It’s tough to re-feather the nest during hard times. That’s why the home design industry is struggling not to be nailed shut while weathering the storm. But you can make subtle changes to your decor that won’t add up to big spending. Here are a few tips we recommend:

1. Reface Rather Than Replace Cabinets

Innovative companies can work with your existing wood and reface those cabinet doors with sustainable woods rather than trashing and starting anew. Read this post for more tips for the kitchen cabinet facelift.

2. Swap Decor with Family and Friends

You don’t need a piano and I don’t need that daybed in the TV nook, so let’s trade and recycle our stuff and get what we really need. It’s a match made in eco heaven when it doesn’t cost you a dime to swap decor, especially with people who have a good eye like you do, and are low on storage space. It’s how they did it in the olden days before widespread consumer waste and climate change. Here’s more.

3. Baby Steps Can Equal Full Grown Changes in a Room

Rearrange the furniture, buy a few new pillow covers, paint a wall. These easy fixes will refresh your pad without sinking lots of cash. As you’ll discover in this handy how-to post, it can all be done for under $30.

4. Repurpose Excess Upholstery Materials

Those fabric rolls are not doing anyone any good just sitting in the closet. Cut them up and redirect them to your interiors for pillow covers, framed art, bedding, even wall coverage like the picture shown above, if you have enough for adequate padding. See these great ideas for repurposing your excess.

5. Clean Before You Replace

Perhaps that rug can come clean with eco spot remover techniques. Why rip it out if it’s still useful? Another option is to cover a damaged section of the carpet by layering with a small, affordable area rug, one made of eco fibers that won’t cost the same as new carpeting or a large are rug. Go shagging for answers here.

6. Seasonal Accents Make Great Distractions

A collection of seasonal organic blooms and greens from your garden, lanterns, greeting cards, photos and tablecloths – they all can act as happy distractions in a room that is begging for a redux. Don’t have a garden? Head to the farmers’ market, the flea shop, the vintage shop in your hood, and spend little to stage your spaces with renewed charm. Head over here for inspiration.

7. Paint can Perk it Up

Even a dingy clawfoot tub can look ultra modern and cool by finding the right low VOC paints and giving the bath a new coat. You will find sprucing up furniture with paint can be a great cheap fix that refreshes your spaces.

8. Be a Thrift Shopper

It’s no wonder second hand shops in cities nationwide do well during hard times. These are outlets that actually offer discounts while more upscale sights like 1st Dibs are peddling vintage treasures that cater to those with lots of spare cash. Do some research and check out the shops in various neighborhoods to find out where nifty castaways are being parked.

9. A Room of Her Own

Sometimes just carving out one room of your own in your dwelling can suffice until you have a bigger budget to fix up the place. Are you craving that Project Runway sewing room? How about a closeted dressing room out of a spare bedroom? Having a blast doing just one space for yourself can be very rewarding, even if it is a multi-use corner for working, painting and reading. Own it with visuals on the walls and a fun rug that speaks to you. Experts say you will accomplish the most in a space you gravitate towards.

10. Spa Makeover

So you can’t afford to tear out the old tile and tired tub to make way for stone and steam. Use zen decor touches and nurturing elements to turn your blah bath into spa bath: Ideas include indulgent, organic towels; sensuous beeswax candles in an array of holders; yummy creams and oils displayed in a vintage tray; and my favorite Nob Hill Day Spa element – a large pitcher of spring water filled with sliced cucumbers or lemons and a pretty glass.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Image: Elle Decor

“I will sell this house today!” affirmed a manically confident Carolyn Burnham in American Beauty. Donning rubber gloves, the anal agent spruced up the Formica and tile, trying to get the hopeless dud she was saddled with to sparkle.

These days, agents still mired in the recession also contemplate how to simply get buyers in the door, and curb appeal is everything when it comes to this lure. These five fixes can make a big difference:

1. Leaner and Cleaner Landscape

If the entrance has a patch of grass, make sure it is manicured. Too many agents and homeowners simply let the grass grow under their feet while waiting for a home to sell and the once landscaped lawn becomes a major turn off to potential buyers, unless of course they are hippies who like overgrown grass. It also helps to replace some of the water sucking plants with drought resistance cactus, and other xeriscape choices that show off your conservation commitment.  It also spells low maintenance!

