How Green the LeapFrog Staging?

This blog is in answer to Maureen's question about what we did to make the staging green to fit with the ultra-green LEED Platinum home. You can see the photos and full original blog of the LeapFrog House at:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/839213/As-GREEN-as-it-gets-541-SW-Maplecrest-Portland-OR-749K

We installed many accessories that embody the mission of greening:

• Sisal rugs purchased from Environmental Building Suppllies are made from a renewable resource
• Recycled glass items in the kitchen (Fire and Light Studios, purchased from Ten Thousand Villages)
• Many items are made from renewable resources i.e. the seagrass basketry
• Woven bamboo blinds were salvaged from our very own returned goods bin
• Tarahumara nesting baskets support indigenous cultural heritage and economic viability
• Benches for shoe removal by the front door to keep polluting particulates out of the house
• Compact fluorescent bulbs in our lamp
• Veneered wood items conserve forests though they may not sport any other green pedigree

Thanks to the realtor, the salvaged tropical hardwood dining table, benches and wooden chairs are from EcoPDX and we were able to utilize several of the seller's beautiful live plants plus a few items of their own vintage furniture.  

In the staging consultation, the seller wanted to know our take on the kind of doorbell to install given the home's LEED Platinum status,. He already had an un-installed old-fashioned hand-ring bell, and after a discussion of whether a lighted electric model would better support the asking price of $749K, we supported him in using the hand-ring bell. Not only will it be a memorable first impression that sets the tone for the LEED house, but no electricity will be needed to run it and there will be no carbon footprint in running out just for a new doorbell. Plus the material on the hand ring model is all metal, whereas a new bell would likely have polyvinyl chloride based parts which created dioxin in its manufacture.

So those are the things you can SEE in the staging, but I think the answer to your question should go a bit deeper, begging another question. How green is the business we run? At Key Elements our green commitment has been long in the making since I began a career in the early 90's working with green building products. In 2001 I stepped out of the non-profit environmental building world to create Key Elements Home Staging. So we are founded upon ideas that created our green company operating platform using frameworks like The Natural Step as a basis for our philosphies. So in all our consultations, we build upon that wealth of knowledge along with our Master Home Environmentalist training with the American Lung Association. Our company patronizes a wide range of places for purchases from IKEA (supports a number of sustainablility initiatives like forest certification as a corporate mission) to Eclectic Home.  So Key Elements has run a green warehouse and office since its beginning almost 8 years ago. We base our decisions on a lifecycle analysis of our impact on the planet, we buy local, conserve resources, recycle and buy recycled, and make efforts to reduce our carbon footprint when possible. At this time, the marketplace for sustainable design is demanding more products at affordable prices, so I really look forward to replenishing our retiring stock with greener and greener items in the casegoods and upholstered department, as well as making our back office and warehouse a greener world too.