Q&A with Sustainable Designer Lori Dennis

As sustainable design becomes more and more prevalent, some firms are making it their niche. KBBGreen talked to Lori Dennis, ASID, LEED AP, of Dennis Design Group in Los Angeles about her firm's green focus and how it worked in two recent kitchen and bath projects.

Q: Why did you decide to make your design firm a sustainable one?
A: I was raised by a struggling single mother and a grandmother from the Depression. I was taught to conserve energy, never waste and recycle when I was a little girl. I also have a slice of American Indian (Cherokee) in me so a respect for the planet was a core value taught to me at a young age. I always lived green even though I didn't know it was a movement or had a special name. When I started my firm in 2000 I embraced the concept of building sustainably and specifying the limited amount of green products and concepts that were available. Somehow I always seemed to gravitate to the green people and became friendly with sustainable Chef Jeffrey Mora. He is good friends with Jacques Cousteau's son Jean Michel, Ed Begley Jr., Leslie Hoffman (executive director of Earth Pledge) and a big supporter of NRDC and Oceania. He introduced me to the major leaguers of "green" and I knew I had finally found my niche in life.

Q: What does being a sustainable design firm mean?
A: Being a sustainable design firm means that we always include an aspect of green in every project. Some clients request us specifically for our sustainable expertise and allow us to go as far as we can from concept to installation with eco-friendly techniques, materials and furnishings. Some of our clients have a more limited awareness of green design. As they learn more, they allow us to do more. It may start with the idea of eco-friendly paint and linens and end up being a green roof. Because of the recent public awareness of the movement we continue to get to do more and more in the green arena.

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Q: How would you describe your clients?
A: Our clients tend to be young—20s, 30s, 40s—hip and very successful people who value aesthetics and realize the importance of beauty and comfort in their lives. Recently we added an "old guard" type client to our roster. In his seventh decade he manages to have the same attitude as our young clients: fun, lively and willing to learn new things.

Q: Why are your clients interested in using sustainable design?
A: Like seems to attract like and our clients tend to care about health of the environment and themselves. More often than not, our firm is selected primarily for the sustainable expertise.

Q: What kind of demand for sustainable design are you experiencing? 
A: Ninety-five percent of our new client meetings address the issue of green design in the proposed projects. This desire is coming from the client.

Q: Can luxury and green truly co-exist?
A: Ever heard of the saying "good things come in little packages?" Ten-thousand-sq.-ft. palaces aren't the only definition of luxury. The most luxurious environment can be green. Intelligent planning from the site, to the structure, to the materials, to the garden can create a very satisiying and enjoyable property. Good, eco-friendly design doesn't mean doing without. It means doing it differently. Think of a first-class African safari. The digs are pretty sparse and portable, but I'd say it could be one of the most luxurious vacations you ever take. (Architectural Digest seems to agree with me as a safari interior seems to grace every other issue.)

Q: Do you have to downsize to save the environment?
A: It depends how you currently live. For me, the answer is no. My husband and I live and work in under 1,000 sq. ft. I don't waste space or resources. If you have a family of four living in a 6,500-sq.-ft. structure and living (not work or retail) is the sole activity in that location, then yes. Building bigger than you need does a few things that hurt the environment; you waste energy and resources to build and maintain the space. Sharing parks, pools and libraries in our communities is a way to build the human connection while using less resources and energy. There's no reason to have rooms and things in your home that are not being used. As the American dollar continues to errode, and we fight the world for the raw materials, resources and energy of the planet, smaller living spaces will become a welcome relief. Plus they're easier to clean!

Q: Have you ever suggested a smaller scale remodel to a client because you wanted the project to have less impact on the earth? 
A: No, but I do suggest better ways of executing poor, wasteful plans.

Q: Can you describe a recent green kitchen project?

A: I recently designed a kitchen (pictured) in a new construction home in Silver Lake, CA, for a young couple in their late 20s, early 30s. He is a corporate lawyer by day and LA DJ Curious Jorge by night. She is a party promoter in Los Angeles, which basically means she throws music festivals and parties for 5,000-plus guests at different venues. They're world travelers and supporters of the environment. They wanted green design because of their love of nature and concern for the environment. The total budget was $675,000 with $48,000 allocated for the kitchen. I used recycled glass tiles, 3 Form Panels, Modular Art Eco Friendly wall panels, bamboo floors, organic linens, dual-flush toilets, eco-friendly paint by Benjamin Moore, Earth Plaster walls, AFM Safecoat stain on FSC-certified wood custom furniture and sustainable landscape—including a lot of river rocks and recycled content cement counters.

Q: Can you describe a recent green bathroom project?

A: I recently designed a bathroom (pictured) in Century City for a 27-year-old business owner who came to L.A. penniless five years ago and has managed to start and operate a multi-million dollar business in holistic medicine. He was in and out of the hospital all through his childhood with testicular cancer. When he survived and beat it, health became a primary concern in his life. He is also writing and plans to star and direct in a movie about his "hustle and success," his Rocky. The desk of his penthouse condo overlooks the writer's studios of the Fox lot—talk about inspiration! He wanted green design in his remodeled bathroom because he had concerns for his health and wanted health-based products and practices in his home. The total budget was $150,000 with $18,000 allocated for the bath. I used Benjamin Moore Eco Spec paint, Oceanside recycled glass tiles on the floor and walls and recycled content cement countertops.

Q: Is it ever a challenge to keep a project green and meet a client's other design requests at the same time?
A: The biggest concern with green design is the additional cost that some of the materials and methods have versus the mainstream items. Sometimes we had to modify our design plans by scaling down or eliminating some features because the cost was too high. This frequently happens with custom-design features even when the materials are not sustainable. The good news is that as green grows more popular the sustainable products become mainstream and the prices become more competitive.

—Ellen Sturm Niz