This weeks guest blogger is David Johnson of Sidecar Furniture.   An accomplished craftsman, David is also a member of LA Box Collective, a select group of professional Los Angeles based furniture makers, committed to environmentally conscious design and production.

The increasing popularity of sustainable and locally made goods has permeated into the design world especially among furniture designers/makers. While the idea of creating furniture locally in a sustainable manner has been around for decades within the furniture community, it is more often than not, a new idea to the everyday person. As more large scale and local furniture manufacturers label their products as being made from sustainably harvest wood, this label has different levels of meaning and can be confusing.

To help you navigate through the terms and make informed decisions about your design purchases, I am including a brief description of terms used to describe sustainably harvested wood commonly associated with furniture making. While all descriptions listed are sustainable, I’ve put them in the order of what I consider to be the most sustainable especially within my personal design processes. Note: as always, the more local the source of sustainably harvested wood, the better. Read the rest of this entry »

This weeks guest blogger is David Johnson of Sidecar Furniture.   An accomplished craftsman, David is also a member of LA Box Collective, a select group of professional Los Angeles based furniture makers, committed to environmentally conscious design and production.

To look at my furniture it’s obvious that I like Danish Modern.  When we create we can’t help but let our influences show.  Our work is a compilation of what we see and our imaginations.  Certainly as a furniture maker I’m going to be influenced by the aesthetics of the styles of the past but I’m also going to draw upon why these furniture styles can to be.

I went to The College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program, in Mendocino, CA.  The school is known for teaching a high attention to detail and balance and symmetry in design based on the work of James Krenov, Jim, as he’s known to the students.  The program is set up like a European apprentice system where students start with the basics and then make pieces under the watchful eye of the instructors.  Students must have their designs approved by Jim.  Any deviation from his design sense may be dealt with by his sharp criticism.  Rebellion is mild but highly noticed.  It’s funny to look at the pieces I made during school to know that they were controversial at the time. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m so excited to introduce this  weeks guest blogger, David Johnson of Sidecar Furniture!  An accomplished craftsman, David is also a member of LA Box Collective, a select group of professional Los Angeles based furniture makers, committed to environmentally conscious design and production.

David: Being an independent furniture designer/maker is no easy job. Comparing artisan or locally made furniture to IKEA or the Pottery Barn is like comparing apples and oranges. I often encounter people who question and often frown upon my time consuming methods and prices. We are so used to seeing and buying furniture made by big manufacturers that it becomes hard for one to appreciate quality, hand crafted, heirloom furniture. Rather than reading a blog entry about me defending myself and my craft, I decided to have my wife write a blog about her love of artisan furniture from the perspective of an outsider who is now a big fan of artisan made furniture. Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz

Some homes just blow and other just suck.

After reading your Home Performance Energy Audit Report you found your home was built too tight. Meaning, there are not enough holes in the home and there is not enough fresh air entering.

The goal of any general contractor should be to build the tightest house possible to stop air infiltration and provide the most durable and sustainable product for his or her client. On existing or traditional homes, built before energy code, it is difficult and costly to tighten a home to the point that it is too tight. (I didn’t say it can’t be done.) Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz

A home has to have good indoor air quality and be energy efficient to be green. As previously discussed, air movement plays a large role in any home. There are many signs of air movement. Some are obvious, for example we can feel a draft and we can smell unusual odors. Some are not so easy to detect unless you know what to look for, such as dust at electrical outlets, dust where the wall meets the baseboard, dust on the carpet under a closed door, dirty insulation in the attic or crawlspace, and dirty heating and cooling registers. Air carries dust, allergens, and contaminants from outside (hopefully you don’t live on a busy street), your crawlspace and your attic. All of these holes in your home can effect how comfortable you may feel, how much you spend on heating and cooling, and your health.

Don’t worry, if you’re not sure where the holes are in your home, there are trained professionals that can help. Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz

Take a safety pin and stick a bunch of holes in a balloon. Now try blowing it up. Eventually what happens is you run out of breath trying to keep the balloon full of air (hopefully you didn’t pass out and you can keep reading). This same concept can be effectively transferred to our homes.

Obviously we don’t live in inflatable homes, but the holes represent areas in which air and heat (both hot and cold) can travel bringing in containments, dust, and allergens. Read the rest of this entry »

Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz

Baby steps are a good start!

So you’ve taken all the steps during your remodeling project to make sure what you bring in to your home doesn’t have toxic chemicals which could off gas and make you sick. You installed cabinets made out of grass, used zero VOC paints, non toxic based glues, FSC certified wood flooring and tile containing recycled content. Do you have a green home? The answer is no. Why? There is no silver bullet to green home and lifestyle, but instead a thousand silver BBs. Doing just a few green things, although very important, are only small steps. Read the rest of this entry »

I want to thank this weeks guest blogger Christina Fluegge, of My Sparrow.  Christina has a line of beautiful and sustainable furniture and accessories, and I highly encourage you to check them out on her website.

A great way to create storage that is interesting and functional is to use vintage containers.

Anything goes from wine crates to vintage locker baskets; you can store and organize your stuff in interesting and usable ways.  You don’t have to hide everything away in cabinets or a closet, using interesting containers gives a space personality.   In an entry way or mud room you can label vintage baskets and bins for everyone in your home, helping to keep you from searching for the keys, shoes or soccer balls just before it is time to head out the door.  Be creative!

Guest blogger Christina Fluegge, of My Sparrow, is an accomplished interior designer who also has a line of beautiful and sustainable furniture and accessories…

At My Sparrow we believe that design and décor are about the way that you bring items together in a space to make it feel comfortable, functional and enjoyable.   In your home you want to see a reflection of yourself – your hopes, dreams, travels and family. We also believe that buying quality furniture and one of a kind pieces will help you build an amazing collection of your life and its many stages.  It may also provide your family with wonderful things and memories to pass down.  Shopping at Flea Markets near your home and when you travel is a great way to bring unique and interesting objects into your home at great prices while saving them from the landfill.

Read the rest of this entry »

Guest blogger Christina Fluegge, of My Sparrow, is an accomplished interior designer who also has a line of beautiful and sustainable furniture and accessories…

We spend almost half of our lives in the bedroom so it is extremely important to use organic and toxin free products here!  You spend somewhere around 8 hours out of each and every day with your head on your pillow and your body wrapped up in your sheets and bedding.  What we sleep on is a very personal choice, everyone likes a certain type of pillow and a certain level of softness in their sheets and blankets.  When you are in the market for a new pillow look at the labels and strive for the most organic choice possible that suits your needs (I am still looking for the best organic/comfortable pillow I can find- have not found it yet!)

Read the rest of this entry »