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

John Stein is into demolitions, but not in the way one might think.  The founder and president of California-based Kirei USA has a knack for finding the possibilities inherent in the unwanted.

This vision shows clearly in every Kirei product, including the newest line, Windfall.  These engineered panels are produced in partnership with Windfall Lumber, which takes Douglas & Hemlock Fir from deconstructed buildings in the Pacific Northwest and brings the reclaimed wood to fresh, new life.

“It’s great to reuse demolition material that would otherwise take up space in the landfill,” says Mr. Stein.  “Having it become beautiful wood panels is even better.  This is old-growth wood that just can’t be found any more, and we get to bring it to designers.”

Windfall is manufactured in the United States using low-VOC adhesives.  The reclaimed wood is milled into strips of differing width, which are then randomly stacked to form the panels and cut to size.  Panels are available either solid or 3-ply with a NUAF/FSC-certified core.  They may come unfinished, with a clear coat that shows off the natural grain, or stained and prefinished in Anthracite, Mocha, Ivory, and Leather colors.  The result adds to any interior.

And as Windfall gives stylish new life to reclaimed wood, so the other Kirei lines bring new purpose to certain types of agricultural waste.  Kirei Board, Kirei Coco Tiles, and Kirei Wheatboard use reclaimed agricultural fiber from plants commonly grown for food around the world.

After harvest, waste from sorghum (an edible grass), coconut, and wheat plants is usually thrown into landfills or burned.  Now much of this unused material is removed from the waste stream, reducing landfill use and air pollution while giving rural farmers a new source of revenue.  Rapidly renewable or FSC-certified wood are used as bonding strips, greatly reducing the need for newly harvested wood for building.

Manufacture can be more involved than with particle board.  For example, with Kirei Board the sorghum stalks are compressed, washed, and woven into sheets.  The latter are then stacked and heat-pressed with a formaldehyde-free adhesive to create blocks, which are cut to desired size.

Kirei offers a similar product made of Moso bamboo.  The plantations from which this fiber is taken are generally reclaimed farmland, which helps to preserve uncut habitat.  Panels are available in a wide variety of colorways, including the luscious looking new Chocolate, probably the favorite out of all the bamboo treatments that I’ve yet seen.

These four products are suitable for architectural millwork, cabinetry, flooring (though not in high traffic areas), wall displays or covering, furniture, and decorative objects – in short, any application where one would normally think of using wood.

To round out this versatility Kirei came out with their Canamo Hemp Panels.  These are made with a no-added-formaldehyde resin and reclaimed hemp hurd fiber left over from fabric & seed oil manufacture: over 70% post-industrial recycled content.  The panels are produced in 48”x96” size and are offered in a variety of thicknesses, all left unfinished so that designers may best tailor the product to individual need.  According to Kirei, the hemp panels may be used for the purposes above.  Ceiling panels are also available.

Collectively, the Kirei philosophy may yield several LEED credits for one’s project, which in itself is wonderful, but there’s much more to it that that.

The word kirei is a Japanese adjective signifying many meanings, including Clean, Pure, Beautiful, and Truthful.  Under John Stein’s direction the company strives to embody its namesake as an ideal.  His business aims to stimulate the economic activity of its source regions by providing new jobs at fair market wages.  By using recycled products and efficient, sustainable practices, Kirei works to lessen humanity’s impact on natural resources while contributing to clean, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing indoor environments… with a eye to the latter quality.

“Green has to be beautiful,” says Mr. Stein.

“If you’re going to do green for green’s sake you’re going to have a very limited market – people who have health issues or people with a conscience.  If you have beautiful materials that happen to be green, then really they’re open to everybody.  I regard it almost as a gateway drug to other green activities.”

With the visual appeal of the Kirei product, perhaps we’ll see many new converts to the sustainable ethic.  Let’s hope so.

~ Emerald

Images courtesy of Kirei USA.

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 love tile.

I LOVE this.

Created by Everitt and Schilling of reclaimed wood from barns or building scrap, these tiles are both beautiful and functional.

Wood can lend such warmth and texture to a wall – even when it is just a small section.

Of course, you can go for the whole enchilada too!

Focusing on the DIY contingent, Everitt & Schilling sells by the square foot through their Etsy store.  Might be fun to order a couple of square feet to play with…

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

With their line of wallcoverings, Weitzner Limited neatly puts all that nonsense to rest.

Although certainly luxurious in the sense of being well-crafted, Weitzner’s creations are also, by turns, whimsical, arresting, soothing, classical, or all of these at once.

“We like to challenge our client’s perception of what a wallcovering can be by creating innovative materials that evoke curiosity, calm and beauty,” touts the company website.  “Then we add environmental consciousness and performance (class A ratings) into the mix.”

On offer are more than a hundred wallcoverings that contribute to LEED points.  Many of the styles contain recycled pulp or rapidly renewable materials (derived from plants that are harvested on a ten-year or shorter cycle).

A star among these styles is Newsworthy, which is 100% recycled and recyclable.  Newsprint strips are hand-woven on a loom and then paperbacked to make the product wall-ready.  As an unexpected alternative to traditional grasscloth Newsworthy has many charms, among them true variability – the weave teases the senses and, on close examination, the brain, for all the thousands of tiny textual snippets beg to tell their stories.

