Backyard chicken coops are becoming more and more common in our urban centers – and chicken owners are coming out of the woodwork to tell us they have found the perfect finishes for the structures that house their hens – Osmo Park Lane and Osmo One Coat Only!

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These finishes, available in a full range of colors, are engineered from natural oils and waxes. They go on easily, dry quickly, and once dry, are completely non-toxic – making it extra safe for the birds. The oils in the Osmo allow the material to penetrate into the wood grain and you end up with a  finish is breatheable and has flexibility to it, so it won’t crack, peel, blister or crack the way regular paint will over time.

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People love these Osmo finishes as a quick way to bring long term protection – and a splash of color – to their backyard coops (and fences, and railings, and wood trim, and the siding on houses, and interior woodwork… the list goes on!) 

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If you want some inspiration, or if you live in an apartment and can only dream of having your own backyard chickens, here is a fun chicken-cam! And here is another one!

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Thanks to Christine for sharing this photo of her OSMO coated Chicken Coop! (Scandinavian Red)

You can find some more great chicken coop tips at these websites!:

http://www.thegardencoop.com/
http://www.urbanchickens.net/
http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php#coopdesign
http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/city-chickens

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Congratulations to Rosa Parks Elementary  in San Francisco – one of three Grand Prize Winners of the CBS & EcoZone Green My School Contest!

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In total, 45 schools across the nation participated in the contest. Each participating school submitted a short standard submission form and a creative response exploring what being green means to them and why their school should receive a green makeover. The three winning schools are Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco; Everett M. Dirksen Middle School in Chicagoland; and Miami Northwestern High School in Miami. The winning schools recieved extensive green makeovers with the eco-remodel at Rosa Parks including a solar installation on the roof, a rainwater collection unit, and alternative interior wall coverings like American Clay.

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Our friends at Yolo Colorhouse Paint in Portland Oregon contributed Zero-VOC exterior paints to Rosa Parks Elementary School for the striking murals that now adorn the walls of the school and playground.  All YOLO Colorhouse coatings are completely free of carcinogens, formaldehyde, phthalates,  hazardous air pollutants and ozone depleting compounds. You can find Yolo Colorhouse online at www.yolocolorhouse.com.  Scroll down for more pictures of the new colorful murals at Rosa Parks Elementary!

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Poor indoor air quality can contribute to an array of health symptoms and developmental disorders such as headaches, respiratory disorders, ADHD, chemical sensitivities and more. The  objective of the Home Health Assessment program is to promote health (especially lung health) by increasing awareness of home environmental pollutants and encouraging people to take action to reduce exposure.

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Last week the ALAW used our Seattle showroom as a venue for a volunteer appreciation party. The accomplished mountaineer, and ALAW volunteer, Lou Whittaker addressed the crowd and expressed his gratitude for the support of all the volunteers at the event – from the teens that participate in the program Teens Against Tobacco Use to the people who collect pledges to participate in the Climb for Clean Air on Mt. Rainier.  ALAW Executive Director, Astrid Berg, gave each volunteer a token of appreciation – a red rose.

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If you would like to have your home assessed by a Master Home Environmentalist, please click here.

If you would like to go through the (free) 35-hour Master Home Environmentalist training program, please click here.  To complete the program, participants follow the training with 35 hours of community service over the course of a year – offering assessments of people’s homes.

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To learn more about the American Lung Association in Washington, please visit www.alaw.org.

Zem Joaquin at our San Francisco Grand Opening

The Grand Opening Celebration for our new San Francisco store is picking up steam! 

Our celebration kicked off last weekend with big events in our store and exhibiting at the Green Festival just two blocks away!  The glamorous eco-celebrity and founder of ecofabulous, Zem Joaquin, helped set the tone on Friday night. As she welcomed us to San Francisco, she shared a story about the positive effects of green building materials on the health of her family – her kids have gone five years without an asthma attack since she decided to go green in her own home.  You can see her tell this story herself – and give us a nice plug too – on Kelly Ripa’s first Green Idea Swap webcast (she comes on around 8 minutes in!) 

