Oh wait.  I just looked it up.  Almost EVERYONE in the U.S. is experiencing weather in the 60-70 range today.  Minneapolis, MN is in the EIGHTIES!  WHAT???

Now I lost my train of thought…..

Oh yeah.  So anyway, I’m sure that soon (real soon now – right?) areas of the country will be getting that first taste of crisp autumn air, and what better way to stay stylishly warm than these handsome Eco Blankets by Happy Habitat!

These fetching throws were woven in the U.S. from 80% recycled cotton, and are available in four patterns, and four colors: Paprika, Mushroom, Ochre, or Cerulean.

But wait, there’s more!

To celebrate their new product line, Redefine Home is giving away a beautiful Paprika Fretwork throw!  Just click here for details on how you can enter (final day to enter is October 9th, 2011).

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Here, the heat of summer smacks right into the cold and wet of winter, with hardly any visual transition.  You have to search to find a tree displaying true fall color.  Luckily, Santa Monica based artist Cassandra Tondro is willing to make that search and give us a taste of autumn, Southern California style.

At first glance, you could be excused for thinking these are impressions from leaves that have been dipped in paint and pressed onto paper.  After all, didn’t many of us do that in crafts classes growing up?  Not that our childish blobs ever looked this amazing, but still, it’s been done right?  Guess again.

These primordial prints aren’t from color put ON the leaves.  These prints are created from color that is IN the leaves.

Through a special process she has developed, involving soaking, steaming and drying, Tondro is able to extract the actual color of the leaves onto deckle edge cotton rag paper.

The richly colored results are fascinating, and each print is completely unique!

To see more of her Leaf Monoprints, as well as her other eco-friendly art work, go to Tondro Green Art.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Harmony Art Chili Pepper Flannel

The lovely folks at Near Sea Naturals, the already notable internet source for organic fabric, have taken things to a whole new level with their new venture, American Grown-Spun-Milled.  With an inventory consisting of nothing that isn’t organically grown and then spun and manufactured in the United States, they are fulfilling a growing need for more locally based materials.  They are also continuing a long tradition of cotton and wool production in North America, as well as providing work for mills whose workload might otherwise be shipped off to China or India for cheaper manufacture.

Says Tara Bloyd, president of NearSea Naturals -

“At a time when many textile jobs and businesses are going overseas, our customers are demanding domestic, sustainable fabrics. They understand the importance of supporting the US textile industry and want to keep their business supply chains local.”

So far, their inventory is small, but enticing.   I imagine as demand increases so will the number of choices.  For now, here are some of the lovelies they have:

Thanks to my friend Harmony, of Harmony Art organic fabrics for letting me know about this great new online source!

And as always…
Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Well now you can – at least in pillow form – thanks to Etsy seller My Bearded Pigeon.   Who wouldn’t want to dream of great explorations while snuggled up on this pillow?

Since the adorable child is not included, here’s what the pillow looks like on its own…

This bright and cheerfully colored map, circa 1865, is printed onto a 100% organic cotton pillow cover, with a black organic cotton back and zipper closure (insert not included).

My Bearded Pigeon also has an amazing selection of decorative map pillows for grown-ups who dream of travel.

Maybe you’re dreaming of a tropical island paradise…

Or the summer heat means all you want to do is cool off on some Antarctic adventure.

Perhaps you’re having wistful thoughts of Spring in Paris.

Me? I still dream of the wedding and honeymoon I had in Italy.

But this summer, it’s all about our home state, as my son has to go to five historic California sites before school starts again. Do you think he could get extra credit if I marked where he had visited on this pillow and gave it to his teacher?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.

There are so many places to choose from, whether it’s a place that you dream of, or a thoughtful gift for someone a long way from home. Cath, of My Bearded Pigeon, will even take custom requests if you don’t see the place you’re thinking of.  Best of all, for each pillow sold, $1 is used in support of non-profit microlender Kiva.org, an organization I also support and recommend.

