Metal wall art, made from recycled aluminum cans by Transcendant Treasure.  These pin up onto the wall in any configuration you want.

Love Pillow sewn from recycled plastic bottle felt by Personal Pillow.  The heart is a pocket you can hide a little note or treat in.

Light a torch in your loved one’s heart with this red current scented, 100% soy wax candle from Torch Illumination.

A heart you can step on and not feel guilty!  This heart shaped rug is made of recycled t-shirts by Talking Squid (you just have to love that shop name!).

Simple and sweet, these scrap wood blocks from Uniquely Different Too spell it out for all to see.  And hey, if things don’t work out, you can always switch them around and claim you have an unabashed fondness for voles.

A bit over the top, but maybe that’s why it looks so fun.  This refurbished vanity chair is by Picks4U.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, this is for the narcissist in us all…  Made by Upcountry Design in Hawaii from old, corrugated iron roofing, this mirror can also be fitted with a light kit that really makes it glow.

“My love is like a read, read rose” (my apologies to Robert Burns – well, his ghost anyway).  This pretty, recycled book page rose is by The Mad Recycler.

Lastly, we have this sweet little distressed wood frame by Katie Herman Designs.  Made from reclaimed oak flooring, it has oodles of old fashioned charm.  Yes, I said “oodles”.  We all have our favorite words…

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Vigor, the seriously awesome, recycled, drag racing steampunk dragon sculpture by Etsy artisans Reclaim2Fame.

Just look at that face!

And look at that attention to detail.  Love!

The Year of the Dragon is considered the luckiest of the twelve years in the Chinese zodiac.  Whoever snaps up this amazing little guy will be lucky indeed.

By the way, if the price tag for Vigor has you spitting your coffee out on the screen, take heart.  Reclaim2Fame also makes more affordable sculptures, like this adorable robot dog.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Okay.  So, let’s go!

Wait a minute.  We’re here to talk about interiors, aren’t we?  And so we are.  Specifically, about a very basic, humble, overlooked bit of interior design, one which certainly could use some glamour and snap:  the shower curtain.

Somewhere in the broad field between the two extremes of utilitarian and opulent lies style, sophistication, and wit.  Check out these travel-themed curtains from the New York-based firm, Izola.

What’s more romantic than Venice by candlelight?  Or perhaps Paris?   Mmmmm…

Now, beyond the basic fun of the images, comes an added bonus: these shower curtains are made from PEVA, a vinyl type that emits no Dioxin.  I like that.  PEVA is also biodegradable, and I like that, too.

Izola offers nineteen such “eco-friendly” curtains.  Most are photographic-quality images of famous cities, including a startling view of the Brooklyn Bridge, but, if views aren’t your thing, there are also subway and geographical maps available.

As the bath water heats, browse detailed charts of the London Tube, or the subways of the Chicago, Boston, or New York Transit Authorities.  Muse over the intricacies of the New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego city maps.  Wonder at the isolation of Hawaii, or the immensity of California, or, if you’re in the mood to think internationally, peruse a map of the world (have the political boundaries changed since yesterday?).

In departure from these options is the whimsical Homebound, an original pattern created by artist Rika Shimada.  Although described by Izola as “a tribute to all things nautical,” for me Homebound evokes the work of eminent tattoo artist Sailor Jerry, which makes it all the more endearing.

~ Emerald

I found you this recycled t-shirt pillow from Upcycled2, just in time for Friday the 13th.  Figured you could use the extra luck!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for visiting!

Rachel

There are modular homes and modular walls and modular floors…  but have you seen a modular plant?  No?  I hadn’t either.

But the clever folks at DIRTT Environmental Solutions looked into their imaginations and saw a vertical garden: rows and ranks of pretty, VOC-absorbing plants marching up any given wall.  Then Sustainable Industries looked at Breathe and named it one of the Top Ten Building Products of 2011.

So what is this thing?

Its parent company calls Breathe a “simple system for incorporating plants into DIRTT walls… to bring nature indoors and beautify and detoxify interior spaces.”  From a home-owner’s perspective, the modular planter looks like a splendid kitchen herb garden… or a sunroom fixture… or an arresting floral display in a well-lit entranceway.  If mounted to the wall about four to six feet upward, it could be a boon for pet owners wishing to keep their house plants safe from marauding cats or dogs.

