JaseFrederickDesign

• What would it take to turn the space you have into the space you want and would actually use?
• What can you do with the furniture that’s not quite right for your home, but that you want or need to keep?
• How can you bring personal touches into your home if you don’t have a fortune on collectibles, art and accessories?

Join us for this free live presentation and get answers to these and other questions about creating a sustainable lifestyle without moving or adding a wing to your house.

We’ll talk about making your house function better and fit your family’s lifestyle more perfectly using the rooms and things you already own; and you’ll get tips for going forward on your own and resources for getting help when you need it. I look forward to seeing you there!

When: Thursday, February 28^th, at 7pm

Where: The Highland Park Community House / 1991 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL

RSVP: Wendy Horwitch at The Highland Park Community House wendy@hpcommhouse.org

I was recently a guest on the Mike Nowak Show (WCPT Chicago Progressive Talk Radio / AM820). Mike’s show generally focuses on gardening and other outdoor eco-related topics. On this day, in addition to his usual fare, we talked a bit about indoor life and what he dubbed Non-threatening Green Design. What this comes down to is doing what you can do when you can do it. Green design can be completely non-threatening if you approach as you would a large, barking dog – without showing fear. But seriously, if you educate yourself and don’t try to do everything all at once, you can green as you go – in your own time and on your own budget. Click on the CONTACT US link and email or call to schedule a complimentary green consultation.*

And here’s a link to the podcast of Mike’s show: http://www.mikenowak.net/podcasts/. Scroll down to July 22^nd to hear our conversation.

* Complimentary consultation available in the Chicago area.

Creative Transformations

Most problem rooms can be transformed and improved with a little creative re-working.

To illustrate, here are a couple of dramatic Befores and Afters . . .

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Happy Earth Day! Over time, we’ve all collected a lot of great and significant stuff. Maybe it’s hard to tell the clutter from the treasure, but there is treasure. The pieces we choose – and choose to keep – mean something to us, even if we’re not sure what to do with them. Designing sustainable interiors is as much about creating a feeling as it is about choosing what goes into them. When home feels like home – when we’re relaxed, creative, healthy – our environments are helping to sustaining us. Good design can include your favorite pieces used in a new way or in a new place.  The ancestral wicker chaise (far left) – filled with sentimental value – was revived and positioned ia a contemporary living room where it is used and appreciated every day. Near left, objects found at flea markets and thrift shops are arranged on a mantle – happy reminders of the wonderful hunt.

There’s a place for everything you love – you just need to find it.

The pursuit of Green (the buzzword was Ecology then) started in my teens. We worried about pollution and population growth and were as moved by litter as that now iconic Native American. We wrote songs and raised money and picked up trash (that’s me on the left). And, at least for awhile, we changed a small piece of our world. Eventually, for some, the magic waned and we became slightly less zealous and slightly more involved in growing up. But the awareness born in those kid years stuck and became a mostly unconscious day by day attempt at living more simply and non-intrusively. When I started my interior design career, I brought this awareness – equally unconsciously – to my projects and clients.

The bottom line is this: I have solid proof that sustainable interiors can be beautiful and functional. Great design can, on the very first try, yield lasting environments that perfectly fit the way that people live and work without sacrificing looks. Fabulous, timeless spaces that foster joy, creativity, relaxation, productivity and wellbeing  –  what could be more sustainable than that?