While I start the recovery process from the nasty flu bug that had me bedridden for the last week (hence not a peep from me on this ‘ere blog in awhile), I thought I’d share some images of one of the latest sustainable design trends – recycled leather flooring…
TORLYS
What fun!
Designer Dan Golden’s collection of wool felt rugs for Odegard are so darn cheerful.
Inspired by childhood memories of growing up in Mexico during the ’70s, Golden has infused the rugs with a correspondingly playful palette of colors. Looking for all the world like the doodles we would create during 5th grade math, and then stuff clandestinely in our Pee Chees, these rugs definitely give off “good vibes”. Read the rest of this entry
Here’s a fascinating natural product that exists for a really cruddy reason. Behold what climate change has wrought…
This beautiful “Blue Pine” flooring, by Greenway, LLC, isn’t the result of a clever dye job. Instead it is a natural effect of Mountain Pine Beetle infestation on Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pines in many parts of North America. The pine beetles are thriving – decimating vast areas of forest, due to global warming and the subsequent lack of the really cold winters needed to kill off the beetles.
Image by Erich G. Vallery, USDA Forest Service - SRS-4552, Bugwood.org
When the bark beetles infest a tree, it introduces a fungi to the sap, which impedes the tree’s ability to fight off the beetle’s damage, as well as turning the sap blue. This blue color remains in the wood once it is harvested.
So what to do with the (sadly) increasing amount of what is sometimes referred to as Denim Pine? Read the rest of this entry
Wine is a wonderful thing. I should know, because my husband works in the business. Yeah, it’s tough being married to somebody who has to bring home bottle after bottle of delicious wine to taste. I know, I know. Your heart bleeds for me.
Anyway, wine is a multi-billion dollar, global industry, and anything that big generates a LOT of waste. So I thought I would share some of my favorite sustainable goods made from the remnants of the wine making process…
Elegant curves define this beautiful folding chair from Whit McLeod. Made from used oak wine barrels – many of them decades old – this chair is surprisingly comfortable and very chic. Read the rest of this entry
I’ve admired the striking felt designs of Selina Rose for awhile, and thought it was high time I shared them with you too.
Now, I’m not usually a big fan of shocking pink, but this rug is just the sort of cheerful detail that can make a room. Using technology to cut crisp, whimsical designs out of thick wool felt, Selina Rose has taken an ancient material and given it a new, playful edge. Read the rest of this entry
Remodeling your kitchen? Designing a fancy new restaurant? Just looking for something amazing and sustainable? Here are 6 reasons you should consider recycled glass tile…
Mosaic “wallpaper” by Trend USA
1. Recycled glass takes only 50% of the energy to produce that virgin glass does.
2. Recycled glass can be made into any form, color, or shape you can imagine. Read the rest of this entry
Thought I would let you all know about FLOR’s Summer Sale on their Fez line of carpet tiles and rugs.
Fez carpet tiles are made of 85% post consumer recycled PET (polyester) fiber, and are designed for medium traffic residential use. The 19.7″ square tiles come in seven different colors, as well as pre-designed rug kits ranging in size from 3′ x 5′ to 8′ x 10′. Individual tiles are on sale for $7.99 (reg. $9.99), and a 3′ x 5′ rug can be had for only $47.94. Read the rest of this entry
The second in a series of artisan profiles by contributing writer Emerald Atkins.
100 years ago, before “sustainability” became a concept, before the word “recycling” even existed, a traditional American craft embodied both: rag rugs, the art of creating rugs from worn clothing & cast-off textiles. Across the country housewives melded thrift and creativity, beauty and usefulness into functional works of art.
At Lark Textile Design owner/designer Janet Thomas builds on this legacy. In her hands, the unintended sustainably of yesteryear has become a directed goal in the production of custom hand-woven and constructed rugs.
“Although I use new materials now for my rugs,” she says, “they are industry 2nds and cast offs. Perfectly good for walking on but not good enough for your window coverings or upholstery. I am a scavenger at heart and that mindset makes it really easy to fit into the context of today’s sustainability concerns.” Read the rest of this entry
Water use in the textile industry is massive – as in trillions of gallons massive. Hundreds of gallons of water are required to dye even small amounts of fabric, and that water then needs extensive filtration to become drinkable again. With potable water becoming a scarcer and scarcer commodity, how do we save more water for us, and still sustain the textile industry? Well, why not take water out of the equation altogether…
The U.S. based company Air Dye has managed to do exactly that, by creating a new technology that can dye fabric without using a single drop of water! This is an amazing advancement, and one we desperately need in the textile industry. There is one problem though – other than getting the word out and encouraging fabric companies to give it a try… Read the rest of this entry
Leather floors? Admit it, the idea sounds kinda sexy.
100% recycled leather floors? Totally sexy!
If you’ve ever wanted to impress your snooty acquaintances, surprise your treehugging friends, and talk your spouse (or client) into something they won’t think of as being too crunchy granola, TORLYS Leather flooring may be for you.
The interioRevolution is a design blog devoted exclusively to sustainable interior design. Through product reviews, guest blogs by experts in their fields, special features and spirited discussion, the interioRevolution provides new knowledge and expands the dialogue on sustainable interior design.
