I am so looking forward to this weekend!  Why you ask?  Because this is where I am going to be on Saturday…

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!

The fifth in a series of artisan profiles by contributing writer Emerald Atkins.

Don’t throw away that house paint!  It can be used for art.

Cassandra Tondro, an artist living in Santa Monica, CA, knows that secret, and has been using it since 2007 to create vibrant abstract paintings.  Her unique medium comes from many sources.  Sometimes the acrylic latex paint is literally repurposed house paint, gleaned either from the mistint shelves of hardware stores or from the local household hazardous waste center.  She also works directly with her clients by incorporating leftover paint from their architectural site to create truly custom art.

Read the rest of this entry »

Unfortunately, this great ottoman didn’t quite qualify for my “Recycled Menswear” post a couple of weeks ago, being that it is from virgin wool.  Still, it definitely has that handsome look to it, doesn’t it?

Created by the Los Angeles based Graf & Lantz design studio, this ottoman consists of multiple small rectangles of German merino wool felt, painstakingly stitched together into the debonair herringbone pattern you see.

Of course, that isn’t the only cool thing they make from wool felt… Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a nice video of a lovely green home for sale in our area.

I realize that it doesn’t look like what we usually think of as a green home, and that is exactly the point.  From the integrated solar roof tiles to the heavy duty insulation, the sustainable aspects of this home are largely hidden.  And yet, they are very, very effective, allowing this home to achieve one of the highest GreenPoint Rated scores ever given.

And those fancy Viking appliances in the kitchen?   Purchased from Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.  Man, I need to go shopping there!

In any case, I had the pleasure of getting to know the couple behind this terrific home, and even helped them get a hold of  some of the sustainable furnishings to showcase.  If you watch when the video pans to the dining room, you will see one of William Stranger’s gorgeous wood slab tables.  And the rugs featured throughout are handwoven of sustainable, vegetable dyed yak wool and wild silk, (I’ll be writing more about the rugs in another post).   Online eco-friendly home furnishings retailer My Sparrow also contributed some of their great accessory items, such as artwork, pillows and bath products.

So, enjoy the video, or if you are in Southern California area, see about getting a tour at one of the open houses.  It’s a terrific project, and well worth seeing.  Oh, and many of the items you will see are available for purchase, so if you see something you can’t live without, feel free to contact me and I will get you more information and let you know who to contact.

Happy almost weekend everyone!

Image via Yanko Design

I realize I might be stretching things a bit to include tree planting robots on an interior design blog, but, they’re so eco-friendly and CUTE!  And besides, isn’t it better than the usual apocalyptic robot future we usually see?  (Yanko Design)

Lot’s more to look at this week…

How about a garden made of 40,000 books? (Inhabitat)

Speaking of Inhabitat, they’re having a back to school contest.  Get your eco-academic groove on with $150 worth of green school gear. (Inhabitat)

Green interior design pioneer, Penny Bonda, details the ups and downs of her own recent kitchen renovation.  Turns out even the experts can make the occasional mistake. (Design Green Blog)

Check out these trippy LED embedded wood stools. (re-nest)

Renters, it’s still possible to live green! (Los Angeles Times)

And, since I ran out of time last Friday to do a Wrap-up, here are a couple of good articles from last week that you might find interesting -

Is this the best use of 500 SF in New York City? Possibly anywhere? (Treehugger)

And what is our devotion to cheap, easily broken stuff really doing to us?  How did we go from a toaster that could last 50 years, to one that only costs $5 (and lasts about as long as it takes you to get it home).

I’ll be working on a Habitat for Humanity build tomorrow, and then collapsing in a heap Sunday.  How about you?  What kinds of fun things do you have planned now that Summer is winding down?

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world…

If this blog had a theme song, it would most likely be “Revolution”, by The Beatles.  After all, we are writing about the revolution going on in areas as diverse as technology and handcraft.  We are also writing about the evolution of the interior design profession as we attempt to meet the changing needs of our planet – needs such as sustainability, non-toxicity, and energy efficiency.

So if “Revolution” is our theme song, this credenza would have to be our theme furniture.  Why?  Well, take a look inside…

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.

I’m in the process of trying to catch up on all I’ve missed while I was “enjoying’ my annual Summer cold and laryngitis fest.  As i’ve been plowing through an amazing backlog of design websites, I thought I would share with you one of the trends that really seems to be taking hold – metal origami.

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… Read the rest of this entry »

Artisan Profile by Emerald Atkins

Stranger Furniture is proof that deeply sustainable can mean deeply beautiful.

When the roughness of bark and the “imperfections” of natural wood are respected and used, when the natural, intricate grain of a board is allowed to shine forth in all its beauty, when the source tree “speaks” for itself, the results are tangible.

William Stranger’s work encompasses not just cabinetry and tables but also humbler creations such as lamps, utensils, and cutting boards.  Each aspect of his work supports a goal of creating zero waste.  Recycling is practiced whenever possible; scrap wood is donated to schools and other artists; even sawdust is used as animal bedding and then composted in order to minimize the shop’s impact.  As the artist explained, these business choices spring from a commitment “to an evolution that will take us beyond sustainability.” Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve got the typical “June Gloom” conditions going on this morning in Orange County.  Overcast, breezy, even a little drizzle now and then.  Hard to imagine that Summer vacation is about to start…

Of course, that means my son will be bringing home loads and loads of old school papers, most of which we really don’t need to keep.  Perhaps we should get this multifunctional paper shredder/coffee table?  Actually, with the way things are going for BP in the Gulf, they might want to invest in a bunch of them for all their executives soon.  Just sayin’.  (Design Sponge)

Sadly, I point you now to the final installment of the Cardboard Fort Architecture series.  This scholarly set of posts has been full of architectural achievement and analysis the likes of which you rarely see.  OK.  Actually, it’s just damn hilarious – and the kids are SO cute! (Build Blog)

So what do you think about the recent study claiming LEED certification does nothing to ensure the interior environment isn’t still toxic? (re-nest)

I was so happy to see my friends at L.A. Box Collective mentioned on Inhabitat!  If you are in SoCal, you should check out their new show. (Inhabitat)

The new issue of Lonny is here!  Now if I could only get an iPad to read it on, my life would be (almost) complete. (Table Tonic)

And speaking of iPads, if I ever do get one, this is what I’m going to put it in. (Inhabitat)

That’s it for now.  Wishing you a blissful weekend!