An Eco-Makeover

Location: Chrisite & St. Clair Ave W, Toronto

Size: 700 SF

Design/Builder: soma earth ARCHITECT

Completed 2009

This house was originally a rented rooming house for 20 years, it was in poor shape but had good ‘bones’.  The floors were resanded, all walls and trim painted, the washroom and kitchen completely remodeled and the house was very carefully staged enabling the client to obtain over $50,000 more with the sale of the house than 3 agent quotes expected.

The client had a very minimal budget so the following selections were made with this in mind;

• Natural, ‘O’ VOC Paints
• Water based stains and clear coat floor finishes
• Wool or cotton carpets & natural wood floors
• HEPA Furnace Air Filter & Natural Salt Ionizing Lamp Air Purifier
• Chlorine Filter for shower
• Solid wood or wicker furniture, pure cotton Futon mattresses
• Pure cotton sheets, curtains, pillowcases, wool blankets, throws, feather duvet
• CFL light bulbs in basement & hallways
• Beeswax or soy candles
• Birch veneer IKEA Cabinets and Solid wood butcher block countertop
• Energy saving appliances
• Eye Designs (Designed by Ingrid Cryns), recycled alum. curtain finials & cabinet knobs

“The cabinets and the countertops were chosen for their low toxicity. The IKEA cabinets are attractive, reasonably priced and meet the stringent European standard for off-gassing of formaldehyde, the adhesive used in most engineered wood. “