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What's In This Newsletter

Wise Product Choices To Combat The "Stuff" That Happens

Product Focus - Building Green's Top Products For 2008

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Wise Product Choices To Combat The "Stuff" That Happens

Having been educated as an engineer, there's a practical side of me that lurks in the background, always ready to be the wet blanket when it comes to making fun or spontaneous decisions. But if I might be allowed to indulge this gremlin-like side of me for this article, I'll show you how it can (and in my view should) play a role in choosing the right products during a home upgrade.

When it comes to home improvements, the focus naturally falls on the "improvement" side of things. Let's face it. We're doing this to make our home better, more functional, nicer looking, whatever the case may be.

The products we choose, for the most part, are a blend of useful purpose and pleasing aesthetics. But the way in which products achieve that blend varies with the materials and methods used to make them, or, in how they need to be maintained (there's that practical side of me again). In basic terms, some products are made with a heavier emphasis on looks than on function or longevity and how they perform depends on how they're used.

So where am I going with this? Well, living in a household of five people has shown me that "stuff happens" and the products in our house bear the brunt of that stuff. How those products hold up is a function of how well they're designed and built (a reflection of our choices) and how we maintain them.

Here are some cases in point --

Stuff Happens Example 1 - We live in a northern climate, in a house with no mudroom. Our wood floors are constantly subject to snowy boots that sometimes go unnoticed by patrolling parents until they're found sitting in a pool of water. Good for the wood floor? Not really, but hopefully the finish isn't worn too bad and the seams are tight. How about a laminate floor? Don't want to let that water seep into those seams. Geez, really didn't think of that when we were mesmerized by those Brazilian Cherry floor samples.

Stuff Happens Example 2 - My kids are at the stage where they consume mass quantities of food -- ice cream, peanut butter and other things that require utensils (no comments about where the parents are in all this please). After these gorging sessions, it seems that it's become somewhat of a sport for the boys to "toss" their used utensils into the sink. Well thankfully, we have an older sink that's holding up remarkably well despite the bombardment. Do you think that's going to change once we buy our new gleaming white fireclay apron front sink? Until their frontal cortex becomes fully mature in about 6 years, I don't think so. Might want to find out how to fix those chips in the sink now.

Stuff Happens Example 3 - Children, especially young children, sometimes have accidents. The potty-training variety. So it was no surprise when my youngest just couldn't wait and marked his territory on the bedroom carpet. Can't blame little Junior of course but what about the potential for a stain? Get it up quickly and don't think you can rely on those carpet stain warranties. Did you know that many carpet warranties don't cover staining due to the types of accidents just discussed? Time to have a hard talk with Junior.

The point of all this is not to tell you what a klutzy family we have but to point out that 'stuff happens'. I see it every day as we live our lives in this great but slightly worn home of ours.

Those beautiful countertops and delicate blown-glass vessel sinks look wonderful in the magazines and showrooms. But nobody lives there.

In my role as publisher of HomeStyleChoices.com I see new products introduced each day. Bright, shiny new objects and materials that look great. But there's that part of me that has to stop and wonder, "how will that hold up over time?"

Nothing lasts forever and all things need some care and maintenance. Just remember that when it comes time to upgrade your home, let that little practical voice get a word or two in. It doesn't mean things have to be dull and boring. Just choose wisely, in line with your expectations and how you live, so that you'll get long term service and satisfaction from the products you choose. Because inevitably, "stuff happens".

Product Focus - Building Green's Top Products for 2008

Building Green LLC publishes the website BuildingGreen.com along with several other green-building publications. Their editors recently picked the top green products for 2008.

Here are 5 of these products:

Integrity Block
Integrity Block is a more earth-friendly alternative to those cement-based blocks, also known as concrete masonry units, used to make retaining walls and other landscape structures. The Integrity Block is actually compacted earth made from a proprietary soil mix that includes 60% pre-consumer material recycled from mining and quarrying by-products.
www.integrityblock.com

Natura Paint
Made by Benjamin Moore, Natura is a zero-voc (volatile organic compound) paint that's healthier for you and the environment. It takes advantage of a proprietary acrylic resin that meets various green performance standards. In addition Natura uses zero-VOC colorants, unlike other low-voc paints, some of which still use colorants that have high VOCs.
www.benjaminmoore.com

PlybooPure Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring can be considered 'green' by virtue of its high renewability and sustainability. But bamboo flooring still needs adhesives to bind the strips of material together to make floor planks. Smith & Fong, makers of the Plyboo bamboo product line, developed PlybooPure flooring. It's made with a low-emitting, non-formaldehyde binder. In addition, it carries the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification, meaning it meets established environmental standards relative to sourcing and resource management.
www.plyboo.com

Emerald Safe 'N Sound Interior Doors
The Emerald Safe 'N Sound door line from Masonite is made from a bunch of 'green' materials starting with the solid core that's made from wheat straw particle board. Wheat straw is a by-product of he agriculture industry. The outside layers are made with composite wood and the framework (known as the rails and stiles) is made from FSC certified wood. Better yet, the door contains no urea-formaldehyde.
www.masonite.com

Matrix Total Home System Furnace & Water Heater
Made by NTI, the Matrix (no relation to the movie) essentially combines a condensing furnace, condensing water heater and a condensing boiler and heat recovery ventilator in one system. According to NTI the Matrix reduces gas consumption up to 30% compared to conventional units. Having several appliances in one reduces the need for separate units that each require their own power to operate.
www.ntimatrix.com

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Here's what's new at the website:

The Latest Blog Entries
(You can see them here at the Home Design Blog page)

"Save Money and Energy Too, Thanks to Uncle Sam"
Notification of what the U.S. economic stimulus bill means to you relative to home products and tax breaks.

"A Little Help Choosing Bathroom Faucets"
This blog post introduces a new page to the website that sorts through how to choose a bathroom faucet.

"A Faster Basement Finishing Alternative"
Announces the new article that reviews the Owens Corning basement finishing system among others.

"Five Simple Steps To Save More Energy"
Introduces the new article on 5 simple ways to save energy which helps you save money too.

"More Info On The Stimulus Act & Home Improvements"
More detail and resources regarding the economic recovery act.

"Pull Out Cabinet Shelves"
Just an announcement of an update to the article on pull-out shelving. The company that was once called "ShelfConversions" is now "ShelfGenie".

New Web Pages and Articles
Choosing Bathroom Faucets

Owens Corning Basement Finishing System Article

Five Easy Ways To Save Energy

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HomeStyleChoices.com

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