It's been a long time since this happened: we picked up a mainstream design publication and there's nothing green in it. No one's put down bamboo floors, used low-VOC paints, or made any other nod to going green. In fact, all three homes profiled in the Spring Home Design issue were either total renovations or new construction.
We're not quite sure what to make of this. There's a green aesthetic in all of the pieces: in architect Craig Steely's house, large windows create a good connection between indoor and outdoor, and there's the requisite rich-toned wood floor.
Architect Richard Beard's "Modern Edwardian" replaced a smaller house and has the remixed 60's/20's aesthetic we've come to associate with green building, like this Panton table with Le Corbusier chairs.
And the loft home of restaurateur Christopher Losa has the green aesthetic, too, with polished concrete floors, and an expansive vertical grain (read: old growth) Douglas Fir cabinet.
We'd like to think this is a sign that green has become so mainstream that it's no longer news. But instead, what we see is evidence that green has been decoupled from its revolutionary meeting and turned into a style. What do you see?
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
The fact that the "green" aesthetic has potentially become decoupled from actual green practices is a little off-putting. It'd be interesting to think about/find out whether or not the "green" aesthetic also inherently promotes green practices (even if it's sans fully green practices?)
view muffinman's profile