Cath does a few non-map pillows as well, including this wonderful, hand-embroidered poem by Bruce Williamson…

I can think of no better sentiment for the moment, as it is my son’s first day of summer vacation and we have a LOT of sandcastles to build before the summer is done!

Be sure to check out more of My Bearded Pigeons marvelous pillows here.

I’m absolutely giddy about it, which I’m sure leaves some of you wondering about my sanity.  For those of you who share in my enthusiasm for all things “woady” I promise will give you all a full report next week.

And don’t forget!  We are giving away a great Adesso Reach LED desk lamp this week!  You have until Saturday at midnight to enter.

Meanwhile, here are some of the things that caught my eye this week:

1. This tutorial for recycling porch light fixtures into terrariums is so brilliant. I’m definitely adding this to my list of things to incorporate into my new office space. (design*sponge)

2. Here’s another great giveaway, this one for some lovely Amy Butler organic bedding. (Green Bag Lady)

3. We are all so used to the idea of flatpack furniture, what with IKEA and all, but when designer Kem Weber pioneered the idea with his Airline Chair, people thought it was weird and he only managed to sell about 200 of them. Man, what I wouldn’t do to own one of those amazing chairs. (Boing Boing)

4. And speaking of IKEA, they recently made a pledge to transition to 100% “better cotton”. It looks to be a step in the right direction, but is it really enough? (Inhabitat)

5. I’ve always liked cheery yellow in a traditional kitchen, but never figured it would look right in a modern one. Here is a super sleek, modern kitchen with bright glossy yellow cabinets, and I have to admit, it looks great! (Trendir)

6. Wood is becoming an increasingly popular element in many interiors. This lovely home takes that idea to the nth degree. (2Modern blog)

7. And now I’ll leave you with two fascinating videos. The first is an interview with a woman who lives in a 90 sf “apartment” in New York. She’s managed to make it quite livable, although I could never sleep in a bed like that!

The second video I’ve included just because it’s so darn peaceful, even if it is a commercial.

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

This morning it’s all sunshine and fluffy clouds, which is the perfect setting to think about springtime. In celebration of the change of seasons, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of my favorite floral prints in organic and sustainable fabrics. Enjoy!

Plover Organic, Pink Roses – 100% organic cotton

WonderFluffShop (Etsy seller), Aqua Daisies – 100% organic cotton

Harmony Art, 10 Flowers - 100% organic cotton

LIVE Textiles, Topiary – 100% organic linen

Ink & Spindle, Flowering Gum - organic cotton and hemp blend

Rubie Green, Marilyn – 100% organic cotton

Mod Green Pod, Bloom – 100% organic cotton

Do you have a favorite organic or sustainable floral fabric?  Let us know about it in the comments below.

So, the minute I saw this pillow on Etsy, I knew I had to have it.

Created by Canadian designer Sara Smile, this hemp and organic cotton blend pillow cover is just plain girly fun! And it’s also a very reasonable $39 USD.

Look at some of her other pretty offerings…

Here she has a striking, black linen pillow cover, with a lovely rose of recycled polyester felt, topped off with a sparkly rhinestone button in the center. Perfect for the sophisticated girly girl.

And for the girl who is both feminine AND athletic, she has this adorable bicycle motif pillow.

How sweet are these two little lovebirds? Or maybe I should say birds in love? Either way, it’s yet another example of her fun, stylish, and sustainable pillows.

To see check out Sarah Smiles Etsy shop, sarahsmiledesign, click here.

Campaign Desk in “Revolution Red” by Etsy seller abodewell, made of reclaimed wood.

Hand embroidered pillow by Lost City.

Oceanside Glasstile in Red.

Harmony Art’s organic cotton fabric in 40 Ginkgos.

Recycled glass vase from Spain.

Graham & Brown’s paint in Double Decker Red.

My best wishes for a very Happy Valentine’s Day for all my wonderful readers (who put up with so much).  Now, go out there and stuff your faces with chocolate!  It’s really what today is all about – right?

