Making a beautiful home a healthy home

By Barb Lunter

Is it possible to have a beautiful house that is an inherently healthy home as well?
North Shore wholistic designer Ami McKay says it is, and can be done on a realistic budget as well.

"Renovating does not always have to mean compromising your healthy living space to achieve the desired results," says McKay. "Today's homes can easily be renovated and healthy at the same time."

McKay's Hong Kong clients wished for their retirement Whistler home to be comfortable and as non-toxic as possible. For McKay, this challenge was met with ease.
"We decided to tear out the old carpets in all the bedrooms and replace them with 100 per cent wool carpeting with jute backing," she said.
The main floor area was replaced with reclaimed Douglas fir wide-floor plank and finished with a non-toxic stain.

To add colour to the walls, the whole house was repainted with 0 VOC safe-coat paints. These specialized paints have no volatile compounds which means absolutely no off-gassing.
The theme of the home was to be of an Eastern influence. McKay felt the comforts of the client's Hong Kong home could be incorporated into the Whistler retreat. With this in mind, a red Chinese cabinet was chosen to house the television, and a Japanese chest was placed in the entrance hall.

"My clients had a wonderful collection of Chinese folk art, so I decided to set it off with William Morris wool area rugs, a chaise lounge and a sofa," she said.
As an added touch, two bedrooms were transformed into traditional Japanese Tatami rooms. Another "touch of home" for the clients to enjoy.

So where does one find these wholistic choices?
"Non-toxic paints, flooring and carpeting choices are everywhere. It's simply a matter of requesting them when you do your renovating," she said.
Next time you decide to pull out that bedroom carpet, have a look at the non-toxic choices. Not only are they beautiful but healthy in the long run as well.