2. Fresh Coat of Exterior Paint

Paint is the one fix that goes the distance since buyers really do judge a listing by its cover.  Go with an eco brand like Benjamin Moore and select a popular neutral, cream, white, beige or taupe with pretty trims (greens, browns, reds, blacks).

3. Eliminate all Debris and Encourage Neighbors to do the Same

I fell in love with a charming Mediterranean cottage in a desirable hood of San Francisco and probably would have made an offer if it were not for the butt-ugly neighboring homes spilling over with car and lawn equipment and other debris. It was shocking how one side of the street was pretty well maintained and the opposite site was a blight. Make cookies to bribe your neighbors into helping you with the cause by cleaning up their acts. In the end it will boost the value and saleability of  their homes, as well.

4. Patch broken Concrete, Bricks and Tiles

Unless you are marketing a diamond in the rough, it pays to invest in repairing broken chimney bricks, cracked concrete drive ways and flagstone steps. It makes a statement about how you have maintained the inside of the home, just as a well groomed physical appearance often spells a healthy internal system.

5. Clean Windows

You can do this yourself with a sizeable ladder and the right materials or hire a neighborhood service to come out (they usually charge per window) right before you put the house on the market. Weather will dirty them again, but the cleaning should last a couple of months and add also make a statement about the condition of the home. Filmy windows are a deterrent for getting curious lookers inside, unless it is Halloween.

Photo credits: Main image of “Painted Ladies” opposite Alamo Square in San Francisco, licensed for commercial use under Creative Commons by Marit and Toomas Hinnosaar on Flickr.

Let me paint you a picture: You’re at the paint store. After sorting through thousands of slightly different colors and arduously selecting the perfect tint or shade to embellish your bedroom walls, the indifferent sales clerk asks, “What finish do you want?” Wait, what? You are already emotionally exhausted from sorting through heaps of colors. Dearest reader, let me help.

Choosing the right paint finish is dictated by two things, appearance and function. Finish options range from dull matte to overwhelming sheen.

FLAT paint provides a smooth, matte finish that softens facades and disguises surface imperfections. This finish is difficult to keep clean, so avoid high traffic areas (children and pets will not get along well with flat finish paint). Flat paint is less durable than other options, so keep a reserve of the paint for touch ups. This finish absorbs light and is ideal for hiding bumps, cracks, and flaws.

“¢ Suitable for (adult) bedrooms, dining rooms, formal living rooms, libraries, and ceilings.

EGGSHELL/PEARL/SATIN finishes are similar to flat, but with an added hint of sheen and a large dose of functionality. This cleanable, velvety finish has a charming texture and is ideal for high traffic areas.

“¢ Suitable for hallways, bedrooms (even children’s), family rooms, living rooms, powder rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and woodwork.

SEMIGLOSS paint is lustrous and durable, perfect for areas that are exposed to moisture and get cleaned frequently.

“¢ Suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, utility areas, laundry rooms, doors, trim, and woodwork.

GLOSS paint is an extremely hard and durable finish that exudes a glossy, shiny luster. Gloss finish reflects light and tends to magnify imperfections, so meticulous sanding and surface preparation is essential.

“¢ Suitable for woodwork, trim, floors, cabinets, doors, and furniture.

ADDITIONAL WISDOM

Because the different finishes absorb and reflect light in different ways, consider the lighting of your space when selecting your sheen. For example, if your dining room has very dim lighting, the space will benefit from a finish with enough gloss to subtly reflect light. In this scenario, an eggshell finish would add a little more sparkle and ambiance than a flat finish.

Add a handful of contrast and dimension to any room by combining several paint finishes. Cover the ceiling with a flat finish to hide surface flaws. Use an eggshell or satin finish on walls for a functional surface with a bit of shine. Select a semigloss finish for doors, trim, and woodwork for a durable, easy to clean surface. Using different sheens within a space is aesthetically pleasing, but ultimately it’s a functional solution, too.

Need a few more tips? The EcoSalon archives offer great painting advice. How about a guide to eco-friendly paints? Or a little color guidance? Grab your paintbrush!

(Photographs by Emma Lee of Pearson Lyle Management.)

