Beyond the Nursery

This is the last week of our eco-friendly decoration discussions with Claudia Kalur, from A Room for Frances. As always, please feel free to ask questions using the comments field her or our Facebook page. 

Beyond the Nursery - Part VIII
Playrooms, Studies, Closets, Toddler and Teen Rooms and Beyond

So far we have been talking mostly about setting up your baby's first room - but creating a healthy room does not have to end there. In fact, most principles we have talked about apply to the rest of the house.
As we have seen, as you child grows, you can easily make his or her bedroom grow with them by adapting furniture and changing an element here and there. If you have a separate room as the play or study room, there are a few things you may want to do differently than a bedroom and there is other type of furniture that you will need.
In these rooms a must-have piece is a table. Many children furniture retailers have a table that has different sets of legs at different heights so you can change them as you child gets taller and keep on using the same top. This is a great idea - and if you are handy, you can also make your own by buying a table top and legs at Home Depot, Lowe's or any unfinished furniture shop. Alternatively, you can re-use a vintage table top (if made of wood, remember to sand it very well to avoid splinters). For teenager's rooms, any table can be a desk, as long as it is at the correct height.
Shelving is also fundamental in play/studyrooms. My favourite option is to re-use old or vintage bookcases but I also love designing shelving units that fit snug to a space or niche - for this you will need a handy friend or spouse. Remember to buy only FSC certified wood and waterbased paints.
Storage is fundamental in any house - and more true in a child's space. I have resigned to the fact that we have a child and the whole house is as much hers as is ours so we do not limit her toys to any specific area of the house. But we do have areas where the toys go at the end of the day. I prefer baskets but there are cloth cubes, or wire cubes, plastic and wood containers - the choices are endless. For playrooms, it is also fun to re-use cardboard boxes (same or different sizes) that can either stand alone or sit in a shelf. The cardboard can be painted or covered in a pretty wrapping paper, or fabric or wallpaper - and for more fun, make it a crafts project with your child!
To Sum up... Becoming an eco-conscious inhabitant of the planet takes some adjusting to the way we think and live. It is hard because we have been used to living large in a planet that seems so abundant in resources but it is now fundamental that we change the way we have been living because there are so many of us and we are using those resources at lighting speed. And if you stop to think - it is not about the planet, it is all about us, the survival of the human race. Climate change is just that, it has happened before, the planet will survive, as it always has - but all living beings, us, animals, the trees, will NOT. When we talk about being eco-friendly, it is honestly to guarantee the survival of living creatures, it is truly for the sake of future generations' existence.
But if you are reading this, you have taken the first step - you want to make that change. Remember the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. If you buy good quality items (or re-use something old or vintage or second hand), the longer things will last, the less you will need to use, the less you will need to throw away, which means that we will use fewer natural resources, which in turn will allows us to be here in this planet for longer. 

Click here to access last week's posting from Claudia.

Claudia Kalur is the founder of A Room for Frances, Nursery and Children's Room Design. She lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Steven (an architect who specializes in green building systems), their 18-month-old daughter, Margot, and their doggy, Bayou.

Creating a Healthy Nursery for your Baby (and the Planet!) - Part V

Continuing with our insightful discussions with Claudia Kalur, a European interior decorator and founder of a Room for Frances, this week we are talking about eco-friendly Furniture. Great tips and suggestions! You can ask questions using the comments field here or on our Facebook page

Furniture - Part V
There are three main pieces of furniture that are fundamental in a little one's room: a crib, a changing table and a chair; and the choices are endless, in price and in style.
The most important of the three is the crib - and before we get to the eco-friendly options, you need to know that you should purchase a crib that meets the federal guidelines of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). All new ones should meet and some even exceed the guidelines but when you "inherit" a crib, or purchase a second-hand one, you must pay special attention. These guidelines concern all safety related issues like the sturdiness of the frame and the width of the bars, so be sure to inspect it carefully before you use it.

