PASSION PAYS. Give your home a natural feel

A home is more than a roof over your head; it is a statement of who you are. The splash of colours, play of textures and cosy nooks don’t just reflect your taste but also your concern for the earth and your own health. Therefore, going natural or using renewable, naturally occurring and locally available materials, as opposed to industrial or man-made products, can give your home a unique feel.

“New home construction comes at a tremendous cost to the planet,” says Gaurav Yadav, Director and Founder of Uday Homz, a property consultant. That is why you should adopt natural materials, not just for their good looks but also in the interests of your health.

“The key is to look for materials that cause the least harm to the environment in their manufacturing process and later in your home while enhancing the indoor quality of air,” advises Chandrashekar Hariharan, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of BCIL ZED Homes, a Bangalore-based home-builder.

“Use of natural stone tiling is highly aesthetic,” says J Vishnu Shankar of Crorepathi Homes of Bangalore. Vitrified tiles, once a sought after choice, are now passé in high-end home flooring.

“Buyers are looking for natural stones and marble in the living area and prefer wooden flooring in their bedrooms,” says Arun Kumar, Managing Director and Founder, Casa Grande, a high-end builder. Stone and marble, unlike wood, work well for high-traffic areas of the house.

While wood may seem a natural choice for flooring, there are a few issues to consider before you opt for wood. For one, wooden furnishings and flooring can emit toxins such as formaldehyde for a long time. In general, wood gets damaged easily due to moisture seepage and water leakage.

“When the floor gets installed, the room temperature needs to meet specific standards set by the manufacturer,” notes T Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO of Akshaya, a Chennai-based home developer. The floor needs to be acclimatised before installation and you must ensure there are ‘vapour barriers’ installed to prevent moisture damage. Maintenance is also an important aspect. Wood should be swept or vacuumed often to avoid dullness due to dirt. You must avoid using water and cleaning fluids as they may damage the floor.

“Wood flooring behaves differently in different seasons; expansion and contraction can create gaps and make the surface uneven,” warns Kapil Agarwal, Founder and CEO of UrbanHomez.com , an online home improvement advisory. And if you go with laminated wooden flooring, you may find it more slippery than tiles or other flooring material. Unlike hardwood floors, you cannot refinish a worn-out or scratched laminated floor, and the only choice is to completely relay it.

One natural material that is gaining prominence is bamboo. It provides richness to the floor, is eco-friendly, and may have a few beneficial health effects.

“Bamboo flooring is made from natural vegetation and this grass is a highly renewable resource,” explains Hariharan. Bamboo can be harvested quite easily within a three- to five-year time-span, compared to hardwood trees that take over 20 years to be replanted and reach maturity. It is also easy to lay bamboo flooring using interlocking mechanisms. Because of the low weight of the flooring, the overall weight of the building is also reduced, saving materials such as cement and steel. He notes that bamboo floors are “therapeutic”; as the temperature of the floors is close to our body temperature, it can prevent rheumatic problems such as arthritis.

Also, unlike other wood, bamboo does not promote dust, which reduces dust mites in the home — a big relief for those prone to allergies.

The material is ideal for flooring as it is durable and does not take much maintenance. Regular sweeping or vacuuming with an occasional damp mop is all it takes for upkeep.

High-end buyers are also opting for natural materials to add colour to their homes. Traditional wall paints tend to contain a cocktail of chemicals — plasticisers, adhesives, hardeners, pigments, biocides, drying accelerators and solvents — most of which can be quite toxic.

Paint manufacturers have introduced low volatile organic background (VOC) paint or ‘green’ paint. Many builders, especially those who offer ‘green’ buildings, use such paints.

But you can go one step further. “Natural paints have only natural elements in the ingredient list — water, plant oils, resins, plant dyes and other essential oils,” points out Yadav. You can identify them by the fact that they don’t smell like oil-based paints.

Natural material choices include casein paints, made primarily from milk proteins, lime and non-toxic pigments. This may be the most eco-friendly paint available, but it has a few drawbacks. “The paint is not nearly as durable as modern coatings and colour choices are limited. Casein paints are usually supplied in powder form and should be mixed with water immediately before application,” says Kumar.

But painting may not be the only way to give a finish to the interior and exterior walls — you can also use timber, stone, bamboo and coir.

Construction material such as clay and certain types of bricks are energy-saving, and can be stylish too. One example is the use of fly-ash bricks, made from thermal plant-waste material. This is not natural material, but can be an eco-friendly alternative to traditional bricks.

Another is the use of clay tiles on the roof to reduce absorption and conduction of heat to floors beneath.

Clay can make durable plasters that do not contain toxic ingredients. “Clay creates a breathable finish material with a natural capacity to regulate moisture and temperature in the surrounding air,” notes Agarwal.

It absorbs excess moisture, keeping the internal environment comfortable in summer, while its high thermal mass creates a battery heat (or cooling) storage that helps maintain constant air temperature. The material is found naturally in a variety of colours and clay plasters can be pigmented with mineral-based pigments in every colour range.

Rock also lends itself to a variety of interesting uses in homes. Rock walls have good thermal mass, which means they absorb the outside temperature, hold it in and radiate it through the home. This makes them a good choice for walls and flooring. “Natural stones, like limestone, are proven to be the best material for heat reduction in the house,” says Kumar.

And rather than ship marble from Italy, using locally available materials helps reduce one’s ecological footprint by minimising transportation.

“Home builders also consider the use of local skill-sets so that local heritage and regional architecture are retained,” says Hariharan. Locally available rocks can be mortared with earthen plasters such as sand, clay or lime. Rock structures are extremely durable but very labour-intensive, caution builders.

And what about the side of the house you present to the world? The home’s façade improves its aesthetics and controls the elements such as air, temperature, water, and light.

The glass and steel structures that are widely used in ‘commercial complexes’ are not a good choice. The use of glass and steel can reflect light and heat. Using natural material for a good external finish is an alternative. You can consider rammed earth walls, filler slabs and sun-dried bricks, says Chitty Babu.