When Uxbridge, Ont., residents Chris Mills and his wife decided to renovate their home last year, they wanted to minimize their environmental impact.

The home is still under renovation, but once it's complete it will have a new energy-efficient furnace, low flow toilets, energy star appliances, and an energy-saving lighting system.

"We're gutting the whole first floor -- new kitchen, new bathrooms, the whole nine yards," Mills told CTV.ca, noting that leaving a small environmental footprint is important to the couple.

Mills and his wife aren't alone in wanting to go green -- and now home improvement experts say Canadians can complete almost any renovation project solely using recycled and environmentally friendly materials.

Mills says he and his wife discovered soon after launching into their home improvement project that they had just scratched the surface of eco-friendly choices. New appliances that save energy and water were a start, but Mills says they didn't stop there.

They picked all natural fabrics for their drapes, chose wood for their new floors that comes from responsibly managed forests, and selected paint that has minimally harmful chemicals.

"It's more environmentally friendly, it's a conscious decision. Just putting things in our house that weren't good for the environment bothered us," says Mills.

"You just don't clear cut forests willy nilly just for comfort in your house. It's a little more money, but we're doing our piece."

'Thin green line'

Interior designer Sue Bennett says clients like the Mills are beginning to make up a large part of her business. The head of Bennett Design Associates in Uxbridge says once clients find out that virtually all of their home improvement projects can be innovative and eco-friendly, about 80 per cent opt to go the green route.

"It's kind of like a thin green line," she says.

"Some people jump over that line with both feet. For other clients, they want to do something, but aren't sure what."

Bennett says the options to go green range in everything from the paint her clients choose, to their furniture, and even their carpets.

"The amount of carpet waste in our landfills is huge," she told CTV.ca.

"Now there's a company that makes residential flooring material that is fully designed to be 'cradle to cradle.' The backing of the carpet is actually recycled ... (and) you can send it back to the company after you're done, and the backing gets recycled again," she says.

She says new eco-friendly carpeting not only uses less harmful chemicals during production, but doesn't have to end up in the dump once it's ripped out.

What to look for in floors?

When it comes to wood flooring, Bennett tells her clients to make sure the wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. She says that ensures it comes from companies that employ strict environmental standards. She adds that keeping the environment in mind doesn't have to cost more.

"If you're going to be buy good quality hardwood floors, you can get good quality environmentally friendly floors at the same cost."

She says going the eco-friendly route is becoming increasingly easier because more and more businesses are catering to environmentally conscious home improvement shoppers.

Bennett says interior designers and home renovators can now purchase much of their building materials from businesses such as Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, which buy and sell new and used supplies. One of her colleagues was able to remodel an entire kitchen using items found only in the store, she says.

Bennett recommends that homeowners thinking about eco-friendly renovations ask four basic questions:

1. Where do the materials and products come from?
2. Are the raw materials responsibly harvested?
3. Are the manufactured products responsibly made?
4. How will the materials be disposed of after use?

"It's about making the proper decision ... you may need to do a bit of homework," she says.

"There was a time when it was really out of reach to do something responsible. Now it's not -- and it's getting better."