Green Goes Upscale

Green can be gorgeous. Environmentalism in the home is hip these days. Earth consciousness has gone upscale, in the form of decorative, sustainable products that appeal as much to our sense of beauty as to our sense of responsibility.

We asked author and green-building advocate Jennifer Roberts and a few interior designers for their suggestions of decorative elements that are both earth-friendly and elegant.

Glass tiles

Roberts uses ``exquisite'' and ``jewellike'' to describe the handcrafted glass tiles made by Oceanside Glasstile in Carlsbad.

The company uses discarded bottles, post-industrial recycled glass and silica sand to make the tiles, which contain up to 85 percent recycled content. The hand-cut pieces include metallics and translucent tiles, which have a shimmering, watery quality. The tiles come in both mosaic sheets and larger tiles and can be used for kitchen or bath counters, walls, floors and pools.

``I tell people, this isn't what green is all about. This is what beauty is all about,'' said Roberts, author of ``Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet'' and ``Redux: Designs that Reuse, Recycle, and Reveal.''

Bamboo flooring

Just a few years ago, bamboo seemed an exotic choice for flooring. Now it's going mainstream.

Bamboo flooring is made from strips of bamboo cane, glued together under heat and pressure to form planks that rival or exceed hardwoods in durability. Some bamboo flooring shows the bamboo nodes -- the rings that look like knuckles -- and has a tropical look, while other types look much like hardwood flooring.

Because the canes grow big enough for harvesting in five years or less, bamboo is a quickly renewable resource. Bamboo flooring is available prefinished, so you don't have to suffer through having the floor finished in your home, said Marcia Wolff, owner of the interior design firm Design Council in Akron, Ohio.

``It wouldn't look right in every setting,'' she said, ``but in the right place, it's gorgeous.''

Roberts cautioned that not all bamboo flooring is equal in quality, so buy from a reputable dealer and look for a long warranty. Many flooring retailers -- particularly those that sell better-quality products -- carry bamboo.

Cork flooring

Another flooring material that many designers love for its beauty and functionality is cork. Cork was popular in the first half of the 20th century, and it's recently come back into favor because of its environmental benefits and improvements in its looks.

Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree. If harvested properly, it can be stripped from a mature tree every nine years without harm.

One manufacturer that interior designer Alan Garren likes, Expanko Inc. of Parkesburg, Pa., uses both bark and cork waste in its flooring. The cork is ground, baked in molds and cut into slabs, then finished with wax or polyurethane.

Even the cork dust and tree trimmings are used in the manufacturing process as fuel.

Glass-chip counters

Chips of recycled glass embedded in a solid-surface material put a new, sparkly spin on kitchen and bath counter tops.

The material, which resembles a terrazzo floor, is strong and heat-resistant. One brand, IceStone, is made from 75 percent recycled materials; another, Vetrazzo, has an 80 percent recycled content.

Counter Production, which makes Vetrazzo, has an online showroom at www.counter production.com.

Natural fabrics

Interior designer Pamela Bayer is enamored with Indika, a brand of natural fabrics woven in Kalispell, Mont.

The fabrics are made from natural and organically grown materials such as silk, hemp and organic cotton, and are free of synthetic chemicals and dyes. Plant and vegetable dyes create variation in the color of the fabrics, giving it a richness, Bayer said.

The company uses the fabric in high-end bedding and towels and also makes fabrics for use in window treatments and upholstery.

Indika information is available at http://indikahome. com.