At the store our Grand Opening Specials continue and Yolo has extended their Spring Sale rebate to San Francisco Customers through May 2nd! Also, check out our schedule of workshops and events on our San Francisco Community Page. 

The community gathers at our Grand Opening

Ecohaus is proud to announce a new addition to our paint offerings! Safecoat Naturals plant-oil-based paint! Entirely sourced from natural earth based plant and mineral components, Safecoat Naturals products are the first truly practical architectural coatings incorporating plant-based chemistry.

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These new paints are truly a game-changer in the coatings industry.

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Completely petroleum-free, Safecoat Naturals paints are fully biodegradable, emit no toxins and contain no harmful solvents, preservatives, dryers or other irritants that can contribute to poor indoor air quality or endanger your health. Safecoat Naturals have all the benefits typical of latex paints (like soap and water cleanup) with the performance and durability of oil-based paints. Like oil-based paints, Safecoat Naturals paint flows out smoothly from the paint brush, and naturally flattens out once applied to the wall.

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Safecoat Naturals are available in unlimited color possibilities. Choose a color from one of our palettes, or bring in a color for us to custom match!

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Safecoat Naturals products are plant-based finishes that protect and beautify your environment safely, naturally and sustainably. Come in to our stores and check them out! Through February 7th, the trim is on us! Get a free quart of Safecoat Naturals with the purchase of a gallon or more!

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As the world moves toward a more sustainable future of resource and energy management, we are experiencing a fortuitous, simultaneous growth in awareness of issues about human health. Somehow, the sustainability movement and the push for healthy indoor air quality have always gone together. Perhaps it is the natural result of attentiveness to the material sources and ingredients that makes people notice the health effects of their choices. Or perhaps health and sustainability go together simply because eco-friendly building materials are hardly worth it if residents’ health and quality of life still suffers. Whatever the reason behind it however, it is good news for everyone that the importance of indoor air quality has been getting more attention lately.

From formaldehyde in the FEMA trailers and the off-gassing of PVC shower curtains, to the Sulfur compounds in certain drywalls, indoor air quality has been in the news more and more. Evidence is mounting that exposure to the chemicals commonly found in homes (in adhesives, finishes, paints, cleansers, synthetic carpets, vinyl flooring etc) can have serious, cumulative effects.  The American Lung Association of Washington reports that these chemicals (less than 5% of which have been officially tested for toxicity) can be linked to asthma, cancer, impaired child development, reproductive disorders and more!

At Ecohaus, we strive to find building and remodeling materials that are as low-toxic as they can be, and people report that they really experience a positive difference when they choose safe options. Benefits can include: painting a room without getting a headache, or being able to finish a floor without having to move out to avoid dangerous fumes.

Our carpets and rugs are free of polluting stain guards and flame retardants (natural wool doesn’t need them!) Our cabinets are free of added urea-formaldehyde. The resins and cements in our countertops have nothing harmful to off-gas. You don’t have to compromise your indoor air quality for lack choices – we’ve got materials for your whole job!

Now through January 3, we are celebrating the healthfulness of our products with special Healthy Home Combos! 

-  Take 10% off your purchase of tile with any countertop purchase!
-  Take 10% off select area rugs with any flooring purchase!
-  Get a free $1,000 Ecohaus gift card with cabinet purchases over $10,000!

For more information about indoor air quality, please visit the websites for the Washington Toxics Coalition, and the American Lung Assocation of Washington.

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Picture from 350.org's Day of Climate Action

Above is a picture from 350.org’s international climate action day that took place on October 24th, 2009. Across our blue planet, people took up the effort to convince world leaders that we should bring atmospheric carbon dioxide back down to 350 parts per million. This is the level at which, scientists say, life as we know it can continue to thrive.  For more information about this number, please visit Bill McKibben’s website, 350.org.

