Poll: Mandatory energy audits

Well, the results are in, and the majority of Yourhomers aren't fans of mandatory energy audits.

Last week's poll looked at the Green Energy Act proposal requiring energy audits with home sales. As I've blogged previously, I'd like to know about the energy efficiency of a property before purchasing — but I don't know if it should be mandatory or the seller's responsibility.

It would appear that Yourhome readers, or at least those who vote, are more decided on the matter, with a whopping 71 per cent saying that energy audits should not be a mandatory part of selling a home. Just over a quarter, at 26 per cent, said mandatory audits were a good idea and the remaining three per cent said they didn't know.

This week, our poll stays on the green trend, asking whether you're planning any green renovations or upgrades within the next year.

Inspired by the dramatic eco-friendly renovations profiled today, I want to know your plans! Are you upgrading your bathroom with low-flow fixtures? Improving your insulation? Upgrading your on-the-way out fridge with a more efficient model? Or even changing up your palette with some low- or no-VOC paint? Let me know.

Cast your vote on the front page and check in for the results next Saturday!

And, once you've checked out those fab reno jobs, I encourage you to peruse our new navigation here on Yourhome, read up on Colin and Justin's gloomy to glam living room makeover and get behind the bricks with the Libfeld brothers.

Is jade hotter than mimosa?

Pantone, the U.S. colour authority, has chosen sunny yellow mimosa as the hottest hue for 2009, spanning the worlds of fashion and home decor.

That said, I don't know if I'd paint a whole wall in that shade — maybe in a kitchen — but the accessories are pretty fab. This optimistic colour is supposed to help lift our moods during these trying economic times.

Meanwhile, CIL Paints has chosen a more earthy hue for Canadian walls: jade green — as shown in the brand's Opal Silk, right — is its choice for 2009's favourite shade.

Why green? CIL says it's intended to help soothe and energize Canadians, as well as reflect a return to nature in light of the ever-growing eco-friendly movement. The brand also says that jade “promotes an atmosphere of healing and optimism.”

CIL recommends pairing jade and tea green, which are expected to be picked up as both main and accent tones, with organic shades such as muted aquas and taupes, warm hues like plum and pink, and saturated shades like coral, grapefruit and kiwi. 

When I redecorate this spring, I think I may opt for jade accents for my bedroom and office, and sunny mimosa for the kitchen and living spaces!

What's your choice for 2009's hottest hue? How do you plan to incorporate it into your home decor?

Excavate a wine cellar

While racks and mini fridges are perfectly acceptable, and often stylish, ways to store your wine, wouldn't a wine cellar be infinitely cooler? Especially if it had a trap door?

Obviously, for most house hunters, a wine cellar doesn't make the "gotta have it" list. But what if you could add one into an existing home?

That's where Spiral Cellars comes in. This company, which is currently expanding throughout the U.S. and Canada, excavates a spot for a prefab concrete wine cellar, with handy trap door access.

The cellar relies on the surrounding earth for insulation, and a built-in air flow system means it doesn't need any electricity to maintain the temperature.

Their wine cellars can store up to 1,600 bottles.

Found via CasaSugar

Pretty, tasty water

You're certainly not going to confuse Aquaovo's Ovopur with your standard water cooler.

I first encountered the egg shaped filtration unit at the Interior Design Show. While I did get a sample sip, I didn't have much of an opportunity to learn more about it.

Luckily, I ran into the folks from the Montreal-based Aquaovo again at the National  Home Show, and this time we had a chance to chat.

Aquaovo is the brainchild of Noemie and Manuel Desrochers, and the Ovopur is their eco-friendly solution to provide quality drinking water from the tap, with the aim of making bulky, unattractive water coolers, and bottled water, obsolete.

The porcelain, metal and glass unit also aims to encourage people to further incorporate water into their lifestyle, through a design that they hope people won't want to hide in a dark corner of the kitchen.

