Virtually - House resources

I’m getting back to basics this month. No theme, no educational content – nothing more than some interesting local sites that may be of use to anyone with an interest in houses, interiors and design.
That is, you.

The Building Research Association of New Zealand site is jammed full of handy stuff. BRANZ has devised a Green Home rating scheme that is the country’s only independent method of assessing and certifying the environmental performance of new home designs. A checklist system operates as a rating tool, examining a wide range of issues including energy use, sustainability of materials and water economy. The site also has a wall-cladding life cycle analysis tool that takes into account installation and maintenance costs as well as environmental impact. If your home is already built, there is a useful guide to home maintenance and a handy planning schedule. 

If your home isn’t even on the drawing board,the New Zealand Institute of Architects (comprising about eighty-five per cent of NZ-registered architects) wants to help you choose an architect. To that end, it has created this searchable gallery of local architects and their work. Excellent idea. There is also a handy section on working with an architect, including information on contract documents. If you think you can do a better job yourself, Plan 3D has a site for you. It is US-based and will cost you US$35 a month, but it will allow you to design your own floor plans three-dimensionally.

For interiors, try Design My Room, it's easier than designing the whole damn house and your first project is free. View a lovely range of affordable European curtain and upholstery fabrics at Fabric House; you can purchase online (I would take them up on the offer of posting through a swatch first though). Beautiful New Zealand-designed furniture, objets d’art, textiles, homewares and jewellery can be viewed and bought at Essenze. A stack of funky NZ wool made-to-order rugs is on offer from Kirkle Design. They also do a selection of funky silk ties. I don’t get the connection, but I did buy a tie.

Winner of this month’s niche product award is Pollen for its range of retro-styled hanging epiphytic plant holders. A close second is Zozo Living, which has on offer oversized vinyl wall decals of trees, pop flowers, large polka dots and the like. Cute and well priced too. I know they are well priced because E-Glue is a French site selling a similar concept in euros. These are also cute and they will ship, but you will pay.

I’ve been freaking out about new carpet for a while. Too many spilt glasses of red wine, slopped espressos, lidless felt-tips and Mummy-I-feel-sick moments have left their mark. But what do I want? Tuft or loop? Rubber waffle or foam underlay? Not to mention colour and texture. Dark-coloured flooring may hide the stains but it needs constant vacuuming.

I tried out the virtual designer on Feltex Carpets but, sadly, none of the rooms in my life looked like the tasteful, neutral-coloured rooms on show. The Wools of New Zealand site, provided good background advice but didn’t really get me any further ahead. I hate to admit it – I’m going to have to log off and go to the store.