A. I think that’s great that you decided to reuse that rack Nicole. I also know what you mean about wanting to warm it up. Those industrial racks can make a kitchen look a little cold and sterile if you’re not careful. So here’s what I would do to liven it up…

First, find a fun colorful fabric that suits your kitchen and dining room decor.  The most eco-friendly way to go is to use some scrap fabric you already have lying around the house, but if not, you can always find something interesting in a sustainable fabric from Near Sea Naturals, or have one of thousands of different patterns printed onto organic cotton for you at Spoonflower.  If the fabric you choose is thick enough, then you can just cut it to the size of your shelves and lay it on top.  If not, you can always get some thin cardboard to go underneath the fabric, preventing it from falling through the racks metal bars.  You could also skip the fabric, and use wrapping paper, wallpaper scraps, or kitschy old magazine ads to add some color instead.

Now, obviously this is not a very durable solution,… yet.  You need something that makes the shelves easy to clean, and is both sustainable and durable.  In other words, glass!  In this case, because of the heavy items you will be putting on top, I would recommend tempered glass, which isn’t as cheap or recyclable as standard glass, but is still a very sustainable material for the home.  Call your local custom glass shop (you’re looking for one that does things like table tops and the like), and ask them if they can work from a template, because you are likely going to need to give them something traced onto tissue paper so they know where to cut the notches for the rack’s side supports.   Some of these shops can get the glass cut for you in just a couple of days, so it’s almost like an instant makeover for your kitchen.  And the cost for custom glass is surprisingly low.

Good luck Nicole! Send us an “after” picture if you can, and we’ll add it to the post.

Are you a residential designer who can’t find a durable, eco-friendly fabric for a client’s family room sofa, that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg?  Are you designing a restaurant, and thinking of using LEDs, but concerned the color quality will make the food look weird?  Are you a homeowner looking for a way to keep the heat of the sun out, but still let the light in?  Well, we just might be able to help!  And if we can’t find the solution, we have a lot of experts at our fingertips who almost certainly can.

So send us your dilemma!  Contact us at info [at] theinteriorevolution [dot] com , and provide us with your name, email address and the issue you need help with, and we’ll see if we can use it for the Sustainable Design Dilemma!  And if we can’t, we’ll still see if we can steer you the right direction.

Hi Kathy,

I’ve run into this myself and it surprised me at first.  You would think that taking most, if not all, of the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) out of paint would render it close to odorless.  In fact, VOCs are only part of the picture when it comes to paint odor, and I plan to explain a lot of why that is in another, more detailed post.  For now though, just know that many times smelly doesn’t equal toxic, and the paint is still probably relatively safe for your health.

However, since you are particularly sensitive to odors, you are best off trying to stick to no VOC paints that are specifically designed to have a low odor as well.  There are several choices out there for you, including Mythic Paint and good old-fashioned  Milk Paint, both of which work very well.  For my own personal projects, I have always used Farrow & Ball, since the odor is very minimal, and the paint itself is gorgeous with a very high quality.

If you have a sustainable design dilemma of your own, please drop us a line at info [at] theinteriorevolution [dot] com We’ll do our best to answer it!

Are you a residential designer who can’t find a durable, eco-friendly fabric for a client’s family room sofa, that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg?  Are you designing a restaurant, and thinking of using LEDs, but concerned the color quality will make the food look weird?  Are you a homeowner looking for a way to keep the heat of the sun out, but still let the light in?  Well, we just might be able to help!  And if we can’t find the solution, we have a lot of experts at our fingertips who almost certainly can.

So send us your dilemma!  Contact us at info [at] theinteriorevolution [dot] com , and provide us with your name, email address and the issue you need help with, and we’ll see if we can use it for the Sustainable Design Dilemma!  And if we can’t, we’ll still see if we can steer you the right direction.