Kirei board: Recycled beauty from counters to wall paneling

Not too long ago I received a gift massage, from my husband, to our local wellness center: Balance.  I was immediately smitten by the look of their reception counter.  When I learned that it was created from Kirei Board, I was even more impressed.

Much like plywood, kirei is a composite material, though it is made from the reclaimed stocks of sorghum plant.  Sorghum are a species of grass that are widely used.  Some species of sorghum grasses are used to feed livestock.  Others are used in alcoholic beverages and bio fuel.  Many gluten-free eaters will recognize it as flour safe for their consumption.  Certain species of sorghum are considered a staple in Africa, South Asia, and Central America, as they are the fifth largest cereal crop grown throughout the world.

Sorghum is a drought tolerant plant and grown all over the world.  Instead of burning the stalks or disposing them in waterways and landfills, a new interior finishing material is created.  You’ll also be pleased to know that the Kirei is combined with non-formaldehyde Read more

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How do you find an architect that knows green home remodel and design?

It’s not easy finding green help these days, but it is getting easier.  Not only are more architecture schools and environmental programs out there focusing on green building, but, finding these graduates as well as seasoned architects with the eco-friendly passion is becoming more realistic.

When my husband and I graduated from architecture school with degrees in Landscape Architecture, we had learned enough to know the importance of highering an eco-friendly architect to assist us in our home building and remodeling adventures that are beyond our own design skills.  We have settled in the Wasatch Mountains between  Park City, Utah (home of the Sundance Film Festival, and some of the ‘best snow on earth’) and the Sundance Resort (Robert Redford‘s playground).   A beautiful and serene place to work, learn, play, and lay our heads each night, though not the most saturated ‘green’ building area.

Where to begin your search (associates, family, friends)

I asked questions of people that I knew, but didn’t find a great green wealth of information this way.  My contacts, friends and family at the time, were not in the ‘green’ circle.  If your circle is more reliably green, this is a wonderful place to begin your search.  Ask about their Read more

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Greening Your Mortgage: Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs)

With all of the recent gloom and doom mortgage news in America, I was surprised to hear soft murmurs about a dim light on the horizon.  Green mortgages, or energy efficient mortgages.

My journey to find the mythical green mortgage was not an easy one.  My fingers ached from repeated online searches and from dialing far too many phone numbers.  Truthfully, today it is tough to know which banks are in business, which banks have merged with each other and which banks have decided to suspend their mortgage programs.  My personal mortgage has been sold countless times over the past three years and even paying the bill can be tricky because it is tough to know just what company I should be writing the check out to each month.

First, I began my journey by contacting mortgage brokerage firms.  Larger banking corporations filter their products down through brokers, so generally mortgage brokers are the last to receive a new product.  Still, they are able to provide competitive products from a number of banks.  The mortgage brokers I spoke with had heard of green and energy efficient mortgages, but had yet to Read more

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