So what is eco-friendly furniture? In short, it's furniture made from sustainable materials (from renewable resources, recycled materials, etc), free of harmful chemicals (such as certain wood preservatives and adhesives, lead paints, etc) and built in a resource-efficient way (for instance locally made furniture). The best choice is, of course, a piece made with a local hardwood, and by a local craftsman but often that is not possible or feasible. Luckily, today there are several options that are second best to that - just google "eco-friendly cribs"!
But there are a few things I would like to mention and that I think you should consider... The first one applies to EVERYTHING that claims to be green, sustainable, and eco-friendly and it turns out to be Made in China. Hardly green, considering the distance it had to travel and from a country that (in 2007) was responsible for almost 22% of the world's gas emissions, not to mention the destruction of their environment through water and land pollution. Yes, the USA was right behind it, with 19%, but quality control in the USA (as well as South-America and Europe) is much more reinforced and the distance traveled is a lot shorter (I am not even going to go into the humanitarian and political issues surrounding China!).
If your budget does not allow for a new sustainable crib, the alternative can be a second-hand crib, for instance. The advantage is, of course, that you are paying less than a brand-new piece, you are extending its life and, if it is not eco-friendly, it has already aired the VOCs for a while. Please be aware that you must (cannot emphasize this enough!) inspect the condition of the crib and make sure it is not more than a couple of years old.
As I have mentioned before, one of the best things you can do for the planet (and future generations) is to buy quality items, built to last, and extend their life as much as possible. This is particularly important when it comes to children because they grow so fast! If you choose carefully, all the furniture that you buy for the nursery can last for quite a while.
The crib - some adapt to toddler beds, and some even to double beds. Yes, I know, your child (or you) may not like the style anymore... but it can become a bed in a guest bedroom. The changing table - if it's a dresser, it will be useful for a lot longer. Better still, a vintage dresser can become a changing table and then a dresser again! The chair, even a rocker, especially if it's an armchair rocker, can remain in your teenager's room or be used somewhere else in the house.
If you can splurge on one thing, I would suggest the mattress - and I highly recommend choosing an organic one, like Naturepedic. However, if you cannot afford an organic mattress, please be sure to buy the mattress early on and let it air for as long as possible before the baby arrives and use an organic pad. A crib mattress can last you quite a few years if you move your baby from the crib to a toddler bed (they usually take the same size mattress), or if you have more than one child. If you always use a protecting pad, you will also be able to pass it on to someone else!

Click here to access last week's posting from Claudia, covering "Lighting" concepts.

Stay tuned for coming weeks when Claudia will be discussing more topics about eco-friendly children's rooms and nurseries.

Claudia Kalur is the founder of A Room for Frances, Nursery and Children's Room Design. She lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Steven (an architect who specializes in green building systems), their 18-month-old daughter, Margot, and their doggy, Bayou.

Creating a Healthy Nursery for your Baby (and the Planet!) - Part IV

Continuing with our insightful discussions with Claudia Kalur, a European interior decorator and founder of A Room for Frances, this week we are talking about eco-friendly Lighting. You can ask questions using the comments field here or on our Facebook page.

Lighting - Part IV

When deciding on lighting for the nursery (or any room, really), just think about the layout of your furniture and what tasks you will be performing where - this will tell you the kind of lighting (type of accent or ceiling) and how strong you will need it (task or ambiance lighting). However, when it comes to environmentally conscious lighting, whether you like using ceiling lights, or you're like me and prefer accent lighting - it is all about the bulbs!

While a few years ago, no matter how eco-conscious you wanted to be, the thought of using bright white fluorescent bulbs was enough to make you cringe, now there are endless options for softer or brighter lighting, less white or yellow, and in all sorts of tones that take your fancy. There are even bulbs that take only a few seconds to reach full power, instead of gradually, and now there are also dimming and 3-way switch fluorescent bulbs!

And seriously... there is no longer any excuse for anybody NOT to be using compact fluorescent light bulbs. Despite industry propaganda as to the modest mercury content of these bulbs, fluorescents are of modest risk even if broken but should be handled carefully none the less.  In fact, all sorts of fluorescents bulbs have been used for years (remember your school room?) and there was little industry concern of them until they became part of the greater trend towards energy conservation. Compared to incandescent bulbs, they now can emit a just as pretty light, they are dimmable (although these are more specialized and you may pay a bit more for a good dimming fluorescent), they are cheaper than ever, they last about 10 times longer, they save you 7 times as much energy (and money) and they produce about a 2000th of the carbon emissions. It's a no brainer!