In addition to easy installment on DIRTT modular units the “living wall” can be mounted to any pre-existing flat, vertical building surface: a desirable treatment for dull, bare concrete or brick walls with nothing cheerful to say otherwise.  Designers could content themselves with the simple statement of a single row of plants or potentially convert an entire wall into a soothing, visually delightful space.

Imagine banks of fragrant herbs or a living patchwork of flowers gracing the walls of a previously bare courtyard or boring employee break room.  Wouldn’t that help company morale?

Imagine a relief of green writ large upon the so-often-uninspiring walls of academic institutions.  A green school: lovely!  Look at the pretties!

There’s a lot of potential for this product just waiting to be tapped.  Take a moment to come see and find out more.

~ Emerald

Okay, so I’m a sucker for the Victorianesque.  But isn’t it exquisite?  Thanks to the collaboration of Glasgow architectural model makers Finch & Fouracre and the folks at Another Studio for Design in London, U.K., one needn’t have a grand estate in order to own a beautiful Victorian hothouse… in miniature, that is.

As it was designed to emulate the ornate steelwork of 19^th-century greenhouses the Plantini is a lovely accent piece in its own right, but there’s a practical reason to like it.  It’s environmentally friendly.

The kit comes in a box of 100% recycled paperboard, and the biodegradable planting pot is composed of bamboo and rice hulls.  The greenhouse frame itself is made of stainless steel.  Its avowed purpose is that of planter – to shelter one’s seedlings or nurture flowers – which means it can also help improve the indoor air quality of one’s home or office.

A removable canopy and etched glass panes brings light to the plants inside.

Also in the flat-packed DIY kit are viola seeds, the compressed compost in which to plant them, and instructions.  Once assembled, the model greenhouse is 9.5 cm (3.75″) tall, and would make a lovely conversation piece atop a desk, tucked on a windowsill, or on an entranceway table.

The Plantini is available here at the Postgarden website.

~ Emerald

Not that it’s ever actually gotten that bad.

Not exactly (ahem).

That (not so big and messy) pile of batteries is why I want one of these!  See, those “dead” batteries still have just a little life in them yet, and by combining the power of twelve of them at once, I could not only point out to my son that it is actually past his bedtime (and that I know he has a flashlight and a book under his covers), I would also have a place to store up to twelve batteries before making that trip to the hazardous waste center.  I love stuff that multi-tasks!

The clock will even tell you when a battery is REALLY dead.  As opposed to mostly dead.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Seen on Yanko Design

You decide.

There’s simplicity in these glass and steel designs, a clean look, one that’s versatile enough to be used in any number of decoration schemes.  I think they would complement just about any setting.

As much as possible, the materials are reclaimed objects.  Old glass & ceramic insulators, traffic light lenses, and hardened steel parts – the clips, spikes, and random hardware so abundant along unused rail lines – all hand-gathered by the artist and repurposed into lighting, door & cabinet hardware, and home furnishings.

The disparate parts are cut, drilled, sanded, ground, and bent where needed before being given their new purpose.  Although the creations are thoroughly cleaned the rust remains and is, according to the artist, an “essential part of the look.”  Even the new sections of steel are purposefully rusted so that the entire is whole.  Then comes a steel sealer and hand-rubbed oil finish.

So what was once abandoned is again made functional.

The business sprang, almost by chance, from Tim’s long-term interest in lighting and a collection that started with the purchase of a single glass insulator back in 2004.  Now he crafts a full line… as well as custom work, some of which can be seen here.

There’s much more to the story than this, however.  To learn it, please stop by the RailroadWare website.

~ Emerald

In honor of the day, here are a couple of wonderful, recycled Army blanket pillows I thought you might like to take a look at.

Created by Etsy seller Shop at Ten, these pillows are made from old Army blankets that are then hand felted with fun new patterns.

Here, a series of patches added to the blanket over time were surrounded with colorful, needle-felted roving, becoming a wonderful pattern of irregular squares.  What many would see as a flaw has instead become an inspired design.

You can see more of Shop at Ten’s work here.

Thanks for visiting – and don’t forget to give a Veteran a hug today.  They deserve it, and so much more!

Rachel

The pairing of artisan ceramics and beautiful textile creations has brought forth the Alabama Chanin Collection for Heath Ceramics.

Like stitches in clay, the patterns quietly emerge from the same soft palette of colors seen in Alabama Chanin textiles.  Both place settings and individual plates and serving bowls are available.  What a pretty table setting that would make!

The perfect marriage, don’t you think?

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel