So, if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember this…
My office before
and this… and finally this. That was back in March of last year. I’m sorry I left you hanging. Still, I thought you might like to see the final result. Read the rest of this entry
Off to the Emerald City we go…
Whether ancient…
or modern, a bright green wall really pops. Read the rest of this entry
Go to the local – or chain – hardware store and take a stroll to the paint section, where rows upon rows and literally thousands of color choices may await customers. What’s in that paint? In many cases, that information can be more than difficult to unearth.
In the vast majority of cases the base material is latex, supplemented by a witch’s brew of chemicals to achieve consistency, color, and so forth, produced with petro-chemical or synthetic ingredients. The result, whatever the formula, is often toxic. Who wants that?
Florian Speier and Jessica Pfohl are among those looking for something more. Out of frustration at the “greenwashing and lack of ingredient transparency in the paint industry,” the husband and wife team founded Unearthed Paints with the determination to help change the industry.
Today we are reviewing ECOS Paints, a product line that has been manufactured and sold in Britain since 1988, but only recently opened up manufacturing and distribution in the United States. Available in a large variety of finishes and specialized application formulas, ECOS promotes itself as being solvent free, odorless, and free of all toxins. In fact, it was invented by a paint chemist, Ian West, who discovered he was chemically sensitive after feeling ill for some time. According to ECOS, their paints and varnishes are so pure you can actually eat them, although they warned they were still pretty nasty tasting, so I decided not to add that to the testing procedure!
Here are the results for what I did test – Read the rest of this entry
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.
In honor of that gorgeous hue of love, here are a few of my favorite sustainable products in red…
Campaign Desk in “Revolution Red” by Etsy seller abodewell, made of reclaimed wood.
Hand embroidered pillow by Lost City. Read the rest of this entry
We are starting up a new round of no to low VOC paint reviews, to help you make sense of the myriad of choices out there. Previously, we have reviewed some of the major manufacturers no-VOC offerings. Now we are going to begin taking a look at some of the “boutique” brands out there, starting with Graham & Brown’s new matte finish paint.
British wallpaper company Graham & Brown has just launched “Colours That Made Britain Great“, a new line of high quality, low-VOC paints, with a very English sense of style.
Designed to coordinate with their wallpaper collections, this flat matte finish paint comes in wonderfully British sounding colors, such as Double Decker Red, Nice Cup of Tea, and Stiff Upper Lip. But the names are nothing compared to the ultimate anglophile packaging… Read the rest of this entry
Wrapping up this week’s look at the mainstream manufacturer’s no-VOC flat paints, we have Benjamin Moore‘s Natura.
Welcome to the second in our series of posts on no-VOC paints. Today we are reviewing Harmony, by Sherwin Williams.
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.
