we're moving!
Our blog is moving to our new integrated website-
www.sesshudesign.com- check it out!
WE'VE MOVED- please visit http://www.sesshudesign.com/blog/ for the latest updates.
Our blog is moving to our new integrated website-
www.sesshudesign.com- check it out!
Posted by Tanya Shively at 5:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: eco-friendly interior design, funnies, green design, green services, local companies, luxury design, moving, scottsdale interior design, sustainable interior design
A mindfulness newsletter I subscribe to, The DailyOM, sent this today on the subject of designing your home and space. I thought it was very insightful and useful for anyone beginning the process of creating a personal space- even before they contact a designer.
Intuit Your Home’s Decor
Working with Space
Treat your home décor in a mindful way, honoring each room as they all come together like a symphony orchestra. When we decide the time has come to change the look or feel of our personal spaces, it is the spaces themselves that can provide us with the most useful guidance. Working with a single room, an apartment, or an entire house allows us to unearth the innate potential of these spaces and also better understand how we want to relate to them. To be conscious of the possibilities of a space, we need to listen to, look at, and bond with that space in a deep and personal way. Just as no two people are alike, no two rooms, however similar, are identical. The more we know about the spaces we wish to change, the better equipped we are to make them both beautiful and functional.
Read the entire article here
Posted by Tanya Shively at 1:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: DailyOM, eco-friendly interior design, home decoration
REPLACEMENT WINDOWS
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.
Hellloooo,...........So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.
Posted by Tanya Shively at 1:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: cost of green design, energy efficient design, funnies, scottsdale interior design, sustainable interior design
It is estimated that by the year 2016 as many as 36 states will be experiencing serious water issues. Of course, Arizona is a hot spot for efforts to reduce water usage. As with most areas, our water supply is fixed - there aren't any new sources available. So, we must learn to be more efficient with the water we do have. Only by conserving this limited resource will we be able to sustain population growth which has been a driving force behind our economy for quite some time. The focus for water conservation is sustainable water management - making the best use of what we have to serve the needs of the people who are already here, as well as new population growth for the future. The key to this effort is education and awareness.
In your home, the single biggest water use comes from flushing toilets. This is followed closely by your clothes washer, then shower and faucet use. A surprisingly large amount of water is wasted in leaks- over 13% of average residential use!
There are a number of easy, inexpensive ways to positively impact your personal water use:
Water your lawn less often
Take shorter showers
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
Run only full loads in the clothes and dishwasher
Install faucet aerators
Repair leaks
Replace older toilets with new 1.28 gpf HET or dual-flush toilets.
Posted by Tanya Shively at 1:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: eco-friendly interior design, green building products, green design, green living tips, LEED, scottsdale interior design, sustainable design, water heaters, water saving tips, WaterSense
Did you know you can save up to 11,000 gallons of water every year by switching to a new WaterSense approved toilet?
Kohler Co. announced that eight of it toilet models have been certified to carry the new EPA-designated WaterSense label, including the Escale model shown here. The new designation means these toilets use at least 20 percent less water than standard 1.6-gallon toilets while still meeting strict flushing performance guidelines.
Launched in 2006, WaterSense is an EPA-sponsored partnership program aimed at protecting our nation's future water supply by promoting water efficiency and encouraging design and use of water-efficient products, programs, and practices. WaterSense partners with manufacturers, retailers and distributors to bring WaterSense labeled products to the marketplace and make it easy for homeowners to purchase high-performing, water-efficient products. The WaterSense label applies to toilets, showerheads, and faucets.
I will be attending a seminar discussing WaterSense fixtures next week, and will share more water and money saving tips here. Stay tuned...
Posted by Tanya Shively at 3:13 PM 0 comments
Labels: eco-friendly design, eco-friendly interior design, green building products, green design, green living tips, LEED, sustainable design, sustainable interior design, water saving tips, WaterSense
A private residence great room created by Sesshu Design Associates uses the Tessera tile in Black in combination with other custom mosaics on the face of the bar to create instant impact and 'WOW' in the primary living space.
A favorite material I use as decorative borders inside showers, at vanities and in kitchen backsplashes is glass mosaic tile. Glass is so versatile, ranging from sleek contemporary to earthy and organic - especially when mixed with other natural stones. One line I use often and appreciate for its sustainable and recycled manufacturing process, as well as their community values, is Oceanside Glasstile in Carlsbad, California.
All Oceanside Glasstile is made primarily from silica sand, an abundant natural resource. Many colors (depending on the "recipe") also contain recycled content that may include pre-consumer, post-industrial, and/or post-consumer recycled bottle glass from curbside recycling programs. Pre-consumer materials are generated during the manufacturing process and typically consist of scrap and trimmings that were never used in the consumer market.
Because of its handcrafted nature and broad range of colors in both translucent and iridescent finishes, Oceanside Glasstile is an exceptionally beautiful building material—an ideal choice for creating unique, comforting living spaces that are conducive to health and productivity, all of which is part of green building.
Glass tile is a very strong building material that is impervious to water and resistant to problems from freeze/thaw cycles. This durability further adds to its sustainability.
Oceanside Glasstile allows custom blends in both the Tessera and Geologie lines, using any combination of their vast selection of stock colors and sizes. The possibilities are limitless meaning your home can truly be unique! All Oceanside Glasstile materials are designed to work together in colors that are consistent across all product lines. You can easily combine liners, decos, and trim from one line with mosaics or field tile from another. The entire Oceanside Glasstile product family integrates to allow unlimited possibilities. Each line embraces the glass medium in a different way. The cost to create your own unique blend is quite reasonable, and delivery times are excellent - typically less than 3 weeks from order to delivery.
Respect for the environment and respect for their employees are principles essential to Oceanside's company philosophy. They provide on-going education, community outreach and other programs for their employees.
Oceanside Glasstile is available through your builder or designer at over 400 locations across the country.
Update: An installation at one of our projects here in Scottsdale, this bar face utilizes a combination of Oceanside Glass Tessera tiles and a custom mosaic from another source.
Posted by Tanya Shively at 1:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: eco-friendly, eco-friendly interior design, glass, green building products, green design, home decoration, luxury design, recycled, resources, scottsdale interior design, sustainable interior design
I saw this over at Inhabitat.com, and loved it! I have long admired the handbags made from recycled seat belts, and definitely think this is a fantastic use in the furnishings industry. The webbed material is super strong, and comes in many colors. The possibilities allowed by weaving two or more colors together could be quite attractive.
Designed by Peter Danko, these pieces are stylish and sleek contemporary seating that could be used in many settings.
Posted by Tanya Shively at 1:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: eco-friendly interior design, furnishings, green design, home decoration, inhabitat.com, recycled, scottsdale interior design, sustainable design