Q&A
Green Grows
Interior Designer Penny Bonda answers our questions about the hot topic of Green Design.

With interior design experience spanning 27 years, Penny Bonda hasn't always had the luxury of working in an environmentally conscious community. But now green design is a hot topic and Bonda brings her expertise to an eager audience at this month’s Northwest Designers Expo 2007 at the Seattle Design Center (SeattleDesignCenter.com)

One of two keynote speakers for the two-day expo, Bonda will present "The Incredibly Growing Green Machine," March 14. She keeps up with current issues by writing a monthly column for Interior Design Magazine's "The Green Zone," and by working with design and architectural firms on commerical projects. Bonda is the founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council committee for LEED Commerical Interiors and the ASID Sustainable Design Council. She is the author of Creating Sustainable Interiors (NCIDQ monograph) and co-author (with Katie Sosnowchik) of Sustainable Commercial Interiors (John Wiley & Sons, $70).

SH&L: What is your message about green design?
Penny Bonda: The reality is that we have to change the way we do things in design. We cannot continue to use energy recklessly, or waste water and materials. We have to be much more careful about the indoor environmental quality that we create.

SH&L: If homeowners want to do a green remodel, where should they focus their efforts?
Bonda: Concentrate on reducing energy—the heating and cooling of rooms, lighting, insulation, electronics—that’s where I would start. Energy Star appliances are a no-brainer, and they have wonderful resources (energystar.gov) on products, new homes, solar energy and more.

SH&L: What kind of cost benefit can people expect by incorporating green design methods?
Bonda: Simple: You will use less energy; you will pay for less energy. Think about compact fluorescent lighting: It uses two-thirds less energy than regular bulbs and generates far less heat. People spend a lot of money cooling a room that is being heated by traditional light bulbs. You would probably save a couple hundred dollars a year—anyone can change a light bulb. Also, there are Federal tax credits for consumers of energy-efficient products.

SH&L: Is there a lot people don’t know about the green approach to design?
Bonda: I was really surprised when I heard that LCD lights—on a microwave oven clock for instance—use a lot of energy. In fact, the amount of energy that a microwave uses to keep its clock going is more than the homeowner uses to microwave the food. We can put a battery-powered clock on the wall if we want to see what time it is. How else are we using energy in ways that we don’t need to be?

SH&L: Do you have a favorite green line of furniture?
Bonda: Yes. It’s high-end and it’s called EL (Environmental Language) designed by Jill Salisbury. When she designs furniture, she thinks of every possible environmental impact and does everything possible to decrease it. Her furniture doesn’t use chemicals, so it’s safe and doesn’t cause allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to materials.

SH&L: Do any well-known furniture manufacturers offer green alternatives along with their traditional lines?
Bonda: Crate and Barrel is starting to pay a lot of attention to environmental issues—they are trying to get their suppliers to be more responsible.

SH&L: What do you see in the future for green design and its designers?
Bonda: It’s only going to get more visible, important and necessary for all designers to integrate it into their practices. People are becoming so aware you can hardly pick up a newspaper without seeing something about green design or energy use. Eventually, for designers it will not be an add-on, it will be what we do.