Last year, FMM delved head first into interiors and sustainable living at the Dwell on Design Conference in Los Angeles.  One of our favorite installations was MODERN LIVING.

Once again, the ecofabulous founder Zem Joaquin has teamed up with leading architect Jonathan Davis of pieceHomes and sustainable prefab builder, OneBuild, to create a modern dweller’s 550 square foot, eco-friendly dream home. This year’s MODERN LIVING Showhouse by ecofabulous, featuring pieceHomes will be auctioned via eBay Giving Works with proceeds benefiting Global Green USA.

FMM: The Modern Living home seems to only have room for the essentials in life, while still a comfortable environment that encourages community among friends and family that are present in it. The house inspires me to move a more conscious consumption in the things I buy in my daily life.  As consumers, how can we determine what is actually essential in our daily lives and what we can live without?

Zem: Do a gut check. I’ve been working with Graham Hill, the founder of TreeHugger, on what we call Life Editing. Life Editing is where we evaluate what we truly need as individuals and start to shed what we don’t need and just live with the essentials.  Honestly, we don’t need storage spaces.

Think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:  we have fundemental needs, and once we meet those, we need to see what we can do without.  People collect so much; while we need to work on getting rid of what we don’t need, we need to also work on not bringing more in.

Consumers can be much more conscientious and curb our purchases. We should not buy anything on impulse.  When you buy, ask yourself:

• Do I need this or do I want this?
• Will this piece have longevity?
• Was it made consciously?  Does it look good and has it not compromised anyone else’s health (physically or mentally) while being made and will it not hurt my own health?

FMM: What a two things we can do today to reduce our footprint and move towards a more eco-enlightened lifestyle?

Zem: Only two? Usually the magic number is three!

1. Reduce you consumption of meat and veggies most times…it’s what I call being a flexitarian. If and when you eat meat, choose organic and free range. Make sure food is locally grown and sustainably harvested.  Simply go to your local Farmer’s Market!
2. Only use eco-friendly cleaning products in your home; they work just as well as their non-eco counterparts.

FMM: Zem, could a family of two really (with a pet) live in a 550 square foot home?

Zem: Yes, absolutely. Asian countries do. In the US, it’s a matter of comfort; we’re used to having more space. If we could, I would live in this house.