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!)

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Welcome to Christina Fluegge, of My Sparrow, our inaugural guest blogger!

“I want to say a big Thank you to Rachel for asking me to be a guest blogger here!  At My Sparrow we strive to bring you a variety of eco friendly options for your home that are stylish and beautiful.”

All images by Elle Decor

Interior plants are one of my favorite design elements.  They bring a space to life – literally.  I find that without them something seems to be missing and that a room is unfinished. Plants add texture and go with just about anything.  The greatest benefit of plants in the home is their ability to eliminate toxins.  There are so many things in our homes that contain toxins that we don’t even know about, why not let your friendly house plant help out.  Plant them in a repurposed container or hand woven basket to make them a part of your décor. Read the rest of this entry »

Silk is one of those grey areas of green design.  Although a natural and sustainable fiber in many ways, most silk production still requires killing the larval stage of the moth, in order to preserve the cocoon.  This issue makes this otherwise exquisite fabric a great deal less appealing to many consumers.

However, there is an equally beautiful solution, and that is “Peace Silk”, which is used by Rajboori to make their amazing line of bed linens and throw pillows. Read the rest of this entry »

For the second in our series on Japanese artisan crafts, we will take a look at the 1,400 year old tradition of washi, or Japanese handmade paper.

Brought to Japan in 610 AD by Buddhist monks, the art of washi making spread across Japan, till by the late 1800’s, over 100,000 families were employed in the craft.  However, once European mechanical papermaking techniques were introduced, the number of washi makers rapidly declined, until it hit a low of only 479 families in 1983.

Image via Precious Pieces

These remaining families have worked hard to maintain the traditions of their craft, and some artisans are considered to be national treasures of Japan.

It is the beauty of the paper though, that has given washi a new life in the world of interior design. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought it would be nice to do a little series of posts this week on some of the beautiful craft work that comes out of Japan.  Perhaps no other country is so obsessed with both the past and the future at once, so it’s the perfect place to explore when it comes to using historical materials and methods to create more sustainable products.

All images via Kurikan

First in our series is the cloth ware company Kurakin.

After receiving a research offer from the government to see if it could find a way to use food scraps as colorants, the Tsuyakin Kogyo Company, of Ichinomiya, Japan, developed the “nokori dye” method.  Read the rest of this entry »

For centuries, artisans in India have created the most beautiful hand embroidery.

In recent years however, the artisans who have learned this skill for generations no longer had enough demand to continue their craft.  The advent of cheap, machine embroidery has left many with little choice but to find another livelihood.

Thankfully, in 2005 Afshan Durani, founder of Lost City, set out to revive this vanishing art form. Read the rest of this entry »

Crazy though it may seem, the EPA has estimated that 7 out of 10 wine bottles ends up in a landfill.   Considering that over 300 million cases of wine are sold in the United States annually, that’s a whole lot of bottles not getting recycled.  About 2,376,000,000 bottles a year, if my trusty calculator is to be believed.

All images via Bottlehood

While they may not be able to make a huge dent in that statistic, Bottlehood is determined to do what they can by turning some of those unwanted wine bottles into fun vases and glassware.

And if you think a wine bottle makes a good vase, check out what they’ve done with some other types of bottles… Read the rest of this entry »

Neoporte mail box with window and newspaper holder by Blomus

For those who love the sleek look of Neoporte’s stainless steel entry doors, but worry that they won’t be able to find a mailbox worthy to share space with them comes this great line of architectural and design accessories. Read the rest of this entry »