Don't want to use your A/C this summer? Urban Eco Chic author Oliver Heath offers up these no-sweat ideas to cool down your house.

• Close your curtains: Cover windows during the day with thick curtains to stop the suns heat soaking into the interior materials.

• Choose light-blocking blinds: Use black out blinds or silver backed blinds to reflect the suns rays back out from the window.
  
  
• Encourage a breeze: Allow cross ventilation

• Open skylights: If you have a skylight in the roof, open it to allow warm rising air out. This will be aided if you open a window or door lower down the building, allowing a chimney effect of warm air to be sucked out.

• Light colors: Use whiter, lighter surfaces for interior furnishings that won’t attract and soak up the heat from the sun as it pours through windows.
  
  
• Filter light: Venetian slatted blinds are a good way to filter light into a space without allowing in the suns rays – making them perfect for office spaces or those that are to be used in the daytime.

To keep your home cool this summer think outside the box - and outside your home.

• Install slatted screens: The best way to cool down your house from the outside is to stop the suns rays entering the building in the first place, as they transform from light energy to heat as they pass through glass. So use Brise Soleil (slatted screens) overhanging the window to stop the majority of the suns midday strength, from entering.
  
  
• Close your shutters: Stop the suns rays getting through the glass by using shutters fixed to the exterior of the building and keep them closed during the day.
  
  
• Plant trees: Use deciduous trees planted out side your home to cut down on sunlight penetration in the summer (when leaves are present and blocking it) but allow the suns warmth through in the winter when the leave s fall off.
  

• Grow vines: Do the same by using natural vegetation (such as climbing or trailing plants) grown over a pergola or similar structure, to cut down on summer sun but allow through warming winter rays.
  

• Upgrade to tinted glass: Use technologically advanced solar glass such as high performance tinted glass (which can be blue, grey or green in color) low-e reflective strip glass or reflective coatings to bounce the suns away from entering the building.

Urban Eco Chic author and green designer Oliver Heath traces his commitment to the environment back to childhood.

Growing up in Brighton (on the South Coast of England) meant that I spent a lot of time as a child at the beach, even though the sea is pretty cold over here. Seeing rubbish and pollution wash up on the shore was always upsetting for me and so stuck in my memory. As I grew up I became a fanatical sailor and windsurfer, and whilst at university studying architecture I spent my glorious summer vacations working as a windsurfing instructor in Brighton. I taught my students how to respect the sea, the weather, how to look after themselves and learn how to make the most of it all by windsurfing.

These important lessons combined with my studies of the built environment (all 6 years of them!) to create a fascination with architecture and design that works with the forces of nature rather than against it - trying to shut nature out.

As my career took on a media angle I felt it important to discuss the issues in design that were important to contemporary living – and in my mind this was to focus on sustainable design. Now more and more we are seeing the issue of sustainable architecture being brought to the fore and I felt it was important to show how interiors could reflect this shift- to do their bit to reduce our environmental foot print, through well considered design and behavioral change, without compromising on style – naturally! Now the many stands of my work focus on designing aspirational sustainability- to create spaces that are first and foremost, beautiful, functional and inherently green.

Urban Eco Chic: FSC-certified

What did it take to publish Urban Eco Chic on paper that was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council?

Step 1: Deciding on FSC-Certification
Urban Eco Chic will be published by Quadrille Publishing in September 2008. When the idea for the book came about, a lot of the people involved wanted to use FSC certified paper to underscore the environmental message of the book. Author and green designer Oliver Heath agreed.

Step 2: Choosing an FSC-accredited printer
We did a lot of research and found a printer who had the FSC credentials. Printers are awarded FSC badge by passing an audit. Once accreditation is obtained, further audits take place to check that the mill/printer is adhering to the guidelines.

Step 3: Determining the right paper
The paper a book is printed on is one of the most important aspects of turning a manuscript into a high-quality book. The printing company worked with us to choose the best paper for Urban Eco Chic, made from recycled materials. This special recycled paper carrying the FSC logo is not usually held in stock. We custom-ordered the paper, which is also more expensive than regular paper.

It takes a couple weeks longer for this paper to come in, so it takes longer to print a book on FSC certified paper, but it's well worth the wait to conserve trees and underscore the message of Urban Eco Chic with real action.

Urban Eco Chic home accessories: Eco-Vases

From page 158 of Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath:

There is a good variety of recycled glass vases available, from everyday cylindrical ones to adventurous pieces. But a glass vase does not need to be big to display its eco-credentials. Dutch designer Tord Boontje, with his partner Emma Woofenden, has created a beautiful set of vases made from cut and frosted wine bottles. Manufactured by a Guatemalan cooperative aimed at getting artisans off the street and back into work, they are part of the Design with Conscience Campaign.

Although not very big, they hold a simple stem or a few flowers.

(From Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath from Quadrille Publishing. Used with permission from the publisher).

Urban Eco Chic bedrooms: Vintage elements create an intimate environment

The use of vintage items in the bedroom imparts an individual identity onto the space— after all, it is your private area, so make it unique to you, with treasured items that you enjoy and that say something about who you are.

-Personal collections and objects displayed in your bedroom will reflect you and your experiences, allowing you to relax into a space that suits you perfectly.

-Vintage items can also add a romantic quality, allowing you to revel in a sense of nostalgia about your life or shared experiences with your partner, be they mementos of time spent together or pieces chosen in antique stores, markets, or on travels.

-Even in a bedroom, the softening effect of vintage pieces on the harder edges of a clean-cut contemporary space is useful. A worn leather armchair might be juxtaposed with a modern cabinet, for example, to set up an enticing visual contrast.

(From Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath from Quadrille Publishing. Used with permission from the publisher. Photo credit: House Beautiful magazine).

Urban Eco Chic home offices

How to set up an eco-friendly home office


A home office increases the pressure on your
personal space but also offers environmental
benefits. By using all that technology has to offer, you
can create a more efficient workspace— one
that uses less electricity and other resources,
such as paper. Here's how:

1. Turn off all appliances when you finish for
the day. In some cases, you may need to
unplug them; check the instruction manual or
your dealer

2. Make the most of communication
technologies, such as digital imaging;
conference calling, and broadband, in order to
reduce the need for travel and mailing items.

3. Use recycled paper in your printer;
print on both sides of paper (though you
may need a thicker grade of paper to do this).

4. Keep two wastebaskets—one for ordinary trash and one specifically for paper and
envelopes—this also makes paper easier to reuse, provided you do not crush it up.

5. Recycle your empty printer cartridges

6. Recycle obsolete items of I.T.— look online for charities that will take old computers and printers away for use in schools or developing countries or for local community groups, such as freecycle. org. If it is totally out of date, contact your local government, who can advise how best to dispose of any items without sending them to landfill.

(From Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath from Quadrille Publishing. Used with permission from the publisher. Photo credit: House Beautiful magazine).

Four steps to an eco-conscious bedroom

1. Cut down on energy use, in the form of heating and lighting

2. Minimize toxins in materials and finishes

3. Reduce the levels of dust, which can lead to asthmas and allergies.

4. Use organic, fair-trade fabrics for bed linens, thereby easing your eco-conscience for a really good night's sleep.

Key eco-questions to ask of every material and product:

Where has it come from?
Is it from a naturally renewable source?
Was it made in a nonpolluting, energy-efficient way?
Were the rights of the workers respected with good conditions, reasonable hours, and fair pay?
Will it travel vast distances to reach me?
Can I chose a locally made product instead?

How will I use it?
Will it be energy efficient, saving me money and saving the environment carbon emissions?
Is it built to last, or will it fall apart as soon as the guarantee ends?
Is it easy to maintain and fix?
Am I able to get spare parts easily?

Where will it go once I am done with it?
Can I pass it on to someone else to use after I have finished with it?
Can I recycle it easily?
Will it biodegrade?