Interior Design Projects
Interior Designing gives me the perfect opportunity to help make our homes and work places a solid support to our bodies, minds and spirits. These interior spaces should enhance our work experiences and our busy lives, while helping us practice healthy, sustainable living. I strive to maximize every square foot, help us stay better organized, support our special needs, allow us to stay in our homes for as long as we chose, giving access to the outdoors - all while surrounding ourselves with aesthetic beauty.
My first official green project challenged all my new environmental research, not to mention trying to actually find green products. It garnered as much attention for its quiet, zen quality as for its new "green decor" label.
Casein paint was used as a base coat, and vegetable glazes used to make this lovely blue cloudy sky.
Marin Designer Showcase
San Rafael, CA
Armed with all the information I had gleaned from my research started in 1988, I created a "Sustainable and Healthy Foyer" in this Designer Showcase house. The project caught the attention of "House Beautiful" magazine, and many who visited, scratching their heads about this new thing called “green.”
Soft, natural fabrics - linen, silk and wool, are complimented by plenty of red accents, with a new fireplace surround of black granite with flexs of gold.
This custom foyer chair and mirror are made from sustainable wood with low toxic finishes, and wool fabric without surface treatments. All the custom carpets are wool.
Belmont Residence
S. San Francisco, CA
I was asked to design and outfit this new residence for a couple living outside the US. Designs, furnishings, window treatments, custom carpets, and all lighting and accessories were my responsibility so that the couple and their family could arrive to a beautiful, "move in ready" home.
This small area needed to allow for audio/video viewing, as well as a home office. Custom built-in seating with underneath storage maximized the space, and gave room for a large separate built-in desk.
The hand thrown sink and tile were custom made by a local potter. The low VOC paints used for the faux finishes include the frog "perched" on the edge of the tile.
Custom Furnishings
Mill Valley, CA
My work in this residence included the extensive renovation of the family room/office, and the master bedroom and bath. This was one of my earlier green projects, with lots of challenges finding green materials and products.
Health Magazine's
"Room Doctor"
Health Magazine asked me to be their "Room Doctor" for the two winning homes of their annual room makeover competition. I redesigned their 'problem' areas and used the greenest and healthiest material and products I could find. Here's the link to the article about the project in Health Magazine.
I’ve worked with this lovely family for over 20 years. Because the wife has chemical sensitivities, our primary goal is always to keep her healthy and safe while working together on lots of interior designing and renovations.
Purchasing unfinished furniture is often a good choice for controlling the toxins in the home. We ordered the kitchen table and chairs unfinished, then had a local refinisher apply safe and non-toxic paint and clear coats.
Ultra-Healthy Residence
Mill Valley, CA
I've work for years with this great chemically-sensitive client to find ways to meet her lovely aesthetics sense while keeping her healthy and safe. We’ve worked together on two homes: master bedrooms, nurseries, their daughters’ rooms, rehabbing a kitchen and custom designed a number of pieces of furniture.
We started this total interior renovation project by refinished all the wood floors, using a low toxic clear coat, and painting the entire house with Asheville’s own ‘Earth Paint.’ The greenest wool carpet was installed in all the bedrooms. Throughout, we added new hardware, cabinetry, solid wood closet systems, window treatments and new lighting.
The Family Room's sectional was custom made with green and healthy materials. It was constructed with an FSC certified maple frame, sustainable foam, wool batting, organic cotton barrier cloth and cotton/rayon fabric. The carpeting in this room is a 'Green Label Plus' green certified carpet.
Biltmore Park Residence Asheville, NC
This large ‘model home’ needed lots of architectural detailing, and aesthetic and design improvements. We added energy-efficient kitchen appliances, designed a custom 3-stage whole-house water filtration system, and created a luxurious master bedroom, bath and walk-in closet in that space above the garage.