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

This weeks find is a set of four fun upcycled chairs by Etsy seller mattjohnsondesigns. Saved from a house that was being demolished, and stripped of their original orange paint, these chairs were given new life and style with the addition of various bike parts. The decorative medallion across the back is made from aluminum and a mountain bike sprocket.

The seats are woven bicycle inner tubes.

Sold as a set of four, these chairs are great example of how carefully chosen elements make for great up cycled design.

Matt Johnson has several other unique designs, including the surprisingly sophisticated looking carburetor lamp.

I wasn’t really sure if I liked his piston bookshelf at first, but now I think I’m falling in love with it. If I had it, I think I would fill it with Gothic novels, with Frankenstein holding pride of place.

Must be the placement of those pistons, no?

Now two other designers have added some fresh coats of “paint” to the concept.

Meet the CANdle, by the design team at twenty5ive…

And Pouring Light by product designer Yeongwoo Kim.

Resembling a can of paint, twenty5ive’s aluminum CANdle utilizes LED lamps to create a lightweight, durable, portable light fixture.

Intended for use as either a spotlight, or for ambient light, the CANdle is also suitable for outdoor use.

The Pouring Light Lamp by Yeonwoo Kim is a stylish and sustainable take on the classic desktop task lamp.  By using phosphorescent material in the “liquid” portion of the stand, the light given off by the interior LED can be stored in the material, and then continue to glow after the lamp is turned off.

Both of these fixtures are in the conceptual stage, but both speak to the possibilities inherent in the burgeoning realm of LED technology.  With their relatively small size and significantly lower temperatures, LEDs are already revolutionizing lighting design.  Let’s hope we continue to see such wonderful, innovative products hitting actual market shelves soon.

Note – Both of these products were found on Yanko Design, a terrific blog for keeping up with new and creative design solutions.

Is it a lamp, a table, a wallhanging, or all of the above?  Whatever you want to call it, I think you’ll agree, it’s darn cute.  Just look at that banana yellow!

Made of aluminum, with a warm white LED light, this fixture is also darn sustainable, if a bit on the pricey side ($415-$451 U.S.)

Available through TopDomus.

Nothing really, except the name – and perhaps the perky attitude.

Created by SAGE in Design from bamboo that was bent without steaming, the Marlo chair features an eco-friendly recycled tire inner tube seat.  I find the form of this chair fascinating, especially that dramatic split down the middle.  Seriously, what holds the chair together?There are other pieces in the Marlo line, including this great Marlo Tire Bench in sand cast aluminum from 98.5% recycled auto parts.  Just like the chair, the seat cushion and back are made from tire inner tubes.  I have to admit, I’ve never envisioned something so futuristic and sleek looking coming out the remains of an old car junkyard.  What a great example of re-envisioning materials!

Both pieces are made in the United States, and are available in a range of colors and finishes.  Click here to explore more of SAGE in Design’s extensive range of environmentally friendly contract furniture.

Our moderator was the ever charming Cathy Baranger (with me above), one of the founding members of the USGBC chapter in Orange County.

Our setting was the beautiful Room & Board store at South Coast Plaza Village.  Love those recycled aluminum Emeco chairs.  So sharp!

They really pulled out all the stops to accommodate us, including setting up a terrific room for our panel discussion.

There was the wonderfully casual setup for our panel (we used the blank wall above to project a PowerPoint presentation).

And then checkout what they did with the audience chairs,… they arranged them in shaded rows starting with white and ending in charcoal.  I love it when people think of little details like that.  Makes all the difference.

I spent a little time walking around and checking out some of their sustainable offerings.  Take a look at a few of the things I found…

Love the cheery, fresh green of these great recycled plastic chairs from Loll.

These Toka baskets are individually hand woven by women in Zambia, from the roots of the makenge bush.

Beautiful handscreened prints!  Titled the Tree Series Linden, they are a limited edition collaboration between KleinReid and iconic modernist, Eva Zeisel.

This handsome sectional is upholstered in fabric made of 60% recycled cotton.

Wish I had the wall space for this great, vintage British trolley sign!  I have no idea how they managed to score these, but kudos to the person who thought to make them into wall art.