In my household, we love decorating almost as much as we love our homemade java. We even get giddy when it’s time to paint – well, not the actual act of painting, that can be boring. We get excited over the endless possibilities and the fresh new look. We’re huge fans of eco-friendly paint, so the next time you’re thinking of taking on a redecorating project, here’s everything you need to know about finding the right type of paint for your project.

Buh-Bye VOC’s

VOC’s, the solvents used to make standard paint are fumey and gag-worthy, not to mention a proven health hazard. Fortunately, companies like YOLO Colorhouse, Benjamin Moore and Freshaire Choice have come up with VOC-free paint that’s less harmful to the environment and far better for people and animals. In fact, we’ve named low VOC paints as one of the top 20 greenest materials on the market.

If it’s spray paint you need for smaller projects, there are a few lower-toxicity ones out there if you dig around. They’re not completely risk-free, but they’re far better than what you’ll find in a standard can of the spray stuff.

Can I Have Cookies With That?

Milk paint is a big favorite around here. Originally made from milk, lime and earth, and used in cave paintings, milk paint has been around for centuries. There are many different ways to make your own, including a super-simple method that uses just two ingredients: nonfat dry milk and water. Of course, you can always spring for a pre-made batch from green businesses like The Real Milk Paint Company.

Painting Frenzy

There are a ton of ways to use your eco-friendly paint around the house. Color an accent wall, decorate mirrors and glass, or spruce up the entire place before putting it on the market. No matter what kind of project you tackle, check out some color tricks you can use to make the most out of your rooms.

Images: Photocapy, Mess of Pottage, redeye, and lejoe

It’s tough to re-feather the nest during hard times. That’s why the home design industry is struggling not to be nailed shut while weathering the storm. But you can make subtle changes to your decor that won’t add up to big spending. Here are a few tips we recommend:

1. Reface Rather Than Replace Cabinets

Innovative companies can work with your existing wood and reface those cabinet doors with sustainable woods rather than trashing and starting anew. Read this post for more tips for the kitchen cabinet facelift.

2. Swap Decor with Family and Friends

You don’t need a piano and I don’t need that daybed in the TV nook, so let’s trade and recycle our stuff and get what we really need. It’s a match made in eco heaven when it doesn’t cost you a dime to swap decor, especially with people who have a good eye like you do, and are low on storage space. It’s how they did it in the olden days before widespread consumer waste and climate change. Here’s more.

3. Baby Steps Can Equal Full Grown Changes in a Room

Rearrange the furniture, buy a few new pillow covers, paint a wall. These easy fixes will refresh your pad without sinking lots of cash. As you’ll discover in this handy how-to post, it can all be done for under $30.

4. Repurpose Excess Upholstery Materials

Those fabric rolls are not doing anyone any good just sitting in the closet. Cut them up and redirect them to your interiors for pillow covers, framed art, bedding, even wall coverage like the picture shown above, if you have enough for adequate padding. See these great ideas for repurposing your excess.

5. Clean Before You Replace

Perhaps that rug can come clean with eco spot remover techniques. Why rip it out if it’s still useful? Another option is to cover a damaged section of the carpet by layering with a small, affordable area rug, one made of eco fibers that won’t cost the same as new carpeting or a large are rug. Go shagging for answers here.

6. Seasonal Accents Make Great Distractions

A collection of seasonal organic blooms and greens from your garden, lanterns, greeting cards, photos and tablecloths – they all can act as happy distractions in a room that is begging for a redux. Don’t have a garden? Head to the farmers’ market, the flea shop, the vintage shop in your hood, and spend little to stage your spaces with renewed charm. Head over here for inspiration.

7. Paint can Perk it Up

Even a dingy clawfoot tub can look ultra modern and cool by finding the right low VOC paints and giving the bath a new coat. You will find sprucing up furniture with paint can be a great cheap fix that refreshes your spaces.

8. Be a Thrift Shopper

It’s no wonder second hand shops in cities nationwide do well during hard times. These are outlets that actually offer discounts while more upscale sights like 1st Dibs are peddling vintage treasures that cater to those with lots of spare cash. Do some research and check out the shops in various neighborhoods to find out where nifty castaways are being parked.

