Eco chic: Going green with taste

This spring, it seems "green" has progressed from merely a colour to a mantra.

Vanity Fair magazine has a green issue on the stands, and so does House & Home. Green means good for the planet, good for your family and good for you. But can green mean great style? Apparently so. Eco-chic is the new term for going green with taste.

I admit I've been resistant. Beyond recycling and sorting my trash to satisfy the garbage police, converting to environmentally friendly soaps and cleaning products, and choosing paper bags over plastic at the checkout counter, I haven't done much to live green.

But the promise that we can change our ways, conserve energy and the precious resources of our planet, and still keep our style intact is compelling. Consumption without guilt sounds good too!

To get me started, Keir Brownstone, general manager at Green$aver, came to my house for an energy efficiency consultation that will be running in an upcoming episode of House & Home Television. In preparation, I closed the dampers on my chimneys, turned down the furnace and began to worry about the French doors and windows. Made decades ago by hand, with traditional wood frames and mullions, I feared they would be a problem.

To my surprise, the doors and windows were fine thanks to double-glazing and a good seal. If you take the time to renovate properly, you don't have to resort to new windows.

But I failed miserably with my lack of window coverings. Bare windows are in fashion now, especially if privacy is not an issue. If you have great frames and mouldings, bare windows painted in a strong neutral can make a crisp architectural statement against white walls.

Here is where fashion and function clash: Window coverings keep heat out in the summer, reducing cooling costs, and vice versa in the winter. I guess simple roller blinds in a semi-opaque acrylic would be a good compromise.

In the kitchen, Keir opened my dishwasher and saw three clean dishes. I was guilty of running the dishwasher with far less than a full load. Bad. And my fridge, which works perfectly well, is at least 12 years old. I understand now that when I replace it, I have to look for an Energy Star.

The recessed incandescent lighting in the ceiling was another issue. Fluorescent lights are the most energy-efficient, but in the ceiling? Not going to happen! Low voltage halogens were the next best option. That I can do.

It was the laundry room where I got the biggest surprise. Like many Canadians, I was brought up to believe that you keep your appliances until they stop working or you move. To buy a new washer just because the old one is not sleek and sexy seems wasteful and extravagant.

Not so, Keir explained. He said that the agitator in the old-style washers can be rough on clothes. The new energy-efficient front-loading washers and dryers help save your clothes, use less hydro and hot water and deliver much better results all around.

Last stop was the wine cellar. Kier questioned why mine, which has a huge pump and cooling fan, and is already underground, would not simply take advantage of the natural cooling properties of the earth in the manner of old root cellars and larders. Why did I need these energy hogs too? That's a great thought, but I'm sure that vintners will have strong opinions on the importance of a consistent temperature. I have to do the research, but I like the idea enough to pursue it.

If you're like me, and new at this, going green at home is like following Weight Watchers. The first step is to be conscious of your consumption, and then you learn all the ways you can alter your habits without sacrificing taste.

(prepare by Lynda Reeves for the Vancouver Sun)

Lynda Reeves is the host of House & Home with Lynda Reeves, Monday and Friday on the Global Television Network and Saturday on PRIME.