Wow.  Just wow.  For this, I’d MAKE the wall space.  This is one of 42 street banners celebrating a 2008 exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on contemporary Japanese fashion.  Banners for museums and events are always so beautiful.  What a great idea to re-use them for wall art!

All in all, it was a fun event, in a lovely, inspiring setting.  Room & Board store manager, John Fox, and his terrific staff made sure everything went smoothly.  All the wonderful USGBC people working on the event were patient with me as I struggled through my jet lag.  And of course, my fellow panelists were informative, engaging, and even pretty funny.  Thanks everyone!

image via Yanko Design

Combining the green design communities love for the efficient use of materials with the energy savings of flatpack design, these three dimensional pieces made of a single sheet of recyclable metal are all the rage.

Here we see the Qbik steel lamp, designed by Enrico Zanolla and Andrea Di FIlippo for Miniforms Spa.  With its boxy form and heat releasing perforated top, this lamp has a very modern industrial feel.  But folded metal can also look a bit softer…

Somehow, Los Angeles based designer Brooke Woosley has taken a single sheet of aluminum, and given it lightness of form that belies its heavier nature.  Inspired by origami, the Oru table has a glossy white auto finish top, with a matte blue underside.  The folds are created using a water jet to cut perforated lines along which to bend the metal.

A similar technique of perforation was used to make the folds for the Noshi Stool by Designloop, although here the material is laser cut steel.  Unlike the previous pieces however, this one is in production and available for purchase ($243).  Cute, handy, and very, very durable, the Noshi also comes in grey and black.

This whimsical LED lamp, designed by Pablo Pardo, seems the perfect fit for a child’s room.

Flexible yet sturdy, the aluminum Link Table Lamp has splayed “feet” for added stability, which only adds to it’s slightly comical look.  The 15 LED bulbs remain cool to the touch, making it the perfect lamp for little ones who may still be learning the age old “hot – don’t touch” mantra.  And with an expected bulb lifespan of up to 100,000 hours, the lamp they learn to read “Green Eggs and Ham” under may well light their way through their first college chemistry course.

Available in 5 colors, both online and in Room & Board stores.

So, here is one of the first things I saw written about from Milan this week.  Tokujin Yoshioka’s “Memory” chair.  Created from recycled aluminum, it changes shape every time someone sits in it. (Inhabitat)

To see more amazing furniture, lighting and products from Milan Design Week, check out Inhabitat’s “Best of” slide show. (Inhabitat)

Here are some cool wildlife portraits made from old topographical maps.  This one is actually from last week, but too lovely not to mention. (BoingBoing)

I love this wallpaper using old newspapers to create a grasscloth look.  Fairly expensive, but for the right room it could be stunning. (Design Green)

Love this rustic yet very modern take on the picnic bench, using brightly colored enameled aluminum and FSC certified redwood. (re-nest)

Recycled gym floor decor – fun! (Green Your Decor)

Finally, is this the greenest bulb of all? (Design Green)

Happy weekend everyone!

I want to thank our wonderful guest blogger this week, Linsi Brownson of Inspired Design Daily!  She wrote beautifully – as always.

So onto this weeks Wrap-up!

Image via Inhabitat

I don’t know why but every time I look at this image, the theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind plays round in my head.  These are in fact new energy efficient “Trex” lamps, and they are definitely worth a closer look. (via Inhabitat)

How about aluminum tiles made from retired airplanes?  You can even get them with old rivets and dings left in. (via re-nest)

A good list of 10 water efficient kitchen faucets, priced from high to low. (via re-nest)

Beautiful tile made from the waste by-products of the fishing industry (via The Thread Post)

Cute kids furniture made of cardboard, from Riki Watanabe designs first conceived of in 1965. (via Chictip)

Love this clever chair cut from one piece of plywood. (via Yanko Design)

I always advise people not to get a memory foam mattress. Now you can read why. (via Treehugger)

And lastly, although it’s not really about green interior design, Planet 100′s Top 5 Eco Contradictions is a great way to understand a little more about greenwashing.

Have an amazing weekend all!