Now those world leaders are set to start meeting at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen next week to begin drafting an international plan that could set future limits on CO2 emissions and lay out strategies for reaching those limits. To be successful, they need to hear from us – the people that their decisions will affect. They need to hear that we are paying attention to what they’re deciding, and that we care.  There are at least two different petitions that you can sign to add your voice to the chorus: 350.org and Hopenhagen.org. These websites also provide updates on developments as they happen in the United States and around the world. Please join us in encouraging the UN to take strong action on this important issue.

To see more inspiring pictures from October 24th, please visit 350.org’s flickr stream.

Here at home, Ecohaus is trying to do our part – cutting our carbon footprint by providing local materials as much as possible, and by offsetting our carbon output by purchasing carbon credits in local forests through the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

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On November 19, 2009 the Ecohaus Portland store will be hosting NW Energy Star and Imagine Energy for an event around Energy Savings of all kinds!

The Live Better Northwest 2010 Prius will be there – which you can enter to win! All you have to do is pick up a game board at Ecohaus and then collect stickers at 3 local events where you can “Spot the Prius”. Finally turn in your gameboard for the drawing! For more information visit: www.livebetternorthwest.com

While you’re at the store  on November 19, you can also talk to our home-energy-auditor partners Imagine Energy. They can help you save money around your house by saving energy – and give you advice about how best to take advantage of the Federal Tax Credits!

Why, you ask? It’s simple: American Pride paint is such a fantastic product, we want the folks in Stumptown to give it a try! 

American Pride paint is completely ZERO VOC, and CARCINOGEN FREE! It has great coverage and exceptional durability (tests have shown it to have one of the highest scrubbability rates on the market!) And not only is it high quality and low toxic, it is also available in any color you fancy – choose from their palette or get a custom match. American Pride is available in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss.  This is one of our most popular products and we repeatedly get praise from our customers, many of whom say that they like it especially for it’s low odor.

VOCs vs Toxicity:

Because Zero-VOC paints are touted by green design and government experts, as well as retailers everywhere as the way-to-go, many people mistakenly believe that a paint or finish that is VOC free is also low in toxins.  That is why we specify that the paints at Ecohaus are free of both VOCs and known-carcinogens.

Volatile Organic Compounds are  counted and regulated because they generate SMOG. While some VOCs are considered hazardous, there are many VOCs that are not toxic to people at all. Likewise, there are toxins in paint that, because they are not technically VOCs (do not create SMOG,) do not get counted. Basically, a paint can be VOC-Free, but still contain toxic chemicals. At Ecohaus we look for products that are as safe as they can be while still maintaining a high level of performance. We are delighted to be able to offer paints, like American Pride, that hold up to our rigorous requirements for both safety and function. 

But don’t take our word for it! If you live in the Portland area, you can smell the difference yourself! Stop in to Ecohaus Portland with a print out of the coupon (click here) this Sunday for your free gallon of American Pride paint – your choice of color and sheen. (Please note: Be one of the first 100. Limited to one per household. Custom matches can take up to 24 hours. )

On Saturday, August 29, 2009 several hundred people gathered in front of our Seattle store to welcome HGTV’s David Bromstad, and to hear him talk about design.

As he answered questions from the audience and shared experiences he’s had working on Design Star and Color Splash, he painted one of his signature art pieces. At the end of the event, the piece was raffled off – and, through the raffle, we raised $1200 for Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County.

David recently became the spokesperson for the 0-VOC, toxin free paint line Mythic, and everyone who came to the event recieved free copies of his color cards. Though his special palette has many vibrant colors, he says that he is especially drawn toward the color gray. He says that  is suprisingly versatile and, depending on the shade, it can bring a real feeling of warmth to a room.

When asked about his other favorite eco-friendly products, David listed salvaged materials because of the history and stories that they bring to a space; and recycled glass countertops.

Here are some more pictures from the event. Please check back later! We hope to add video to this blog post soon.

David Bromstad paints a picture to be raffled for Habitat for Humanity