The people are keen on purchasing green home or re modeling their existing homes into a green home. This trend has taken over the psyche of every modern person who has become aware of the danger of global warming and related natural resource loss. The common man is trying to do his bit by demanding green homes.

Though it is a noble cause and will be beneficial to everyone, yet the builders have not awakened to this call. The governments in many states have come out with incentives for the builders who build green homes.
There are some builders who have started venturing into green homes and individuals who are constructing their home are into green homes. There are many people who have remodeled their homes into green homes. The characteristics of green homes are:

• The houses should be energy savers.
• They should use bio-friendly non toxic material for building homes.
• One should try to safeguard the natural resources.

The green home building is the latest trend in the construction of homes. There are some basic variations in the green home building between Europe and US. In US, the people are little slower in adopting the green homes than in Europe. The people in Europe are more aware of the impending anger of energy crises and depletion of natural resources. The main cause of going green in Europe is saving money where in US it is the awareness that very soon energy resources would be over and it will not be easily available.

Even there are variations in the construction of green home building. The variations are found in the following parts:

Some use double wall panels and some use triple wall panel.

• Some use double wall panels and some use triple wall panel.

• Use of flooring material may be either bamboo or cork.

• There are some people who use total fiberglass in building where as some use combination of materials.

The main reason for green home building spring awareness is that apart from generating savings in your pocket, it also helps preserve natural resources.

If you have a traditional home and want to remodel it into green home, it is not a very hard task. You can do it by these simple tips:

Remove harmful material- If the home is constructed with asbestos etc that release toxins to the atmosphere, remove them at the onset.

Energy saving: Use fiber glass doors and panels so that electricity is not wasted and natural sunlight can be utilized.

Use instant geysers: Instead of using tank geysers to heat up water use instant geysers. Instant geysers don’t consume so much energy as tank heaters.

Use solar heater: install a solar heater for all your hot water requirement. It just requires initial installation cost, later it has no running cost.

Use cellulose or cotton fibers: instead of using concrete or granite slabs for countertops etc, use fibers for these shelves.

Flooring with bamboo: use cork or bamboo for the floors.

Use local plants in your garden: If you want to have a landscaped garden, don’t use exotic foreign plants. Use local plants which can grow in natural climate without requiring any extra water etc.

Green home construction has taken along stride since the last few years due to its advantages. These homes are earthquake resistant, light and easy to construct. There are few tips which are to be considered while the green home is constructed.
The site should never be under shade all the time. It is advisable to choose such a site which receives proper solar radiation.

Use wooden foundation which is square. It ought to be below the frost level.

Use fiberglass paneling as it is resistant to breaks and are sturdy. It also allows sunlight to enter the home without obstruction.

The paneling should be UV resistant and sealed properly so that moisture doesn’t enter the house.

If you are constructing a single-glazed green home, then use twin or triple wall panels.

Pay consideration to the casing of ventilation and fans. Seal them properly after installing so that that insulation is not disturbed.

Most of the houses leave out the space under the stairs without utilizing it. You can decorate the under the stair space and utilize it.

Make it a small alcove for telephone or a small office. You can keep a small work station with computer and can work from here.

Install shelves and decorate the place with curios.

This space can be used as a cozy retreat for you and your spouse. Put small seaters or recliners and install a music system

This can be used as a bar with bright lights.

The space under the stairs can become a comfortable reading area. Put a chair and an ottoman and proper reading lights and you can enjoy your favorite author’s latest book.

If you have small kids, this can be a perfect play area for them. Put a bright rug and decorate the space with your child’s favorite toys.

The French doors also known as French windows are the most used doors in apartments and new constructions. The choice of French door is instant because of few reasons:
It is cheaper: the French doors are any time cheaper than the traditional wooden doors. Moreover, when French doors are installed a lot of masonry work is reduced thus it is cost effective.

Looks elegant: a simple French door looks more elegant than other conventional doors. These don’t look clumsy and give a classy look to the house.

Energy saver: the sunlight can filter through these doors easily; there fore there is no need of using artificial light in the day time.

Doesn’t deplete natural resources: the French windows are mostly made of glass there fore it doesn’t deplete the trees or forests.

Give a bigger look: the French doors reduce the amount of brick and mortar thus the houses gives a bigger looks. In small apartments the French doors are a boom.

Green homes are the latest chip on the block. All the builders and the structural designers are planning on green homes which are energy efficient and will waste the minimum of resources.

There are mainly five principles of building green homes.

Sites: the sites of the green house should be such which are neither too hot nor too cold. The homes should have proximity to the public transport.

Size: the sizes of the homes must be small to medium so that too much of heating and cooling is not required
Solar: sun is the main source of energy. Whether one is using it directly for heating or cooling is not that important. What is important is that passive solar energy should be available.

Energy: use of renewable energy resources like sun, wind and water in home saves the non renewable energy resources. The green homes try to use the renewable sources of energy for heating, cooling and lightening.

Water conservation: water is the most precious resource and the green homes try to conserve that. Water recycling and rain water harvesting are the two major steps that are followed to conserve water.

To have a garden in an apartment of a big city is nothing more than a day dream. Living in a high rise building gives a genuine wish to have a small garden which can take you back to the good old childhood days of yours. You can fulfill your day dream by making a small garden out of your balcony. You need to discern a few things prior to starting a balcony garden.

Decide whether you want to transform the balcony into front garden or a kitchen garden. If you want as front garden, then plant flowers and if you wish to make it kitchen garden, then plant some vegetables.

• Check the climatic situation of the balcony that is how much sunlight or wind is received.

• Use containers and pots for growing the plants.

• Utilize wooden planter for perennial plants.

• Vertical gardening will also be successful if the space in balcony is less.

The iron doors are earlier put for the safety reasons. The lockers as well as homes were fortified by the iron doors. The traditional iron doors used to look drab and unsightly. There are people who spend many waking hours just pondering about what to do with a huge and heavy iron door.

But the trend has changed and there are variations in iron doors which have made them chic and smart. One of the variations is the wrought iron doors, the wrought iron doors and furniture are the talk of the town. These doors look good with any type of furniture. As they are of dark shade, they look blended with any type of home décor.

The doors made of cast iron can also be an option. These doors are crafted in a very modern method which not only increase their life but also give a security to the house.

The iron doors can be built with combination of glass. There may be beautiful lattice with iron rods and it can be supported with glass.