Open book with green nature world coming out of its pages
  • Limestone can make your home’s walls stand out. By texturing the limestone, you will be able to accentuate the shadows, giving your wall a dramatic effect. This texturing will visually soften the hard material, giving your home an elegant, inviting look.
  • If you are looking to style up the shelves in your home, you can use a patinated aluminum material that features a spiderweb pattern. This will give your shelves a bold look, making it enjoyable every time you go to grab your socks or clothes. To vary the spider web patterns, the horizontal pieces can be flipped.
  • For a truly bold look, you can combine different materials together, such as round glass tiles, terrazzo and wood slats. The contrast can add a lot of intrigue.
  • Open-cell pavers. These are lattices of concrete. Grass is planted in the holes of the lattice. Multiple layers of clean stone go under the pavers in order to support vehicles.
  • Gravel. Gravel is often a good solution as well, though it requires a plastic underlay to maximize ground absorption.
Benefits of Zero-Carbon building
  • Since zero-carbon buildings are better insulated than their conventional counterparts, their occupants are better-shielded against changes in the price of energy.
  • Furthermore, operation becomes less expensive for occupants because zero-carbon buildings are so much more efficient. Over time, even small savings can build up into big sums.
  • Superior insulation results in even distribution of heat, which leads to a more comfortable environment.
  • Zero-carbon buildings are more in demand on the real estate market, meaning that their owners can resell them at a profit. Additionally, these buildings are becoming more and more popular as regulators move on the issue, meaning that their value is continuing to rise.
  • Although a skilled and experienced firm such as Trilogy can refit buildings for outstanding performance, it is more cost-efficient to build zero-carbon buildings from the ground up rather than refitting older buildings for the same results.
Mountain Home Style
  • Gable Roofs – Big and plain gable roofs allow homes to reflect a wide landscape of mountains and trees as well as provide shelter.
  • Stones – Stone plinths, a stone base and stone chimney secure the mountain home style design to its site despite the fact that the roof is supported on all the tree-like poles.
  • Metal Roofs – Choose a metal roof that looks akin to a tent, stretched taut over the simple pole structure. This gives your mountain home a more sophisticated look.
  • Large Glass Doors – Large stretches of glass keep your home interior bright and light while at the same time, confining your home’s best views.
Exposed beams bring nature indoors
  • Use natural wood beams and supports in your home without painting or staining them. The texture of natural wood can make a stunning addition to a modern home, especially when incorporating repeating horizontal lines.
  • Blend neutral colors into your design and look for décor that incorporates natural elements like untreated leather. These subtle pieces of décor can make your space feel refined and still full of nature.
  • Skip the window treatments, especially if you have a lot of windows or floor to ceiling glass. If you can’t skip the window treatments altogether for privacy reasons, choose a type that won’t take up a lot of visual space when they are drawn or pulled up. Letting nature in is the best way to incorporate it into your home.
  • Choose double-pane glass windows, which help keep heat inside in the winter and cold inside during the summer. If you have old windows, replacing them with new energy-efficient ones is the simplest step you can take towards a greener home.
  • Recycled denim insulation helps keep your home a comfortable temperature while also reducing waste that is sent to a landfill.
  • Keep solar reflectivity in mind when designing your roof. You will want to choose light colors and possible a special white membrane to keep the heat down in the hot summer months.
  • Instead of building an entirely new outdoor dining area, consider installing a rectangular roof with a glass inlay. This gives the feeling of being outside, but can be enjoyed year-round and requires fewer new materials.
ecofriendly building tips
  • Solar power will more widely used for residential and commercial buildings.
  • Energy efficient building materials will become more popular, as energy costs continue to rise.
  • Green buildings will become more and more “smart”. Computer-controlled buildings will let homeowners control their homes online, making being green more convenient.
  • Zero-net buildings will become more widespread and attractive to homeowners.
ecofriendly bathrooms
  • Concrete. This unlikely floor material is actually becoming widely popular in modern bathrooms. It can be made green with the use of recycled materials, such as glass, porcelain or ash. If you don’t love the look of traditional concrete, a slatted wood overlay can be used to warm it up.
  • Pebble Tile. Made from smooth stones, pebble tile gives your feet a gentle massage every time you step into the bath. Stone is eco-friendly because it requires very little manufacturing, and much less waste is generated than with linoleum or hardwood.
  • Recycled Glass Tile. Glass tile looks sophisticated in any bathroom, and it can be eco-friendly, too — as long as you choose tile that’s made from recycled glass. Brands vary from 30 to 97 percent recycled material. The color options are endless with glass tile, too.