A Green Upholstery Fabrics seminar was presented by Dayle Laing to a packed audience of interior decorators and interior designers in the showroom of Brentwood Classics of Vaughan, Ontario on April 29, 2009.

Dayle delivered the straight answers about how to select the best choices for beautiful and sustainable upholstery fabrics, while focusing on Brentwood’s in-house collection. She answered why ‘green foam' is an advantage and whether you should you select natural or synthetic fibres to make upholstery choices sustainable.

The audience responded with excellent and thought-provoking questions resulting in a rousing dialogue. Dayle thanks Brentwood for inviting her to speak in their beautiful showroom.

Dayle delivered the seminar with enthusiasm, passion and charm!  Dayle made sure that all of my objectives were met in her presentation. Nothing but positive feedback from our clients was sent our way and we acquired new customers as a direct result of the seminar. Thanks again to Dayle for her advocacy on green products; her on-going research is a true benefit to our industry!”

Diana Sisto, Marketing Manager, Brentwood Classics  

Here is what seminar attendees had to say about the event:

Dayle Laing’s Rugs 101 was enthusiastically received by the interior design professionals who came out to learn straightforward unbiased information on environmentally friendly rugs.

Clients want to protect their valuable rug investments with advice that goes beyond the simplicity of "vacuum regularly". Dayle shared her 21 years experience practicing and teaching design and her passion & research of sustainability issues in her exciting Rugs 101 professional development seminar. 

Dayle thanked her hosts: Owner Michael Pourvakil, of Weavers Art, Director of Marketing Catherine Shea, and showroom Manager Ron Moradi for kindly supplying the venue and refreshments on this cold night of February 17, 2009 in Vaughan Ontario.

Some of the comments participants made:

Fabulous – like an entire college course in one evening! Dayle is clear, organized, and an ‘excellent presenter’. I appreciate the fact that she is committed to educating design professionals about the best green practices in a time effective and enjoyable way.”

MaryLynne Meschino, Toronto, ON

The information in today’s seminar will certainly help me to better serve my customers; particularly of interest was sustainable design. I am very impressed by your care and concern with regards to the environment.”

Susan Diver, Midland, ON

You love to pour over design magazines, product catalogues, trade showrooms, retail stores and do internet searches for the perfect product for your design idea.

You attend to all the details of purchase, supply and install. Sometimes you agonize whether you have found the best solution to the design challenge. If this sounds like you, you may be a perfectionist!

During the 19 years I taught interior design courses at college, I noticed that perfectionism seemed to be the most common characteristic amongst the students.  After all, it is attention to detail that makes us successful in our jobs.

In my opinion,

Dayle's 26 year old Kitchen

Time to select green interior design for my new kitchen countertop,

after 26 years my builder-supplied kitchen countertop was worn out, to say nothing of being very dated. I have designed many kitchens over the years and this was the first time I had the thrill of tackling my own! This was “finally -- about time” according to several of my more candid designer friends!

The surface of the plastic laminate counter was in remarkably good shape for a family that likes to cook, but the particle board underneath was disintegrating around the faucet and under the front edge. So, what would be the ‘coolest shade of green’ for my family’s requirements?

There are many considerations when going for green interior design. Lifestyle and practicality have to feature prominently because if the client is unhappy with the results, rapid replacement is even worse than not considering ‘green’ to start with! I really like the easy care and zero maintenance of the engineered quartz products and started to research which one to choose. I prefer the appearance of granite but rejected it on the basis of 40 – 50% waste of the stone from quarry to finished slab and the quantity of water needed to cut the slabs, and what happens to that water afterward. The worry about stains from red wine and the annual resealing also influenced my decision. What other factors should I consider?

You have a brick fireplace that has become dated and you want green interior design to solve the problem.

Although it is the focal point of the room, it dominates it and closes in the space. You have purchased a big screen TV, since high definition is soon to be the only option for television viewing. Drilling through the brick wall to hang the screen and hide the wires is difficult and impractical.

So, what should you do?

A while ago you installed a beautiful hardwood floor with a gorgeous environmentally friendly rug to anchor your well chosen furniture.

A few months have passed and suddenly you notice the wood floor next to the window has faded. You lift the rug back and your suspicions are confirmed!

What to do now?  Maybe this hasn’t happened to you yet.  Either way, refinishing the wood should be a last resort. It costs time, money, disruption, valuable energy resources, and unwanted dust in the home. Refinishing is to be avoided for as long as possible.

It is normal that...

 We are creatures of habit.

That can be a good thing when it gives stability to our lives. Do you ever feel you are in a rut with respect to your decorating? Do you enter a room and not really see it? Are you worried that if you focus, it will cost time and money?

First, look around your home for ‘silk’ flowers, plants or trees.  What kind of condition are they in? Are they dust collectors? Are they tired out? Do they simply ‘fill in the corners’ without really adding to the quality to the design?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then here is some advice:

Historically we have pitted ourselves against nature and talked of ‘conquering’ nature. Dr. Braungart discussed this concept in “Cradle to Cradle”.

We are nature and nature is us. There is no “away” to send our used products to. So take a deep breath, and enjoy and respect nature. I just returned from a week long interior canoe trip in Killarney Provincial Park. There is no pursuit that I know that relaxes one more quickly than a canoe trip.

You might well wonder what a world-famous German chemist and professor has to say about the sustainability of interior design products and the state of our environment. Is this more doom and gloom, or is this a refreshing message of hope?

Thankfully, it is the latter. Dayle had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Michael Braungart speak to designers about ‘Cradle to Cradle’ at IIDEX, (International Interior Design Exposition) held in Toronto, Sept. 2008 where his message was, “We see a world of abundance, not limits.”

Co-author of “Cradle to Cradle”, and co-founder of MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), Dr. Braungart regaled us with uplifting stories and amid some dire warnings. Most encouraging is his premise that simply going after zero growth, zero emissions and stopping all consumption is the most efficient, but not the most efficacious answer.  He cited the example of bringing flowers to your sweetheart not being efficient, but certainly it is effective!

Dr. Braungart said...

We are inundated with information about the environment, reducing our carbon footprint, about saving the planet, about what to do and what not to do.  How does one sort through all the conflicting advice? 

Here are 7 simple tips to help you select interior fabrics for your home that are beautiful and sustainable.

1. Determine your expectation for how long the fabric should last, based on your lifestyle and how many years you will live in your home.

2. Save the current, hot looks and colours for items that can easily be changed, like the accessories, the paint, or the wallpaper on the feature wall.  Select styles and colours that have enduring appeal for the big ticket items.  No one wants the inconvenience of a sofa out of fashion in 6 months regardless of the initial cost.

(For tips 3-7, click on 'Read more'.)