Movie lovers will enjoy Cinema Posters, a similar product woven from reclaimed movie posters.

My personal favorites are Currents, which looks stunning framed between glass, and Eden, with which a designer could achieve some pleasing effects with light and shadow.

Special care must be taken while cutting all these products – Weitzner recommends using a new, clean blade for each cut – and several require dry cleaning. The website contains specifics on each design.  It also features a specialized clickable search engine to help designers find the exact look they need.

~ Emerald

Jacob Ruch has a knack for bringing out both characteristics in his work.  Curbside cast-offs, salvage yard finds, construction refuse – all find a place at Reason Furniture Design, where the proverbial sow’s ear is transformed into… you know.

The company is named for Jacob’s great-uncle, Reason Ruch, who was, according to the artist, “extremely independent and self-sufficient, an excellent craftsman who could make wonderful things with very limited resources.”  Jacob strives to make his business emulate those qualities.

“Having limited resources eliminates the option to be wasteful,” he said.  “The inspiration I see in salvaged materials stems from an inherent aversion to waste.  For years in the construction industry, this instinct led me to drag old materials home from job sites.  Urban backyards and basements saw my own limited resources transformed into furnishings for the shabby apartments that I called home.”

What he calls his “first successful design” came in 2005, when he took some scrap wood on hand and combined it with salvaged glass to create a table for his apartment.  Its assembly took place literally in his own backyard.

Materials and inspiration come from the oddest – and most humble – of sources.  One piece, the Windfall Table, was gleaned from a fallen claro walnut tree.

“The termites got to it before the sawyer though,” he recalled.  “It was pretty far gone, but I’m not easily discouraged.  I filled the tunneling with resin and created a curved base to complement the slab’s gentle bend.”

Such adaptability is typical of Jacob’s work.  He has learned to not simply make do with what others throw away, but to do very well.

Most of his material comes from New York City construction salvage.  In his projects he has used reclaimed wood from water towers, floor joists, planking, doors, plywood, and even furniture cast onto the street.  This willingness to experiment has also led to dipping his hand in the “Pandora’s box” of upholstery work.

The artist’s creativity is showcased by three tables pictured on his blog: one fashioned from a found redwood garden gate, a second topped with old formica countertop samples, and a third project where weathered redwood decking was reborn as a set of matching table and benches.

That thoughtful excellence carries through into all his custom work.

“I design simple, honest and useful forms that celebrate often modest materials, and favor natural finishes that need not be protected and preserved in order to endure.  To me, objects that show the wear of good use are often more beautiful than their virgin counterparts.”

And although environmental concern is not spoken aloud on Jacob’s blog, the latter features links to organizations such as the salvage surplus building supplier Build It Green! NYC and San Francisco community resource The Bike Kitchen, both of which are actively working towards bettering life in their home cities.  His philosophy and the sourcing of the materials created by his company proclaim where his heart lies.

Jabob’s work is constantly evolving.  And what does he have in mind for the future?

“While pursuing new forms, whether independently or through collaborative commissions, I continue to arrive at designs worth duplicating,” he asserts.  “Through the production of these ideas, I hope I can keep REASON accessible to the modest folks and lifestyles that inspire my work.”

~ 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

Today, however, the sheer energy-inefficiency of a traditional fireplace can make it a less-than-desirable fixture in one’s household.  Yet the allure of captive flame remains.  So, how to satisfy that ancient longing?

Why, bypass the fireplace, of course.

Enter Wall Flame I & II, the sleek brain-children of Michael Rösing, managing director of Radius Design, in Brühl, Germany.  Gone is the large, surrounding containment structure, gone the flue, gone the chimney.  In short, gone is the fireplace itself, and in its place is left a simplicity of flame.

All the romanticism, with none of the attendant mess.  Perfect.

Both versions offer a high-grade steel base – the Wall Flame I featuring a curved, one-piece mounting system, while the Wall Flame II’s rear piece is shielded in glass.  They’re available in a variety of different materials, including tinted glass and high-gloss, brushed, or powdered stainless steel.

Both styles can be installed in nearly any type of home.  They’re safe, user-friendly, and boast low fuel consumption.  The appliance’s combustion chamber houses a “ceramic sponge” that assures a stable, even, fully adjustable flame that will burn for up to four hours at a time.  In addition, the appliance is TÜV® approved, which attests to its quality.

Splendid… but why feature it on a blog for sustainable interior design?

Put simply, it burns clean.  Eschewing the conventional use of propane or natural gas, Wall Flame (like of all of Radius’ Home Flame Collection) runs on liquid bio-ethanol.  The fuel burns residue free and largely produces steam and carbon dioxide.

Visit Radius Design to find out more.

~ Emerald

the execution is most definitely not!   This is the Mood Rocking Bed by Shiner International, and it has style!

I just have to say, I don’t know whether it’s the pastoral setting, the pretty draping of the netting above, or simply that I need a nap, but that bed looks awfully tempting, don’t you think?

Created from discarded and reclaimed materials, the Mood Rocking Bed is suitable for inside and outside use, and can be made in any size, from twin to king.  It can also be allowed to rock in place, or it can be locked in any position using rubber stoppers.

Visit Shiner International’s Etsy store and see more great furniture and lighting creations.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel