Clean Design (BOOK REVIEW)

Clean Design

Wellness for Your Lifestyle

by Robin Wilson

Greenleaf Book Group Press

Paperback, $22.95

216 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-62634-189-0

Book Review by Kam Williams

“This is a book for all people who want to detoxify their home environment. Although my driving force has always been to create living spaces that protect people with allergies and asthma, my advice is appropriate for anyone who wants to live in a purer, less-toxic home…

Sometimes my suggestions will be dramatic… but most of my recommendations will fit into your decorating budget. In fact, some of my best tips—such as replacing vinyl shower curtain liners with nylon liners—cost only a few dollars.

Each chapter will teach you how to implement Clean Design strategies for every room of your home, from foundation to furnishings.”

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pages 1-2)

Have you ever had to rush a loved one to the hospital because of an allergic reaction or an asthma attack? If so, then you can appreciate how precious oxygen is, and why it’s so important to keep the air clean air by eliminating harmful substances from the home and workplace.

Creating such eco-friendly environments has been both a labor of love and a matter of survival for wellness expert Robin Wilson, since she is not only an interior designer but a long-term asthma sufferer to boot. So, she is well aware of the host of toxins that might trigger a respiratory crisis.

            Her pioneering new opus, Clean Design: Wellness for Your Lifestyle, is likely to prove a priceless investment, regardless of where one falls on the inhalation sensitivity spectrum. Whether you might be building your dream McMansion, moving into a dorm room, renting a new apartment or staying put in the place where you’ve been for ages, Robin has a number of practical suggestions which ought to make a dramatic difference in your quality of life.

            Fundamental to her philosophy is the belief that there is a link between chemicals and indoor air pollution, and that that pollution can, in turn, cause a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. And besides hypoallergenic ventilation, the author suggests that one adopt a holistic, natural foods regimen, since we are also so profoundly affected by the ingredients in the food we eat.

            That being said, her primary focus, nevertheless, is on actual living spaces. Thus, it makes sense that a separate chapter would be devoted to each room of the house, starting with the entryway, where it might be a good idea to remove your shoes. Robin proceeds to apply what she refers to as her four basic principles (“sustainable,” “reusable,” “recyclable” and “non-toxic”) as she takes you on a virtual tour which includes the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, the bedroom, the nursery, and so forth.

After that’s done, the balance of the book is essential a handy how-to guide which addresses specific ways of implementing wellness and clean design in terms of one’s walls, floors, countertops, furniture, windows and appliances. It even features a cautionary chapter about how to minimize the primary allergy triggers, from tobacco smoke to pet dander to mold.

            A highly-recommended, seminal resource for anyone who likes their lungs.

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