I didn’t darken my site in protest of SOPA (mostly because I’m enough of a klutz I was afraid I would never be able to turn the lights on again), but I do take the threat to internet freedom very seriously. Few sites on the internet, including mine, would be safe under SOPA or PIPA. The legislation would fundamentally change the internet as we know it.
I’m taking the day off the internet today, trying to imagine what life would be like if I couldn’t access all the great information available online. Care to join me?
Usefulness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Jacob Ruch has a knack for bringing out both characteristics in his work. Curbside cast-offs, salvage yard finds, construction refuse – all find a place at Reason Furniture Design, where the proverbial sow’s ear is transformed into… you know.
The company is named for Jacob’s great-uncle, Reason Ruch, who was, according to the artist, “extremely independent and self-sufficient, an excellent craftsman who could make wonderful things with very limited resources.” Jacob strives to make his business emulate those qualities. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m writing this in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and all others who stand up for what they believe.
My father’s parents weren’t particularly “green”. Although they were fairly frugal, as so many of their generation were, they loved to keep their thermostat set at about 72° F (22.2° C) all year long. The A/C was on constantly in the summer, and the heater blasted away day and night in the winter. They wore polyester clothes, drank a Coke every day at lunch, drove huge gas guzzling cars (again with the A/C blasting), and generally didn’t think much more about the environment than that there should be one. So how did they teach me anything about sustainable design?
In the depths of winter the primal side of us emerges in a longing for nourishing food, cheerful company, comfort, and the security of warmth. In the past all this often came together before the fireplace. What better than to snuggle up and watch the flames flicker and dance, as the fire turns one’s home into a snug little burrow?
Today, however, the sheer energy-inefficiency of a traditional fireplace can make it a less-than-desirable fixture in one’s household. Yet the allure of captive flame remains. So, how to satisfy that ancient longing?
Why, bypass the fireplace, of course.
Enter Wall Flame I & II, the sleek brain-children of Michael Rösing, managing director of Radius Design, in Brühl, Germany. Gone is the large, surrounding containment structure, gone the flue, gone the chimney. In short, gone is the fireplace itself, and in its place is left a simplicity of flame. Read the rest of this entry »
If you haven’t heard about the explosion of interest in big, flouncy red dresses in the last few days, read this and then come back here….
Did you read the whole thing? Good, because I think The Bloggess has touched on something really important.
Namely, we have to indulge ourselves from time to time with something that is true to our nature, no matter how ridiculous or silly others may find it to be. For me it was painting my nails a bright, sparkly blue – just in time to have my photo session for new publicity shots. Three hours of me, posing like a (not terribly good) model, all with a celestial blue manicure. I almost talked myself out of it beforehand, reasoning that it might look a bit to silly for someone of my age (which my son always tells me is 29 – bless his wonderful soul!), and instead I should stick to a more conservative “arty” color like beige or gray. But then I realized that silly is really who I am, so why hide it?
Really, why should any of us hide it? Why should any of us live with beige nails if we feel like having blue ones instead. Or buy a beige sofa because a red one just seems like such a commitment, even though it’s always been your dream?
And that’s the trick to all of this when it comes to our homes. It has to be your dream – an expression of who you are deep down. Although the purchase can be impulsive, the desire has to live inside you for a long time. That is how you know you won’t regret it, because it is who you really are.
So what is your “red sofa”? What is the thing you really wish you had the guts to do, but haven’t taken that leap of faith yet?
This is going to be an big year for The InterioREvolution and we couldn’t be more excited! Readership has more than doubled in the last couple of months, and looks to continue its rapid growth through 2012, so now is the time to take things to the next level.
Starting in February, we will have month long sponsorships available on our blog! These won’t just be banners hovering around the perimeter, hoping that someone will notice them and ask them to dance. No, we want our support to be stronger than that, so in addition to a banner, each sponsor will also get a dedicated blog post describing their company and product, and why we are so happy to have them with us for the month, in a addition to promotion through our social media platforms on the day of the post. Lots of exposure, but not a lot of expense.
Interested? Contact us for information on pricing, banner requirements, and availability.
While the name and the concept seem pure ’70s (if this bed’s a rockin’…),
the execution is most definitely not! This is the Mood Rocking Bed by Shiner International, and it has style!
I just have to say, I don’t know whether it’s the pastoral setting, the pretty draping of the netting above, or simply that I need a nap, but that bed looks awfully tempting, don’t you think?
There are modular homes and modular walls and modular floors… but have you seen a modular plant? No? I hadn’t either.
But the clever folks at DIRTT Environmental Solutions looked into their imaginations and saw a vertical garden: rows and ranks of pretty, VOC-absorbing plants marching up any given wall. Then Sustainable Industries looked at Breathe and named it one of the Top Ten Building Products of 2011.
If you got buried in 2011, is 2012 your year to dig yourself out and get a fresh start? Why not pick a room, get rid of what you’ve never loved or needed, and then make it the way you’ve always wanted?
For me, it’s my kitchen I’m most itchin’ to update. Might just have to make that a project to share with you – if I’m brave enough!
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.
