Press

Eco-friendly goods gathered under one roof

By Holly Hayes
Mercury News
Posted on Fri, Feb. 27, 2004

A few years ago, Bay Area interior designer Alicia Peche developed a sensitivity to the very materials that were the tools of her trade: paint, furniture finishing chemicals, synthetics of all sorts.

She started looking around for a source for green products for the home. And that's when she discovered -- in the immortal words of Kermit the Frog -- that it's not easy being green.

``The products were out there,'' she says of her research. "But they weren't available all in one place. I started a list of the things I found and started calling around and just hit walls everywhere. No distributors in our area, that sort of thing.''

So Peche and her significant other, commercial and residential painter Ryan Nestal, have partnered up to open Eco Design Resources, the first retail business in Northern California to offer one-stop shopping for those looking to green up their homes.

In a warehouse in a San Carlos industrial park, the business offers a range of eco-friendly products, including flooring, paints and stains, appliances, cabinets, furniture, cleaning products, tile and countertops. The space has been divided into "rooms'' -- an office, a living room, a child's bedroom, a kitchen -- where the products are showcased.

And -- surprise! -- environmentally friendly products can look luxe. The richness of bamboo flooring compares with the priciest hardwoods. Non-toxic, no-odor paints can be mixed in as many hues as at the big-box home improvement store. Tiles made of recycled glass and clay come in an array of colors and can be custom-glazed. And super-efficient European appliances, such as the stainless steel-clad refrigerator Equator ConServe, cost just $26 a year to run -- and look very stylish while saving on the energy bill.

"As a designer, I can't sacrifice quality or aesthetics when creating a room for a client,'' says Peche, who grew up in San Carlos. "At the same time, as a person deeply concerned about the planet and the health of the people who will be living in these rooms, I want to use products that are non-toxic to both the planet and people.''

Prices are competitive with non-green products, she says.

"It's not more expensive being green,'' says Peche, citing natural pre-finished cork flooring at $5 to $7 a square foot and bamboo at $4 to $5.

More eco-friendly products are being introduced all the time, Peche says.

"There has been huge interest,'' Peche says of her customers, a mix of homeowners, designers and architects.

This weekend, Eco Design Resources will join with Sustainable San Mateo County and RecycleWorks to present information on building and decorating the green way at the Peninsula Home and Garden Show, today through Sunday at the San Mateo Expo Center.
Eco Design Resources also is presenting workshops and classes on a variety of topics. For a schedule, check www.ecodesignresources.com or call (650) 369-5001.