It’s Friday!!!  And we are in the middle of the nominating process for Apartment Therapy’s The Homies 2011!  Want to help us reach the final cut?  Click here, and then leave the following comment:

Name: theinteriorevolution
URL: http://www.theinteriorevolution.com

We’d love to be in the final 6 blogs for voting.  It’s a great way to reach new readers, so we can keep getting the word out that green interiors are the way to go!

OK, now that that little bit of business is taken care of, on to some of the fun stuff I’ve been clicking on this week:

1.  Non-toxic dyes from agricultural waste seem to be the next new thing.  Here is a program developing in Argentina.  (Treehugger)

2.  Inhabitat is launching a Green Home Expert series.  Sigh.  They didn’t ask me… (LOL)  However, they do seem to have a roster of amazing talented people!  Definitely something to watch.  (Inhabitat)

3.  I love the concept behind this uber modular shelving.  Constantly convertible, and a lovely organic form as well. (Yanko Design)

4.  This tiny house built of pallets is so charming!  And only costs about $500 to build. (Lloyd’s Blog)

5.  I die for this beautiful upcycled doily lamp.  Seriously, you have to look at this thing.  Makes me want to run out and invest in doilies (did I just type that???) (reMade USA)

6.  These gorgeous, modern glass and cork vases and lamps are reason #1,378,632 for why I wish I could attend Maison&Objet in Paris right now. (Dezeen)

7.  These adorable, organic cotton pillows are, well,… adorable.  They remind me of the Richard Scarry books I had as a child.  So sweet.  (Green Your Decor)

Well, that’s it for now.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Problem solved!  These beautiful In2Green recycled cotton throws are thick, soft, and oh so warm.  Knit in the U.S., from yarn made of reclaimed t-shirt cuttings salvaged from cut and sew factories, the throws are 50″ x 60″, and machine washable.  I love the Ikat pattern ($130) in the knit, but there are other styles that are equally lovely.

This Coral pattern ($130) looks like something right off the pages of Elle Decor.

And their Indian pattern ($130) would fit in just about anywhere.

There is even an adorable, big polka dot patterned throw ($50) for baby (30″ x 40″).

The yarn colors used in these throws are from the original t-shirt cuttings, so no additional dyes are required, which makes for a nice, low impact product.  However, if you are concerned about what types of dyes might originally have been used for the t-shirt fabric,…

then you might want to look at one of In2Green’s undyed, organic cotton knit throws ($150) instead.  Sigh.  They remind me so much of my first trip to Ireland, and the thick, cable knit Erin Island sweater I purchased while there.  I want to wrap myself up in one of these throws, settle down in front a a peat fire, with a butter soaked slice of fresh baked soda bread in one hand, and a mug of Irish Breakfast tea in the other.  OK, now I’m hungry.

Now, by way of full disclosure, I wanted to make a little announcement.  In order to keep this blog not just up and running, but adjusting, expanding and evolving, it needs to earn its keep.  My 8 year old son does much the same thing (sort of) by taking out the trash, setting the table, and taking bribes to keep out of my way keeping quiet while I work.  However, this blog isn’t particularly good at doing chores (much like its editor), so it’s going to have to try other means.  Namely, joining Open Sky* and seeing if we get along.  So starting today you will see an occasional post, as items become available, where I will let you know that part of the purchase price of those items will go towards supporting this blog.

Mind you, I was actually pretty nervous about promoting items this way, so I insisted on being sent a sample of this recycled cotton throw to give it the once over before telling you about it.  Half expecting some flimsy, printed on piece of fabric, once it arrived, I quickly realized I needn’t have worried.  The throw is thick and substantial, with a richly colored pattern woven throughout.

Rest assured, I will be just as diligent on any future promotions.  After all, a girl’s got to watch out for her reputation…

Please feel free to leave a comment.  I always like to know what our readers think.

*What is Open Sky you say?  Hmmm…  I think I’ll let the LA Times explain.