9. A Room of Her Own

Sometimes just carving out one room of your own in your dwelling can suffice until you have a bigger budget to fix up the place. Are you craving that Project Runway sewing room? How about a closeted dressing room out of a spare bedroom? Having a blast doing just one space for yourself can be very rewarding, even if it is a multi-use corner for working, painting and reading. Own it with visuals on the walls and a fun rug that speaks to you. Experts say you will accomplish the most in a space you gravitate towards.

10. Spa Makeover

So you can’t afford to tear out the old tile and tired tub to make way for stone and steam. Use zen decor touches and nurturing elements to turn your blah bath into spa bath: Ideas include indulgent, organic towels; sensuous beeswax candles in an array of holders; yummy creams and oils displayed in a vintage tray; and my favorite Nob Hill Day Spa element – a large pitcher of spring water filled with sliced cucumbers or lemons and a pretty glass.

Image: Elle Decor

Before you check out more swatches of paint and fabrics and pore over back issues of Met Home, check out our posts on perky colors that are home runs because they are not only attractive – they are accessible in green materials that show our commitment to the planet, and prove that it only takes a simple, affordable dose of color to change a whole room.

Still Seeing Purple

Proud as a peacock to showcase this plum of a shade, purple has been hot for two years and still going, with upholstery, rugs, bedding and pillows that are berry nice for your eco habitat. Locate more here.

Pink, Orange and Red, Cool Shades for Spring and Summer

Those soft corals are no shrimps when it comes to making design statements! Why are we so drawn to these pinky feminine hues? I only know they are easy on the eye and pleasant to live with, day after day, and that’s important when it comes to investing in your rooms. Powder puff design? Naw. Call it grapefruit groovy. Here’s more.

Lemon Aids Your Space

If lemon is your squeeze, you will be sweet on yellow for your rooms. Really, is there anything more cheerful and sunny? It also can be quite chic when applied to modern furnishings, especially the ones we love which are made with healthy materials. So go bananas, and shop for bedding, chairs, and textiles that bring on the rays.

Anchors Away

We all love blues because they give us anything but their name. You don’t have to live at the beach to surround yourself with the shades of the sea and sky, as proven in the nautical trend in home design.

An Eco Solution to Boring Walls

Don’t just look to low-VOC paints to give those walls a facelift when the hot trend is cool murals. Some gorgeous designs that are printed on PVC-free textiles with eco-friendly processes are now available and don’t need to be glued down to your walls with nasty adhesives. For that real boost of color with original flare, go no further.

For extraordinary green accents for filling in with color, check out all these posts that connect you with organic bedding, furniture, textiles and home trends.

Amy Butler Carpets; Trina Turk for the Home; Ikat Prints; Decorating with Polka Dots; Henna Neutrals in Decor; Painting Old Clawfoot Tubs; Pure Green Plaids; Scandinavian Home Textiles; Butterfly Print Wallpapers; Chic Wall Coverage that Pops

It’s the kind of lab I wish they offered in school instead of chemistry.

Meet Chroma Lab, a collaboration of two furniture doctors, Alicia Cornwell and Tony Bevilacqua, who merged their fine art skills and history backgrounds to transform “neglected but promising” decor.

Salvaging the treasures in the attic beats buying new any day. Why not go the distance, like Cornwell and Bevilacqua, and reclaim one man’s junk instead of tossing it?

The artful pair began dabbling in recycling, repainting and repairing castaways from their work digs in Boston a couple of years ago for their own pleasure. It was so much fun (Yippee, pass me another chair!) they went legit, embellishing everything from timeworn, high quality furniture to tired handcrafted lamps and clocks -  customizing oldies but goodies from clients with pick-me-up colors and geometric flourishes.

Check out the lab’s new online store at Etsy. You can order painted treasures ready to ship. Or, if you live within 50 miles, they will deliver for free.

Bright spots from their lively portfolio include the Gum Drop Table; Glowing Tree Nightstands; Limeade Plant Stand; and an orange Table for a Rainy Day. The team has  partnered with Grand, adding its furniture and clocks to one of Boston’s design most well-curated haunts for home accessories, clothing and gifts.

Images: Chroma Lab

Nothing goes together like a recession and a paint brush.

If you can’t afford to remodel (and who can?) and are stuck with a peeling, fiberglass clawfoot tub, tap into some ingenuity and resource non-toxic paints and supplies, pure shower curtains, an organic floor mat and go to town.

