Reduce Reuse Recycle

Are these familiar words to you? Do you know how to apply them to your interiors to save money and make a meaningful contribution to the environment at the same time?

“Reduce Reuse Recycle” was a popular refrain begun the 1970’s (which coincidently is the decorating style of the currently revived decade too). It is no accident that this mantra is commonly expressed in the circular form of the Mobius loop, consistent with the circular nature of ecology. 

At the November 1969 Stanford University “Conference on Man and His Environment: a View Toward Survival”, Barry Commoner said, “Because they are fundamentally circular processes and subject to numerous feedback effects, ecosystems exhibit nonlinear responses to changes in the intensity of any single factor.” [1] What simpler way is there than to choose basics that avoid complicated consequences?

While studying for my LEED® AP exam, ...

Design industry leaders learn technical rug sustainability aspects from Dayle Laing

Understanding that "knowledge is power", key interior design industry leaders attended Dayle’s 'Rugs 101' seminar at Speers Road Broadloom on February 4, 2010.

Proclaiming the session interesting and informative, they left the evening motivated to put more ‘green’ into their designs and sales.

Savvy interior designers, interior decorators, flooring sales reps and retailers gathered in the showroom to glean the practical advice on how to answer their clients’ demands for green rugs and carpeting. Carl French of Speers Road Broadloom sponsored the training of his staff and generously funded the attendance of 4 lucky local Sheridan College design students.

Dayle Laing, a LEED® AP, related the technical aspects of carpet fibres, construction, dyeing and finishing to the applicable LEED® credits, as she deftly handled questions and gave practical advice for handling design choices and spotting ‘greenwashing’ claims. She thoroughly explained the third party certifications pertaining to the carpeting industry.

Carl told Dayle that he expects his suppliers to be well informed about flooring sustainability, so that he can continue to offer excellent service to his designers, decorators, contractors and his retail customers.

To bring this IDCEC accredited interior design seminar or a customized workshop to your group, contact the office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Design Professionals learn Contract Tips

In challenging economic times, Interior Designers and Interior Decorators take stock of their use of contracts to protect themselves and to successfully communicate with their clients.

On February 10, 2010, Dayle presented her “Joy of Contracts” IDCEC accredited seminar to an enthusiastic group of design professionals in the showroom of Brentwood Classics, in Vaughan Ontario. Fashion Director Diana Sisto and Showroom Manager Lynne Wainberg, along with Brentwood owner Guy Sisto feel strongly about the importance of using their showroom for continuing education and for the benefit of the design trade.

Experienced and new professionals alike were unanimous in their appreciation of the 2 hour presentation, and peppered Dayle with thoughtful questions.

Sheryl Jones, Milton, ON

Susan Quattrociocchi, Thornhill, ON

Other seminar participants commented:

Lighting the 'Green' Kitchen

Lighting is one of the most challenging and important areas in the field of interior design. Without good lighting, one cannot see a great design! One has only to stroll through the hardware store to see a confusing array of lighting products claiming different standards and ratings that are difficult to compare.

So what is the latest news in ‘green’ residential lighting? In the commercial field, contract lighting has been far ahead with a series of progressively higher standards for lowering energy consumption for buildings due to stringent building codes that are governed by IESNA standards (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America). LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) also awards credits for lowering energy consumption in all areas of the building, including lighting. Residential lighting has lagged behind due to the relatively low cost of energy that has kept the demand for ‘green’ low, due to more variability in home lighting requirements, and due to lack of suitable, affordable quality products on the market. Unsuccessful forays with compact fluorescents have further jaded the public about the value of ‘green’ lighting in general. Early LED products had low wattage but delivered very little light (lumens) and only a cool-white colour temperature.

This is now an impressive time for developments in ‘green’ lighting. The technology has been progressing rapidly and the cost is coming down. I wrote an article last year about my new kitchen countertop http://www.daylelaing.com/news/green-kitchen-countertop.html  and received several questions about the ‘green’ lighting I specified in the design.

Let’s take a look at some of the options I selected and why.

What is LEED® and how could it benefit me?

LEED® is a comprehensive standard for certifying and constructing green buildings.

Points are assigned for all different aspects of the building interior, exterior, and even landscaping.

Whether you are designing, building, or purchasing, these criteria benefit us all by raising the bar so that all construction standards will go up over time. LEED® is meant to be a standard that rewards excellent performance and continues to evolve. When that excellent performance becomes the norm, LEED® will raise its standard to be that much higher again. The program started with mainly commercial buildings and has expanded to certify homes and existing buildings. Run by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in my area, the program is adapted for different climates in 16 countries around the world, including the United States (which began the program with the UsGBC), Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

The result is...

Seminars Certified for Continuing Education by IDCEC

Interior design professionals have a challenge to not only keep up to date with a broad range of topics, they must do so to maintain their professional status.  They want to make sure that their valuable time and money is well spent on seminars that provide important and practical information that they can use with their clients.

The 4 major interior design associations in North America (IDC, ASID, IDEC, IIDA), are served under the central entity of IDCEC (Interior Design Continuing Education Council) to “promote lifelong learning and professional development”. They set rigorous criteria for accrediting continuing education courses.

Dayle has accreditation for 3 of her seminars:

Rugs 101"

Fabrics 101"

Joy of Contracts"

- How to make the experience ‘win-win’ for you & your clients

Here are their descriptions and what seminar attendees have said:

Making a Difference within our Control

Just when we think our individual actions may not really matter,

that no one notices or even cares what we think or do, much less listens to us, something happens that reaffirms our faith. I am talking about the environment and what we can do about it.

In recent weeks we’ve seen both the US and Canadian bills on climate change stalled in their respective political systems, we’ve seen our parliamentarians waffling about our environmental commitments, we’ve seen Canada’s international reputation tarnished, and we’ve read about the so-called ‘Climategate’ scandal where the credibility of research data on global warming trends was seriously undermined. We wonder whether all the conflicting stories and political rhetoric we hear are even worth bothering about since the experts don’t seem to be sure.

Yet I feel very heartened...