The unit's also supposed to be very user friendly — basically just fill it with tap water, let it trickle through the Aquacristal filter (which is also reusable — you can return the used cartridges for a rebate), pour and drink.

This eco-friendly filtration system's not cheap— the unit costs $689 and filters run about $59, and must be replaced three times a year.

But, over time, the company says the savings will add up. In the first year, they estimate the price per litre at $0.40 compared to $0.41 for bottled water (based on consumption of 2,000 litres a year). In the following years, the price per litre drops to $0.07, with refills at $159, while bottled water is estimated at $0.31 per litre.

What do you think? Is the design and green cred worth the investment? Would this encourage you to drink more water?

IKEA goes solar

"Spring is coming. Spring is coming. Really," has been my mantra during the last few gloomy days. And, to fuel this attempt at optimism, I've been eying new decor for my deck, starting with the fab outdoor furniture I featured last week.

Today, I'm shopping outdoor lighting. And I'm happy to have come across SOLIG, a new line of solar-powered lights from IKEA. I'm particularly taken with the paper lantern style model, shown right, which is $9.99 a pop and comes in several colours.

The lights come with a solar cell panel and have an auto mode, which turns on automatically at dusk and off when it grows lighter. They also have an on-off switch.

With a fully charged battery, the light is supposed to last for about 11 hours.

The lights aren't available in their online store, but I'll be keeping an eye out for them next time I make the trek to the good old yellow and blue!

Have you spotted any great outdoor decor for spring?

Poll: Housing and tax harmonization

The majority of Yourhomers say housing should be exempt from tax harmonization, an issue explored last week in Stephen Dupuis' column.

Dupuis wrote that harmonization would hit home buyers hard, estimating that the tax impact would be an additional $17,920 on a $350,000 home or condo.

And Yourhomers agreed. A whopping 82 per cent of the voters in last week's poll said that housing should be exempt if the province moves forward with the idea of harmonizing the sales tax. 

Just under a fifth, at 18 per cent, voted against an exemption for housing and, for the first time in Yourhome poll history, there were no votes cast in the "I don't know category."

This week, our poll takes a look at mandatory energy audits for home sales. Under the proposed new Green Energy Act, Ontarians won't be able to sell their homes or condos without first getting an energy audit, which costs roughly $300.

As I blogged last week, as a prospective buyer, I'd prefer to have a picture of my energy costs and know what work would need to be done to cut my bills before making an offer on a property. But critics argue the audits are just a thinly disguised new tax.

Read more on this topic in Home sellers face $300 'green' audit and Green audits have critics seeing red, then share your thoughts and cast your vote on the front page. I'll let you know the results next weekend!

And, for some lighter Saturday fare, check out Colin and Justin's transformation of a 1980s-themed bedroom into a peaceful retreat and the stunning Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation's prize home.

Gorgeous glass

Perhaps the idea that it could hit 16 degrees in Toronto today is making me a wee bit stir crazy.

Or maybe I've just been watching too many episodes of Mad Men (Mr. Speedy and I are currently enjoying season two, so no spoilers!), but either way, I haven't been able to get these decanters by Joe Cariati, shared earlier today by Arren Williams, out of my mind.

I dream about placing a collection of them on a classy silver tray in the corner of my living room or on a lovely bar in the kitchen. Even taking one outdoors for a sip of scotch on the patio.

I wouldn't even need to fill them, their mere presence would add that missing bit of 60s ad man glamour to my life.

Throw in some classy frocks a la Joan Holloway and my vision would be complete.

The decanters are available in a variety of stunning colours and shapes, you can view the full spring 2009 collection on Cariati's website.

Spring is coming, really!

Visiting the National Home Show last weekend had me dreaming of redecorating both home and kitchen, but also of gardens, spring and sipping mimosas on the patio.

As previously mentioned, the Toronto Star's Dream Gardens were truly stunning, but there was also a plethora of BBQs, gardening wares and patio furniture on display.