If you’re opting to go the DIY tub redux route you will want to bone up on stripping off the old finish first. You can visit many good how-to tutorials at sites like ehow. Or,  if you have the budget, hire a tub refinishing service, like Bay Area Coatings. Either way, you are salvaging an old treasure that adds oodles of character to the modern bath.

Here are a few cool designs to inspire:

Steal this teal kids’ bath design from Canadian House and Home.

Basking in blue is oh-so-country French. Eating a baguette in the bain is nice, too. From Apartment Therapy.

How succulent is this cool citrus desert palette from Decorology?

Some lemon aid to brighten the old friend from Country Living.

Basic black is tres chic and sleek, from Happy Living Design.

Stripes to center the mod energy of the citified clawfoot, from Apartment  Therapy.

Check out other DIY ideas at this cute site.

Main Image: Fixer Upper

We have long sung the praises of Midwestern textile designer, Amy Butler, who introduced an exotic, Indian-inspired organic bedding collection of five designs this year. She even rolled out rugs to match!

The lovely and much needed bedding (still can’t find organic in many of my favorite haunts) includes 400-thread count sheeting, elegant embroidery and paisley flourishes woven without harmful dyes.

Among my faves is the Bucharest motif (above) with patterns found in Romanian embroidery and the flourishes of formal gardens. While modern and bold, the charcoal gray and ivory palette imbues the collection with understated warmth. The duvet would be at home in many environments – perhaps even yours.

Leave a comment here and you could be sleeping in the bedding soon as part of our decor give-away.

I would even repaint my master boudoir gray to complement this lovely duvet. Hey, that rhymes! Lemon yellow would work well as a backdrop, too, don’t you think?

Image: Amy Butler Design

So you let the 10-year-old choose her own, low VOC wall paint. Your therapist tells you to be compassionate with yourself. You didn’t know it would turn out to be the most powerful pink shade on the swatch sheet. “It must be very hard for you.”

Hard doesn’t describe it. It’s not like an insufferable PG-13 movie you can return to the rental bin after one painful viewing. That touch of pink swatch in the corner didn’t seem so offensive, but suddenly the bedroom has morphed into a giant Razzle candy that refuses to turn into gum, lose its flavor, and go away. You’ve tried taming the raspberry beast with chocolate browns and cloudy blues, anything and everything to soften the pounding headache from walls that pulsate as they suck you into the pink abyss. Sorry, Lola. The Razzle may dazzle your 4th grade pals, but it has begun to frazzle your middle-aged mom. It’s time to strip.

Luckily for me, I have the best interior painter in San Francisco (let’s just call him Michael B.) who shops at the best paint resource in the Bay Area, Creative Paint on Geary Avenue, and knows that removing poor paint choices safely calls for new products that won’t add environmental insult to injury. Here are a few of those products you, too, should obtain for stripping without the toxins:

Zinsser Paint & Finish Remover with Soyzol (R)

Considered one of the best alternatives to traditional paint removers, this formula from Zinsser takes off more than five layers of latex and oil-based paint and most finishes from wood, metal and vinyl in less than one hour. The soybean derivative Soyzol replaces the usual flammable solvents, caustics or methylene chloride-based strippers. It has a mild odor and is a biodegradable, renewable resource. It’s a better way to go for you or your house painter.

Home Strip

A good choice for removing finishes from furniture, Home Strip┞¢ is a water-based, low VOC paint stripper that is completely safe to the user and the environment. No need for ventilation and no need to work outside. It will safely removelead-based paints, oil-based paints, solvent-based paints, stains, varnishes and certain plastic coatings.

The Speedheater Method TM

The Speedheater Method from Sweden is based on Infrared Technology to soften paint quickly, making it easy to scrape off. It’s effective for removing exterior house paint and lead-based paints (outlawed in the U.S in 1978), and is a great preparation for cleaning up the old layers and starting completely fresh – avoiding cracking of new paint from the residue left behind.

Design Tip: While it’s not always affordable to completely strip off old paint before starting anew, it is highly recommended, as paint layers can become too thick over time and peppered with various penetrative cracks. It also helps to better define detailed trim work and mouldings that are lost under too many layers of paint.

Design Tip: Don’t just swatch a small corner when testing a daring color. Cover enough wall to know if you truly can live with the shade. And do rethink pink!