As to what lighting goes where - I prefer accent lighting; it gives a cozier feeling, it is task oriented and you save energy by having smaller light bulbs on. We still have ceiling lights but I rarely use them. There are two table lamps in my daughter's nursery, each with a different wattage bulb, depending on the task that they perform: the one on the small table is for general lighting and ambiance, and has a warmer, yellower and weaker light; the lamp on the changing table is brighter and whiter (you want to be able to see what you're doing! To make it easier, if you can, have dedicated outlets for your accent lighting and place at least one switch by the entrance to the room. Another fundamental change is the use of dimmers - once you've used them, you will see how rarely you really need a full blast of light!
Lastly but not least - vintage lamps are a great way of being sustainable and they add so much character to any room (just make sure your wiring is new and safe!). Try also craigslist, fairs, eBay and estate sales in your area - you can find vintage, new or like news lamps and accessories for a much cheaper price and you are extending the life of these items - which the best thing you can do for your planet!

Click here to access last week's posting from Claudia, covering "Wall Treatment" concepts.

Stay tuned for coming weeks when Claudia will be discussing more topics about eco-friendly children's rooms and nurseries.

Claudia Kalur is the founder of A Room for Frances, Nursery and Children's Room Design. She lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Steven (an architect who specializes in green building systems), their 18-month-old daughter, Margot, and their doggy, Bayou.

Creating a Healthy Nursery for your Baby (and the Planet!)

We are very excited to introduce Claudia Kalur, a European interior decorator and founder of A Room for Frances. Claudia will be our guest writer for the next 8 Mondays, providing amazing suggestions and tips on designing eco-friendly nurseries and children's rooms.

Thinking Long Term - Part 1
As you await the arrival of your baby, you will (like I did, I am sure!), start day-dreaming about the nursery and how to decorate it! This will be the room where your baby and your family will be spending many, many hours for the next few years, so consider eco-friendly options that will make the nursery not just a safe but also a healthy environment. It is a lot easier than you may think!
Before I go into more detail on the aspects of sustainably decorating a room, however, let me suggest to you one of the "greenest" things you can do when thinking of creating a space for you child (or any space, really): think Long Term.
Even if you plan on moving to a new house or simply switching your child to a new room later, think of ways to arrange your prospective child's room in a way that will evolve with them as they grow.
A wall color can be changed easily - wallpaper not so much. A changing table will have later use if it is adaptable to a dresser. Some cribs can become toddler beds and even a twin size bed. An armchair with a classic fabric or a slipcover, where you rest while your baby sleeps, or where you feed him or cradle him to sleep, can be used later on somewhere else in the house, including in your future teenager’s room!
Good quality furniture can be expensive, so make sure you can give it use for a long time. It is important that we adjust our thinking away from rampant consumerism and the purchasing of goods that are destined for the landfill after short use.
Therefore, don't just look forward in time, look backwards too - vintage, hands-me-down, antique and sometimes just brand new furniture and decor that someone else did not need or use are truly one of the best ways to be eco-friendly.
In all the rooms that I design my primary concern is this: how can I make this space grow with this child while providing him or her with a healthy, safe and balanced environment? It is my intent with this series of articles to share with you how I try to answer that question.

Stay tuned for coming weeks when Claudia will be discussing sustainable flooring, lighting and walls for children's rooms and nurseries.

Claudia Kalur is the founder of A Room for Frances, Nursery and Children's Room Design. She lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Steven (an architect who specializes in green building systems), their 18-month-old daughter, Margot, and their doggy, Bayou.

Spanish Alphabet

One of the best things we can do to our kids is to introduce them to a second language, as early as possible. They will pick it up a lot faster! We've found a fun way to encourage that. Check out this 11x14 poster with Spanish words, made with 100% recycled paper and soy ink.
The gender neutral, nature themed images are perfect for any child's room.Very neat!
They also offer Spanish number wall cards.

Made by Art and Philanthropy, and Etsy store