Designer offers eco-friendly touch

Green.

If you think it's just a color, think again.

Today, it has become an ethos, a buzzword about environmental stewardship during an era plagued by climate change and computer models that crank out worst-case scenarios. 

The challenges of going green, however, may not be so easy to overlook.

In the Permian Basin, it seems the green revolution has yet to take hold - after all, it costs green to go green - but one local interior designer intends to show others how to do their part for the environment, one eco-friendly renovation at a time.  

During an upcoming interior design seminar that will include environmental design, Odessa interior designer J.D. Carter hopes to help his fellow eco-minded citizens learn a thing or two about making their homes' a little more earth-friendly through things like recycled carpet, energy-efficient windows or furniture made from farmed trees.

"A lot of it is invisible stuff, just knowing it's there and knowing what to do," he said. "I'm just aware of the fact that something has to give, and we're already seeing it give."

In 2008, Carter completed a green overhaul of a local branch office of Wachovia Securities. Included in the renovation were elements like dimmable fluorescent lighting, recycled carpeting, sun-shielding window tinting and tree-farmed furniture that also optimized the use of space.  

"I don't think it's apparent to anyone that this is a green design," Branch Manager Greg Eddings said. "It's rather discreet. I don't think our clients would think it's environmentally friendly when they walk in. The elements he incorporated were very subtle and don't impact in any way our visual appreciation or lack of appreciation for the facility."

When Eddings approached Carter about the remodeling, green design was not a priority. Carter was the "driving force" behind the eco-friendly additions.

"We certainly didn't have to make a sacrifice to do it that way," Eddings said.

As far as Eddings is concerned, the cost of going green was negligible. Now that the work is done and the building is more efficient, any energy savings are an added bonus.

The financial cost of sustainability varies widely, Carter said. Sometimes reducing a building's footprint means a complete makeover, but some situations require leaving some things untouched, which prevents the unnecessary consumption of additional supplies.

"There are not a lot of simple answers about it," he said. "It has to be done on a one-by-one basis."

Carter believes most environmentally sustainable designs can be included in a renovation without significant initial cost. The base expense usually ranges between 1 and 5 percent of the total cost. The added price, however, usually is recouped through energy savings down the line.

Eddings, however, couldn't attest to such savings at Wachovia. Not yet, anyway.

Any reductions in the office's utility bills, he said, probably won't become apparent the arrival of this summer's energy bills.

"They find out that when they use this environmental design, they're increasing their bottom line," Carter said. "They're saving energy. They're saving money and cutting costs."

This, however, doesn't mean that going green is always easy to do.

Ross Groening, design manager for Odessa's Leeco Homes, which builds houses that are Energy Star certified, said the company proudly builds energy-efficient homes, but doing so comes at a price.

For the company's homes - which are between 1,900 and 2,200 square feet - he said the price of earning an Energy Star sticker usually incurs costs upward of $3,000 per home. 

What's more, the company eats those losses because it's not feasible to pass that on to the customer, Groening said. Although they'll save enormous amounts on their utility bills, most homebuyers do not make energy efficiency a priority.
"We're saving money for the homeowner," he said, "but it's getting more expensive on our wallets."

Local Realtor Donna Edwards of The Anderson Team Realtors in Odessa, which sells Leeco homes, said there doesn't seem to be much of a local demand for green homes.

"Typically people like to spend money on what they can see," she said. "You don't really see those items, unless it's a funky design. Green design looks like any other design."

But, regardless of demand, saving energy is cost effective, she said, comparing it to shopping for printers because of their initial cost, not the recurring cost of their ink.

"The notion is great, and I love to do it," Groening said. "We'd all love to do it more. Until we get the cost down, it's really not feasible to go 100 percent green."

Carter attributes this mentality to a lack of education, which is one of his aims through sustainable interior design courses.

Although household and commercial technologies frequently cause pollution, Carter said, technology is also the solution. Once people begin embracing the various sustainable solutions, they will expand, become more cost-effective and ultimately more feasible. 

"There are all kinds of variables," he said. "You're not going to ram this down people's throats, because they're not going to go there. You have to educate. You have to address the mindset."

Carter believes sustainable design, base cost aside, appeals to those who care about preserving the environment, which essentially is the big picture. 

"Although it's probably necessary for the big picture," he said, "nobody seems to be interested in the big picture."

After all is said and done, Carter said, he's optimistic.

"I'm not a doomsayer," he said. "My perspective is that we need to do it for God. And we need to do it for other people."

WANT TO GO

>> What: ‘The Language of Design,' the six-hour first class of J.D. Carter's "Design for Life.'  It is a prerequisite for the remaining nine classes, one of which being the sustainable design course.

>> Day Classes: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 9; or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 11.

>> Evening Class: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 6, 7, 9.

>> Where: Hobby Lobby classroom, 4642 E. University Blvd.

>> Registration deadline: April 6. Space is limited.

>> Cost: $150.

>> To enroll: Call 967-2411.