I had the pleasure last night of being part of a panel discussion on green home remodeling, presented by the Orange County chapter of the USGBC. My fellow panelists were award winning architect Brion Jeanette, landscape architect and TV personality Dean Hill, and energy efficiency expert Dan Thomson, president and founder of The Building Doctors.
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.
The DIY Channel’s new show, “This New House” premieres tonight, July 29th, at 8PM/7C. If the trailer for the series is any indication, it should be chock full of innovative, high tech products, many of them geared towards energy savings and other aspects of green living.
One of the projects highlighted in the first three episodes is the Cleantech Teaching Center, a state of the art showcase home located in Beverly, MA. This house features an entirely LED lighting system, rainwater recovery system, geothermal energy, and solar photovoltaic panels. Sustainable materials were used throughout the interior, including Trend USA’s lovely Trend Q recycled glass tile. Cleantech Homes, LLC has applied for LEED PLatinum status for the home. Read the rest of this entry »
In Victorian times, it was considered unseemly to snuggle too close to your intended until you were married. So for all those lovesick ladies and gentlemen, the “courting bench“, was invented. Also referred to as a tete a tete, the courting bench consisted of two seats joined together, but facing opposite directions. Very popular amongst worried Victorian parents. Probably not so much for the young men and women required to sit politely in them.
Those prim Victorians definitely wouldn’t have appreciated the sensuous curves of Onyx’s brilliant, and oh so modern, interpretation. 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…
A lovely new kitchen, made of reclaimed materials, that looks absolutely classic. (re-nest)
GE has unveiled their latest technology in super efficient OLED lighting. (Inhabitat)
It takes 5,000 cocoons to provide enough silk for one kimono! And this guy is raising the caterpillars, spinning the silk, and weaving it all by himself. (BoingBoing)
And finally, the most adorable ad, made on a whim by an 11 year old girl, for Harmony Art organic cotton fabrics. Seriously, somebody hire this girl! (The Journey is the Prize)
Recycled paper, molded into a shade, then fully wired and ready to go! Created and developed by Polish designer Ania Werner, the Make Your Lamp manages to be both sustainable AND affordable.
Dr. Steingraber’s story is one of crisis, survival, realization and action. A story that revolves around cancer. Her cancer. A story that involves her taking her knowledge of science and using it to enlighten us as to why so many – so very many – of us are getting it. Read the rest of this entry »
A loving ode to the art of learning from your mistakes.
In the enjoyable, well paced “Made by Hand”, author Mark Frauenfelder, of Make Magazine fame, tells lively DIY tales of chickens, honey, math and espresso.
Oh, and there is a bit in there about cigar box banjos too.
I’ve followed Mark via Make and BoingBoing for several years, and have always found his take on the DIY way of life to be funny and candid. Much of what he writes about, even the part about the trials and tribulations of building a better hen house, is relevant to what is happening within the larger green design community. After all, making things ourselves, out of materials close at hand, is surely more sustainable than purchasing a mass produced item from overseas.
With his honest confessions of failure, and spiritual descriptions of success, Frauenfelder gives us inspiration to live a simpler, more connected life. But reader beware – you just might find yourself googling for instructions to make that cigar box banjo by the time you put down the book.
This last Sunday, my husband and I took our son to the Annual Origami Festival at the CSULB Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. The normally tranquil space, its large pond filled with jewel colored koi, had been transformed into a bustling garden full of happy, paper folding families. Origami aficionados and amateurs alike were busily creating flowers, boxes, cranes,… hats, brooches, pterodactyls,… whatever their fingers could fold.
I was killing time, wandering around while my son tried to convince a very overstuffed koi fish to take one more piece of fish chow, when I ran across a lovely sight…
A loom! Now, I’m not a weaver, but I did once take a class, and I find the whole process fascinating. As I stood in front of this loom and stared at the work in progress, I wondered what on earth the yarn was made of. I couldn’t figure it out. Was it jute? No, not rough enough. Was it wool? No, no fibers sticking out. Well, what the heck was it?? 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 »
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.
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!
