Burleys Natural Home Supply
 Are
you considering a home remodeling project today? Maybe
you're in the middle of building a new home and are faced
with the task of picking finishes for your floors and walls.
Is the thought of getting to the store just a little
overwhelming with the myriad choices, the traffic and the
lack of help confronting you? Are you also open to the idea
there may be products that are healthier for you, your home
and the environment? If so you should consider visiting
downtown Missoula where Burley's Natural Home Supply is
ready to provide the help you need with a host of items that
are naturally made, easy to use and friendly to the
environment.
Lauren Burley Cobb, along with her
husband, Tim, opened Burley's two years ago to bring a
variety of naturally made cleaning and building supplies to
the western Montana market. The primary goal at Burley's is
to give shoppers a choice of high quality items which are
better for the environment than some of the more commonly
used products. Missoula is the 'River City' and everything
we dump down our drains reaches the river and the aquifer
below explains Cobb. She also emphasized that many of the
cleaners, paints and building supplies we normally use
decrease the air quality in our homes by releasing Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the solvents and adhesives
found in them. The EPA has estimated that most homes have up
to five times more VOC concentrations than the outdoor
environment due to the use of these solvents in everything
from paints, hairspray, deodorants, adhesives and many wood
finishes. VOCs are known to cause headaches, nausea and
respiratory ailments when inhaled, so eliminating them
creates a healthier home to live in.
The timing of the arrival of Burley's
in the Missoula marketplace appears to be perfect. Their
natural products carry full warranties and don't cost any
more than the mainstream supplies we now use. And maybe more
importantly, you don't have to be a certified back-to-nature
fanatic to want to incorporate them into your own home.
Anyone who wishes to live in a healthier home will find many
of their natural supplies a perfect fit. "Building green" is
a phrase that is being incorporated more and more into the
lexicon of builders and homebuyers alike and the more they
talk about it, the more it becomes a reality in the homes
built today.
Building green, of course, doesn't
refer to the color choices one can make in paint, siding and
trim for our homes. The green trend is focused on making our
lives healthier, more comfortable and, most importantly,
more environmentally friendly. The U.S. Green Building
Council has created a program called Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) to establish certification
criteria for builders. LEED has established five major areas
in human and environmental health that building green
focuses on: sustainable site development, water savings,
energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor
environmental quality.
As should be obvious from this list,
purchasing a product that stresses environmental
friendliness is only a part of the equation. To fill in the
rest of the equation a visit to Burley's Natural Home Supply
can help. Cobb states, "My job is to make sure my knowledge
of [green] products is comprehensive. I need to evaluate the
net value and gross value of a product for our area.” The
knowledge Cobb has gained by attending green building
conferences, searching websites and visiting building trade
shows will help the consumer choose the right product for
his or her needs. More importantly, her expertise allows
Burley's to carry the best products for green building in
Montana.
Burley's has a large selection of
products including cleaners, insulation, paint, recycled
materials, gardening supplies and flooring. Their
environmental-friendly flooring line is exceptional:
Marmoleum, Eco-Timber, and North Slope Sustainable Wood are
a few of the brand names available. North Slope happens to
be a local Missoula company producing traditional hardwood
flooring from small diameter larch trees harvested in
reclamation projects throughout the northern Rockies. The
company harvests trees previously considered useless by the
logging industry. These floors aren't only beautiful when
installed, but also the perfect green product. North Slope
harvests and mills trees in the region meaning their
flooring doesn’t travel thousands of miles to reach your
home. North Slope Sustainable Wood also creates healthier
forests by removing the dense stands of underdeveloped
trees, allowing the remaining trees to thrive.
 If
it is walls you need to work on, Burley's have Bio Shield
paints made with natural pigments in a variety of inviting
colors. These natural paints don't contain organic solvents
which release harmful VOCs into the indoor air we breathe.
Also, Burley's will soon be carrying a full line of paint
that can be tinted to any color, much like the systems at
any of the regular paint or hardware stores.
Another option available for wall
coverings is a natural clay product which is perfect for
your do-it-yourself project. American Clay is suitable for
finishing over most new or previously painted surfaces, it
is completely natural, solvent free and it breathes as the
moisture in the air changes. A large number of color choices
and three distinct finishes give American Clay the ability
to fit in with many different home finish styles. It also
imparts a texture and depth unrivaled by a painted surface.
Understanding the various natural
products and their benefits is paramount to Lauren and Tim.
They spent three years in planning, researching products and
lining up suppliers before their store was ready to open.
This commitment to learning and understanding the products
they sell makes a visit to Burley's a rewarding one,
especially for the do-it-yourselfer. Lauren and Tim are
happy to visit with you about all their products and make
recommendations based on their own experiences. Tim has 18
years of experience in the flooring industry and has
actually volunteered to help start the first couple of rows
of a floor to get people started with their home projects,
just to make sure it's being done correctly. Not many
businesses anywhere are more eager or excited to help when
you need it, and not many stores offer such a complete line
of green supplies.
As if carrying all these wonderful
products to make your home and environment just a little
healthier isn’t enough, Burley’s is also dedicated to
improving social conscience. “Happy people make a happy
planet,” says Cobb and that philosophy helps guide Burley’s
toward things that are just good for people. One example is
their efforts to promote “Break The Chains”, a musical
endeavor with the goal of helping eradicate debt that
wealthy nations hold over impoverished countries. The CD and
organization information is available in the store and Cobb
points out that Rita Jankowska-Bradley is the national
coordinator of this project who also happens to be a local
Missoulian.
It is both good and refreshing to
visit Burley’s Natural Home Supply where you can find the
products you need, the help to explain them and the
knowledge that your purchase is helping you live a healthier
and more environmentally friendly life.
Burley’s Natural Home Supply is
located in downtown Missoula at 215 E. Main St. They can be
reached at 406-541-6110. Hours of operation are ?????9am to
5:30pm Monday through Saturday.????? More information on
products mentioned in the article can be found at the
following websites:
American Clay
www.americanclay.com
North Slope Sustainable
Wood www.northslopewood.com
Break The Chains
www.iamedia.org/breakthechains
Ecotimber
www.ecotimber.com
Marmoleum
www.forbo-flooring.com
United States Green
Building Council www.usgbc.org
Bio Shield Paint
www.bioshieldpaint.com
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