We’re excited to share with you that Richmond now has its first green retail home-improvement store, EcoLogic!

EcoLogic is located at 1606 W. Main Street in the Uptown district of Richmond, and carries a variety of beautiful products available for making your home a better and healthier place. Among the products carried at EcoLogic are natural linoleum, salvaged hardwood flooring, cork flooring, soapstone and slate countertops, PaperStone countertops (yes, they’re made from paper), recycled glass tile, eco-friendly paints and earth plasters (our favorite, American Clay), and LED lighting.

At Dramatic Changes, we use AFM Safecoat products and American Clay, and we are thrilled that Fred and Stephanie have chosen to carry them in their store. These great products deserve all the attention they can get! For more information on EcoLogic, feel free to stop in their store for a tour, or you can visit their website here.

The Richmond Symphony Orchestra League will soon present its 13th Designer House. The beautiful home, Tara II, a distinctive white mansion, is located close to the Country Club of Virginia, and towers over its spacious front lawns and looks onto Cary Street.

There will be approximately sixteen design areas which will be transformed into individual showcases for some of Central Virginia’s most renowned and up and coming interior designers. Dramatic Changes is fortunate to have been brought in to paint several of these spaces, and we’re providing a few “before” pictures in this blog entry.

The Designer House will make its debut at an elegant Gala Opening Night Party on Friday, September 12 and open to the public September 15 through October 12.

For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit this link.

A little while back, we posted a picture of a bathroom that needed a bit of color help. The combination of salmon-pink tile and mint green appliances was a little much for the owner. She struggled to choose a color to balance them out. Here’s the update on the color that was chosen for the walls - Chocolate Brown! What do you think? Do you have any nightmare rooms in your house that need some color support? For more color consulting ideas, visit the Hue blog.

I received an email today from the James River Green Building Council that referenced a recent article published July 18th on Richmond.com. It talks about the practicality of making our homes “green”, and whether or not it really is cost-effective. Many of the people I talk to feel like making their homes eco-friendly is unaffordable. Additionally, much of what we hear on the news talks about what’s happening in other parts of the country. What’s happening here in Virginia? This article references several local professionals who are working to make green buildings a reality for homes and business spaces alike.

For resources and supplies for making your home a healthier place to live, consider a visit to EcoLogic, a green home supply store that’s slated to open in mid-August on Main Street in the City of Richmond.

I am a subscriber to a great color blog called Hue, and today I received the most recent post from author Rachel Perls who’s in the process of painting her new home in California. Her bathroom is a clash of two very distinct colors, mint green appliances and a peachy, rose-colored tile. She’s trying to figure out what color to paint it. What would you suggest? At one time or another, we’ve probably all been in her shoes!

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I get this question all the time. I was talking with a contractor earlier this week, and I told her that paints are one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways you can use healthier products in (or on) your home. In a market where people are becoming increasingly aware of green alternatives, we offer reassurance that painting doesn’t have to be a home improvement that breaks the bank.

There are over 10 different brands of low- and no-VOC paints and wall-coverings available here in Richmond. There are even more within an hour’s drive. Most people are surprised by this, and they’re even more surprised when I tell them that these paints not only rival the quality of traditional products, but they’re also cost-competitive. If you buy paint from a reputable local paint store, you’re probably looking to spend between $30-40 a gallon. To purchase an eco-friendly version, you’ll likely spend between $32 and $45 a gallon. This also means that our painting quotes reflect a reasonable materials cost for work within your home.

If you’re looking for healthier paints in Richmond, feel free to contact us. We can help you find the right product for your home improvement job.

I was recently introduced to an organization that brings issues related to sustainability and eco-friendly living called Back Porch Initiatives. As you’ll see on their site, Back Porch is a non-profit organization working with communities to cultivate local responses to the national and global issue of energy consumption. The Back Porch team is committed to collaborating with communities on existing resources, leveraging new ideas, and developing practical, economical and environmental solutions.

Back Porch has extended an invitation for us to present during one of their weekly community conversations on Monday, July 21st, 2008. We’ll be speaking about healthy paint options available here in Richmond, and will also likely discuss the local green-building resources. We will be at Globehopper Coffeehouse at 2100 E. Main Street in Richmond’s historic Church Hill. This event is free and open to the public.

If you aren’t free to attend this coming Monday’s conversation, please know that Back Porch holds these talks every Monday evening from 7-8 pm at Globehopper.

 

I recently came across a great website that helps people choose color palettes. It’s pretty comprehensive, and it seems to be the place to go if you love color. I perused their collection of popular palettes, and this one caught my eye. If you’re looking to repaint your home, consider visiting the COLOURlovers website for some ideas.

Farida Hughes - “Lasso”

Okay, I know we’re a painting company. What do art and food have to do with paint? Everything! Color…Beautiful decor…Inspired interiors! We hope these diversions from paint will offer some helpful ideas for beautifying your home.

Last Sunday I attended an art opening at Zed Cafe, a great restaurant located in Richmond’s Northside neighborhood. It was a real treat to munch on delicious locally-grown organic food as I enjoyed the sights of artist Farida Hughes modern paintings.

Owner Lisa Granger has been the proud owner of Zed and salon next door, Body Zen Soul since 2006. Both spaces are characterized by rich, earthy colors and a variety of nature-inspired elements. As you’ll read on their website, Zed brings a unique flavor to the area serving responsibly sourced meats and local products. It is the first restaurant of its kind in the Richmond area. CIA trained Executive Chef Bill Foster works directly with local farmers and cattleman to create his seasonally inspired menus.

Pick an evening and head over to Zed’s. I recommend Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, when they offer three course meals and half-priced bottles of wine.

It’s a buzz-word we’ve heard a lot in the paint world over the last few years. When I’m talking to customers, they often don’t understand what “VOC’s” mean, just that fewer of them is a good thing when it comes to paint. Simply put, VOC’s are gasses that contaminate the quality of the air inside your house. Among other things, it’s not uncommon for formaldehyde (you know, the stuff used to preserve our bodies after we die) to be present in the air following a paint job, and not just for a few days. There are plenty of other chemicals, and up to 50% of the toxic gasses and carcinogens from traditional paints leak into your home up to six years after it dries on your wall. You can often tell a traditional paint from one that has been produced without these same hazardous preservatives - It smells like chemicals, and most people want to get out of a freshly painted house as quickly as they can. The most noticeable side effects are those that are immediate, such as headaches or light-headedness.

Many manufacturers have chosen to remove these unnecessary chemicals from their paints, without sacrificing quality. When you use a paint that has ingredients proven to keep your air cleaner than traditional competitors, it’s a good thing. It’s important to note that not all low- or no-VOC paints are created equal. Be a smart consumer - When you hire a paint contractor, whether it’s Dramatic Changes or someone else, ask questions about the products they use. Request information, and look them up on the web. Most products nowadays will have frequently asked questions, contact email and phone numbers, as well as MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) posted online to make it easier for people to learn about the products available for their home.

To learn more about VOC’s and healthier paint alternatives, Consumer Reports has done their research on the subject, which can be found here: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/04/vocs-in-paint.html.