Homes that breathe

Low-energy houses help Austrians stop sending money up in smoke
Though closed up at night, the air is fresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevents mould in the bathroom



By Albert Otti

DEUTSCHE PRESS-AGENTUR, Vienna

Temperatures may be falling and energy prices are still high, but an increasing number of Austrians living in low-energy houses have little to worry about this winter.

Martin Mueller, 40, his wife Barbara, 35, and his children have been living in a so-called “passive house” in Perchtoldsorf, just outside Vienna, since 2003.

Unlike conventional buildings, such houses need hardly any heating and cooling, but draw energy from sunlight, the earth and the people dwelling within.

The house’s air duct system draws fresh air from the outside and heats it up a few degrees as it run down a pipe to the ground and then on into the cellar.

There, it flows through a heat exchanger and permeates every single room in the house through holes near the ceiling, ensuring a near – constant temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.

The heat stays inside thanks to triple-pane glass windows and wooden walls that have been insulated with cellulose.

Extra warmth is proved by people giving off body heat, by household activities such as cooking and by sunlight coming through big windows on the south side of the building.

Although many passive houses have no additional heating, Mueller decided to install a small heater that burns itself on for short periods during the cold winter nights.

The family’s heating and electricity bills have dropped to a mere €400 bond annually over the €960 they use to pay when they lived in an 80 square meter flat.

The first passive houses were built in the early 1990s in Germany, where more than 10,000 such residential buildings have since been constructed, according to the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany.
With 4,000 such buildings, Austria has the highest per capital rate of low-energy houses in the world and regional governments are subsidizing low – energy houses, making the switch increasingly popular.

Austria’s westernmost province, Vorarlberg, now only subside the construction of apartment buildings if they are low – energy. In Vienna, 24 per cent of new housing constructed in 2009 will have no oil or gas – burning heating.

But although the financial incentives are important, passive house owners such as the Mueller family say they also enjoy other benefits.

Even if windows are closed at night, the air is refresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevent mould in the bathroom.

Secret of a Florist

Making rooms bloom
if your home feels dull, dress it up with some of Cherie's sexy silk blommers

By Kupluthai Pingkanon
DAILY XPRESS

There are decor experts's best-kept secret. Faced with a dull room full of hard-edged furniture, flowers are the quickest to a soft and colourful atmosphere. But that atmosphere will wilt away in a few days with natural blooms. Luckily new technology had made silk flowers blossom, with relistic supple stems, leave and petals allowing you to create stylish arrangements that don't fade over time.

Get creative with Cherie
Cherie Lo, 36, sells both fresh and silk blooms at Flowers and Branches in Chatuchak market's JJ Mall and Amour de popularity in Siam Paragon. She says the popularity of silk petals decorations in homes is spreading to special occasions like graduation and wedding ceremonies.
"Today's silk flowers look very natural and they're durable and easy to maintain with an occasions dusting."
They also allow your creativity to bloom worry-free, as they can be bent, coiled and twisted again and again. "They don't break," the florist laughs. It mean that silk floral arrangements are often more inticate and contemporary than be real thing.
Lo has had her nose in flowers sine childhood: her father experted orchids from Singapore to Japan and her mother arranged the bouquets. She's happy to pass on her long experience with advise on how to decorate your place with silk flowers.

The Lo down
The first question to consider, she says is who that flowers are for. The next is where to put them: Do you want to brighten the bedroom, living room or dining room and how about the entrance and dark corners? You also need to get the right floral fit for your home's colours and atmosphere, Finaly there's the style and the type of flower arrangement you like.
"Bunching large blooms of one variety gives you a classic look, while a mix of small and big flowers creates something more modern. But place, say, two of Paradise stems in a large vase, and the result is practically an work.
Colouy-wise, orance and yellow petals create a fresh atmosphere while pink and purple offer gentleness. Deep-reds give strong contrasts and feeling to a room, and white goes with anything. For shape, European-style circula arrangements are popular right now. Tall forms are classic yet contemporary, and you can get a traditional feel with triangle, L and crescent-shaped designs."

The décor’s in the details

Redecorating your home is easy and needn’t cost the earth
By Vivien Leue
DAILY XPRESS

A few new cushions on the sofa, a wall covered with floral wallpaper and a redecorated dining table, it does not take much effort or expense to transform your home.
“You can do a lot with colours and fabrics,” says Sam Bohr of Die Wohnberater, a Berlin-based interior – decorating consultancy. “Anything that’s fresh is trendy now – such as in green and blue.”
Patterned wallpaper is also coming back into fashion. Whether playfully floral, in brightly coloured 1970s style or simply stripes of varying shades, new wallpaper on a single wall is sufficient to give an entire room a totally difference feel.
If papering is too much work or too great an alteration, you can paint.
“A red wall in kitchen is well stimulate the appetite,” says Bohr, “whereas soothing colours would be better in the bedroom.”
Sabine Schur, a decorating expert with the hobby – store chain Idee Creativmart in Pader – born, swears by large wall stencils.

“They enable you to paint flowers and patterns on the walls, perhaps even a golden Buddha.”
Smaller stencils, along with fabric paint, can be used to decorate pillow and tablecloths, which then become one - of - a - kind items that give room an individual touch.
Another popular way to decorate household object is via the “napkin technique,” in with thin, patterned napkin layers are applied to smooth surfaces with special glue.
Candles, whether on the balcony or living room table, bath rooms in the most varied of mood no matter what the season. A favourite type is the lantern a classic.
“Large or small glass cases can be filled with sand, seashells or pebble before the candle is place inside,” explains Ingrid Grimm, of the Stuttgart based Candle Quality Association. “Colourful flower petals are another possibility.”
Floating candles are also popular. “They’re especially pretty in an old cast – iron tub outside, surrounded by greenery,” Grimm says.
Even plain tea – light can float nowadays – in air filled glass holders. A tub with a half dozen tea – light can quickly turn a balcony into a summery sea of glitter.