Eco by Cosentino Green Countertops...

This is a nice product that  recently came out on the market; we just received samples for our showroom and are quite impressed with the high end look of this product and the fact that it is certified GreenGuard. A very nice green option! Here’s the scoop: Cosentino is the world’s largest manufacturer of quartz, they recently launched a new eco-friendly countertop called ECO by Cosentino. ECO contains 75% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled raw materials, as well as 25% natural elements. These countertops are made from salvaged mirrors, window and...

Pioneers of Green Building...

I’m reposting this entry from Green By Design. It’s such a great reminder of the innovative and creative pioneers who have paved the way for us to design and build green in modern times. Thanks to them, we are not starting at ground-zero with green concepts but rather have some of the more exotic, if not rudimentary,  ideas tested and refined or dismissed wholesale as a good idea bad application. And really, who can resist the hanging treehouse that looks to have been built by an industrious prehistoric Silk Moth… check it out and enjoy! Zeta Lloyd...

Holiday Food Drive...

HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE! Each year, the members of The Artisans Group sponsors a food drive for  those in our community who could use a helping hand. We match each donation as a way to say thanks for our happy lot in life! Please join us by dropping by soon (M-W, 9 to 6) with a non-perishable donation: Food: Dry Goods like cereals, grains and pasta packaged in factory boxes Jar Goods like tomato and apple sauce Canned Goods of all kinds Personal Items: Soap Shampoo  and Conditioner Toothbrushes Razors Combs and Brushes Other Items: Cash and Check donations Gift...

Deck Stain Options...

Late this summer a friend  decided to refinish her wood deck in the remaining days of sunshine. Once she completed the prep work of scraping and sanding, she was down to figuring out what type of stain to apply.  Naturally a trip to the local box store was the first maneuver, that was a good way to open conversation about ‘what’s out there’, but created more questions than answered. There is a difference between deck stain and deck sealer. The language manufacturers use varies slightly from one to the next potentially creating  confusion. Generally,...

New home for plastic foam...

Finally a local place to recycle your plastic foam containers! I read this article in the Olympian the other day and thought it was worth passing along. Enjoy! Zeta New home for plastic foam Recycle: Tumwater site takes stuff that was garbage JOHN DODGE; The Olympian | • Published November 09, 2009 TUMWATER – Add plastic foam products such as cups, plates and food take-out trays to the list of items that can be recycled in South Sound. Dart Container Corp., a Tumwater-based manufacturer of plastic foam food and beverage containers, has opened a drop box to accept...

Incandescent Lights Out...

There are certainly differing opinions about light bulbs these days, for example rarely do we hear someone sitting on the fence about their feelings toward the relatively modern energy-efficient compact flourescents (CFL). The energy efficient part is hardly the question… but the qualitative experience of conducting life under the glow of a CFL is widely debated. Conversely, environment be damned… we all love the warmth and strength (and lack of flickering) of the incandescent bulb. The incandescent bulb has been around in some fashion since the mid...

Austria Passive House Update...

In an earlier blog post we mentioned the Austria House, which will be the party house for all things Austrian during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The house is designed and constructed to meet the rigorous Passive House standards.  At it’s essence, a passive  building will maintain a comfortable interior climate without an active heating and cooling system. Passive refers to the fact that the home will heat and cool itself. Our lead designer, Tessa Smith, visited the Austria House recently. Having gone through the Passive House training earlier this year, she knows...

Green Remodeling Basics...

Green remodeling, just how elusive is it? Green building and energy efficiency are not the Holy Grail. You bet there are some measurable efficiency- standards out there that could make your socks roll up and down, but that’s in a different post. This post is of the super basic variety.  I want to give you a few ideas how you can tune-up your own home to achieve a level of ‘green‘ that you can measure in your monthly utility bills as well as the ‘Honey-do-you-feel-a-draft-in-here‘ factor. Some of these tips are easily done by an unsupervised...

Dual-Flush Converter...

Who hasn’t heard the phrase “water is the new oil“? Given that we are even coming up with phrases like that these days, indicates something must be up! It’s true, a person doesn’t have to try too hard to learn about rampant dwindling water resources if they are inclined that way. The challenge is in figuring out how to participate in not making matters worse. Here is a product that seems to be a manageable start to conserving water, the Hydroright Dual-Flush Converter. It’ll make a dual-flush toilet out of any current single-flush model....