like the computer, monitor, TV and other entertainment systems.
3) Plug TVs and DVD players into a power strip. When not in use turn the strip or the devises off.  (Even in standy-by-mode they still use several watts of power and suck-up energy usage costing you more money)
4) Lower your thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees Farenheit
5) Use low flow shower heads
6) When you run the dishwasher or wash clothes only run full loads
7) Make sure windows and doors are closed when cooling or heating

The U.S. Census says we have 315, 351, 430 in the U.S. population and 7,006,616,775 worldwide.  That’s a lot of raindrops that can conserve energy if we all work together.  What else can all of us accomplish if we work together?