Trend forecasters predict that, as part of the whole anchoring trend, people will be making more of their outdoor space this year and using the home renovation tax credit to add decks, patios or landscape their backyards.

So, with the hope that warmer temperatures are truly on the way, I want to share some of the unique outdoor furniture from Icon Home Design, which has an office on King Street West.

Their products are marketed as "the finest collections of luxury outdoor furnishings to help you create the perfect combinations of style and function", all in durable and weather-resistant materials.

Without a backyard, I can't speak to how they'll fare in a rainstorm, but I can say that they are stunning.

I love the canopy on the loveseat, shown above, which you can open and close to respond to the position of the sun or to help protect your pastier friends (like yours truly) from those harsh rays.

The table and chair set, shown right, also caught my eye. I love the modern lines and round shape!

It seems perfect for an evening of drinks with friends — just pop the sangria pitcher on the cute little table and relax!

It's a buyer's market: RBC

Home prices are sliding and the interest rate has been cut again. Two in three Canadians (sixty-five per cent) say all signs are pointing to a buyer's market, according to a new RBC survey.

And, apparently, people are ready to take advantage of it. More than a quarter of respondents, 27 per cent, said they intend to buy a home over the next two years. That's actually up from 23 per cent in 2008. Out of these prospective buyers, three in 10 say their decision was driven by the drop in prices.

In Ontario, the rate is even higher, with 73 per cent saying it's currently a buyer's market and 30 per cent planning to buy, up from 21 per cent in 2008. Thirty-two per cent of those planning to buy said they were influenced by lower home prices.

Almost half of Canadians (48 per cent) and more than half of Ontarians (54 per cent) said it makes sense to buy a home now versus waiting until next year.

The upsurge is driven by the under-35 set, as 48 per cent of the respondents in that age group said they plan to buy, up from 36 per cent in '08.

And, people believe prices will continue to drop. Fifty-four per cent of Canadians believe housing prices will be lower in 2009, up from 31 per cent in 2008. Fourteen per cent of Canadians believe their home has lost value in the last two years.

And, despite plunging prices, 83 per cent of Canadians, and 84 per cent of Ontarians, still see home ownership as a good investment, down slightly from 85 per cent in 2008.

"The current economic environment does not appear to have dampened Canadians' overall confidence in the housing market," said Karen Leggett, head, Home Equity Financing, RBC Royal Bank, in a release.

"Canadians continue to have an overwhelming belief in the long-term value of a home and we're seeing this in the buying intentions of many first time homebuyers this year."

Other nifty facts from Ontario:

— 76 per cent of those planning to buy in plan to purchase resale
— 69 per cent will opt for a detached house
— 96 per cent said low energy consumption was important to them
— 91 per cent were interested in standardized energy ratings for their homes

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid between Jan. 6 and 9, polled 2,026 Canadians.

Seeing green at the National Home Show

Yesterday, I wrote about my "big three" hits at the National Home Show, that is, tySTYLE, the dream home and the Toronto Star Dream Gardens, as well as my dream of a sushi-inspired kitchen. (Seriously though, how cute would that be?)

Today, I'm talking green kitchens. Now, I did see Umbrella Cabinetry at the Interior Design Show, but this time, I've got pictures!

Umbrella proves that you can be green and stylish at the same time.

Partnered with Kitchen Designers Plus, they offer custom eco-friendly kitchens to meet all of your needs; from deep drawers for pots and pans to built-in wine racks.

Just look at that fabulous bamboo cabinetry, which is an eco-friendly and sustainable material. Every kitchen is created using formaldehyde-free materials and VOC-free paints and water-based finishes that don't emit off gases. How's that for a healthy place to make your meals?

The company also offers bamboo kitchen products, which are available from $25 - $125.

For a little more design inspiration today, check out designer Tara Dalla-Nora's tips for creating the perfect playroom.