Earth Friendly Interior Design:

By LAURA WITSENHAUSEN
Associate Editor

It’s important to protect the environment, but to Alison Pollack of Earth Friendly Interior Design, it’s both the inner environment and the outer environment that counts. As an interior designer, she is concerned both with the health of the planet, and the health and wellbeing of the people who are living in the house.
“Anything with chemicals in it, at room temperature, will put out gas in the room. I focus on creating a healthier environment and finding alternatives to products that would outgas in someone’s home,” said Pollack.
She achieves this by using special paints and finishes, fabrics such as hemp, dyes made from vegetables, and salvaged or sustainably grown wood.
Her work can be seen in the nursery room she designed for the Assistance League of Southern California’s Design House, September 30 to November 2, at 56 Fremont Place in Los Angeles. (See story, page 23).
Pollack grew up in the Valley, and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising where she studied interior design. A professor in one of her classes showed a film about actor Dennis Weaver’s home, which was made out of recycled materials such as tires and aluminum. “The recycled materials still have wonderful properties, it got me thinking about how I could help the environment and the people who live in it.”
Pollack sees her role as a “green” designer as two-fold, “to create beauty in the world and let the consumer know there are other choices out there. I wanted to do more than set a pretty table or make a pretty window.”
The environments she creates help reduce allergens in the air and reduce the use of chemicals in the home.
“We don’t recommend carpeting, it tends to trap dust and allergens and mold problems occur under the surface of the carpet.” Flooring materials of choice include reclaimed lumber, tile or stone, and area rugs which can be washed. For those who do want carpeting, Earth Friendly recommends wool carpeting. “Wool is moisture repellent and flame resistant. It’s expensive up front, but has the longest life span of any carpet,” Pollack says.
Pollack and her business partner like to come in and work on a project early, so they can apply their knowledge of “green” construction practices. Their clientele consists of high-profile clients and those who are environmentally sensitive.
Earth Friendly often makes their own custom furniture for clients, using sustainably harvested lumber. For example, in making a custom sofa, they would avoid spray adhesives or polyurethane foams. Instead they would use natural latex, organic cotton or wool for bating, and cotton barrier cloth to keep out dust mites.

Pollack explains that a lot of techniques they use are old-fashioned – they either don’t use finishes at all, or use wood finishes that are made of plant-based oils, natural waxes, soybeans and safflowers. Reclaimed lumber is used, which had been previously used on old barns and other projects. “It has a weathering that only time could give.”

This Fairy Tale Bed is from the Earth Friendly custom-designed Suite Baby furniture line.
It has an all-natural finish and materials with sustainably harvested lumber.

Paint is another area where alternatives are available. One alternative paint is called zero volatile organic compounds or zero VOC – it doesn’t contain solvents and formaldehydes, which are put in paint to preserve it and keep it in liquid form. “They’ll even put antifreeze in paints to give it a shelf life,” Pollack says. “With zero VOC, you don’t have a smell that you get in other paints. Almost all of the major paint companies produce it.”
Another type of paint Pollack uses is casein-based, made from a milk protein. “The Shakers have used it for 100 years,” Pollack says. “It’s long-lasting and durable. Natural waxes that contain plant oils also make a wonderful paint. Some of these do still have an odor, but are good once they dry.”
Earth Friendly specializes in containing areas so that homeowners can stay in the house while remodeling is being done. “We set up plastic, tape it off, divide the work and living space, setting up fans so dust won’t enter the living space, and set up runners to make sure the property is protected,” Pollack says. “I don’t allow liquid nails or epoxy. We give contractors the materials we are going to use – they don’t notice any difference except that they feel better.”
Although clients may not want to do everything in their home in a “green” fashion, Pollack encourages them to take baby steps toward the environmentally sound materials.
Earth Friendly Interior Design’s creations have appeared on HGTV three times. On “Designing for the Sexes”, Pollack designed a nursery room for Jennifer Shields-Perkins’ Simi Valley home.
“I wanted to make sure the room was free of toxins. If the baby’s gnawing on the side of the crib, or crawling on the floor, I don’t want to worry about anything making the baby sick,” Shields-Perkins says. She also had Pollack design a few other rooms in the house using zero VOC paint and wool rugs in several of the rooms. “I realized there were practical things that were part of the Earth Friendly mindset, that were easy and not terribly expensive.”
The wood floor and crib in the room are all made from sustainably harvested wood. “I think she’s a wonderful designer, she’s able to look at a room, and always see the possibilities,” Shields-Perkins says. “She’s able to listen to what you want and create your vision.”
“We want to make a nursery as allergen-free as possible,” Pollack says. “Do they need all these high-tech gadgets, or can they do with the bare minimum? We want to make a clean environment for baby to grow.”
Contact: (818) 888-6250.

This all-natural sofa is custom made by Earth Friendly Interior Design
with conventional natural fiber fabrics and sustainably harvested lumber.