Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple [Hardcover]

Allan Berman (Author), Alan Berman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

Whether you're building a new house or upgrading the one you've already got, Your Naturally Healthy Home will help you create a home that is comfortable to live in as well as kind to your health and to the planet. With more than 200 lush color photographs for inspiration, you'll find all this and more in this essential handbook for the environmentally conscious homeowner:

Expert guidance from an architect who is actively involved in environmental design
Practical advice on how to choose materials, furnishings, and fixtures
Detailed charts that will help you evaluate the materials and products available and select what is best for your healthy home
Information on household appliances and their effect on your home environment
An extensive list of suppliers so that you'll know where to turn to investigate products or comparison-shop for ones you want for your home

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Also from Rodale, Alan Berman's Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple offers practical advice on making the home healthier and more ecologically sound. For homeowners building or substantially remodeling, Berman (Floor Magic) explores environmentally responsible design. Keeping in mind that some may seek smaller-scale changes, he addresses TVs, computers, microwaves, radiators and many other household fixtures. He also discusses fragrances, ventilation, radon, insulation and lighting, includes a list of chemicals to avoid and decodes current eco-labeling systems. Berman also reflects briefly on ways homeowners can reduce their consumption of natural resources e.g., water-saving toilets. Those wary of ecological asceticism will appreciate Berman's calm, realistic tone and concern for comfort and elegance. Photos not seen by PW. Aug. 8)

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As Berman states in his introduction, "Responsible design needs to take into account the issues involved in design choice personal circumstances, global and personal environmental health, transport issues, as well as ethical production." Berman reviews all these elements as they relate to home design, including how to improve the light and ventilation and control temperature and noise. Chapters on paint, fabrics, and floor coverings provide charts that evaluate the environmental impact of the materials. The resource directory lists energy-saving tips as well as contact information for various environmental organizations and for companies that make environmentally friendly products. An excellent resource for a neglected area in interior design.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Press; 1st France edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875969313
• ISBN-13: 978-0875969312
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,617,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Those Concerned with Health, February 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent. It is both a guide to bulding home, and at the same time a guide to the toxins in our home furnishing and ways to minimize our exposure. More and more people are concerned about the chemicals impregnated in the fabrics, woods, paints, and plastics we buy. For instance, many new carpets give off toxic fumes for the first month of installation. After reading that, I realized why I had a chronic sore throat right after we insalled our new carpet.

It gives alternative materials to look for when buying bedding, shelving, wood stains, and other products. It talks about electric fields and why we should not put our bed on a wall with a power-box on the other side. It also lists which plants are best to purify the air.

This is a must-have for people who are going to build their own home, and very helpful for people who are refurnishing their home or apartment. Many suggestions do seem centered on elaborate renovations, but even within those suggestions there is information about things such as wall-paints, furnature, and house-hold ventilation. Some of the ideas, like unbleached organic cotten towels are certianly more expensive than regular store-bought towels, but it is a trade off that you can make after reading the book and reviewing your budget.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Naturally Healthy Home, January 18, 2007

By 

Linda Taylor (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple (Hardcover)

I love this book. I love the information. I love the photos. After checking it out 30 times from the library, I knew I had to buy it.

This is not written in the Ed Begley Jr. School of Green Living. It talks about ways to adapt your home to the local style, economy and ecology; a gentle reminder to live where you are - buy locally, live locally and you'll do the planet some good too.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No suggestions for traditional-looking interiors, February 19, 2002

By 

H. B. Anderson (Natick, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple (Hardcover)

This is great if you're not worried about reselling your home or if you're in a market that supports a lot of the kind of things they show in this book, but it's short on practical suggestions for folks who want to incorporate healthy ideas into a regular-looking house.