Green Options » Interior Design

Yurt Living: Domes, Light, Furniture

Delia Montgomery — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:38:57 +0000

I love yurt living. It’s like camping out, — but in a modern, convenient structure. The dome has so much to do with that feeling.

As we face the Autumnal Equinox, I watch the interior dome light shift as it does with my landscaping. The daily light beam changes with seasons.

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Hotel Suite Interior Design Competition

Delia Montgomery — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:55:40 +0000

Have you interior designers learned about the USBGC Suite Design Competition? This is not only for professionals, but students as well. And it’s global!

Beware the entry deadline is fast approaching on August 31st, 2009 and judging will be completed by October 1st, 2009. The competition is sponsored by USGBC, The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and The Hospitality Industry Network (NEWH).

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Stinging Nettle Upholstery Fabric

Delia Montgomery — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:44:17 +0000

The BCE Environmental Leadership Awards recently praised Camira Fabrics as a major innovating business for a low-carbon economy. Their Sting Plus fabrics were featured. Four years research for development was funded by UK’s government with academic and scientific input.

The BCE intention is to honor businesses that meet current commercial demands without compromising the environment for future generations. It is UK’s most prestigious environmental award to be had.

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Fashioning Felt Exhibit Now in New York City at the Cooper Hewitt

Lucille Chi — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:09:04 +0000

New York City’s Cooper Hewitt is highlighting their Fashioning Felt exhibit in a big way. My mind is now filled with ideas about the possibilities of felt.

”Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting processes; they exclude non-woven felt and techniques, in order to underscore the essential elements of feltmaking — wool fiber, agitation, moisture, and pressure.”

I fell for this Felt Ovoid Jacket and Empire Pant look. Isn’t this draped felt suit creative?

Keep reading for more inspiration:

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Green Building Transitions + Awards

Delia Montgomery — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:39:41 +0000

Green building is about healthy settings with visual appeal. The goal is to create rooms for physical, emotional, mental and spiritual benefits. That means avoiding things like airborne allergens, chemicals, and clutter.

Yet the study of indoor air pollution can get complex. Hence, no surprise of this month’s announcement that the LEED accreditation system introduced by the U.S. Green Building Council was revamped.

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Sustainable, Organic Nusery Decor by Amenity

Jennifer Lance — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:45:45 +0000

Amenity, well know for their modern organic living interior design products, has created a line of delightful organic nursery products.

A child’s genuine comfort and a parent’s peace of mind guides our careful selection of the purest organic elements that form this collection: bumpers filled with organic wool, lovable blankets of breathable organic percale and supremely cozy organic fleece, all printed with certified organic dyes.

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Goldie Home is Cool Eco Luxury Design with a Soothing Palette for Interior Decor and Furnishing

Lucille Chi — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:07:17 +0000

Are you an interior designer that constantly receives calls for organic home furnishings and decor?

Goldiehome is a collection of eco-conscious homewares “inspired by the geometry and tactility of nature. By fusing sophisticated design with environmentally-responsible practices, Goldiehome strives to set a new standard for organic modern luxury.”

Each piece is made with careful attention to design and form, comfort and softness
The home collection is entirely SKAL & GOTS certified organic cotton.
Fibers are custom spun to achieve fine detail in jacquards and higher thread count sheetings.
The actual products and the packaging and collateral materials all reflect the best environmental choices within the framework of commercial manufacturing.

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Craft Room Makeover:Ditch Plastic Bins for Vintage Containers

Julie Finn — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:12:06 +0000

I don’t yet keep my craft room as green and organized as Lenore does, but it is one of my New Year’s resolutions to decorate my house more nicely (along with learning to sprout seeds, exercising every day, and getting a book contract), and it is part of our family ethic that anything we do must be done as green and thriftily as possible (per my green crafting manifesto), so Lenore and I are going to be craft room buddies pretty soon, I think.

I work almost entirely with found and recycled materials, so one of my biggest problems is the storage of…stuff. Old postage stamps, orphaned game pieces, costume jewelry, wrapping paper, comic books, beach rocks, buttons, and tinsel–you name it, and it finds its way into my work, and if I can’t see it and access it, I can’t use it.

Yeah, I’m tempted every time I wander into some big-box store, 40%-off coupon in hand, by all those clear, organized, neatly-portioned craft bins they always sell. Look, a different compartment for each kind of bead, and I can see them all! Look, slide-out drawers for each different kind of paper!

But I also want my craft room to have character, to not only contain the things that inspire me, but also, itself, BE an inspiration to me. So I have not bought those clear, organized, handy-yet-bland plastic bins. Instead, I try to find vintage, thrifted, or otherwise recycled containers for all my storage needs. Here’s part of my collection of vintage containers:

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Light Your Home, Sustainably

Cassie Walker — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:56:40 +0000

Are you a busy bee? Maybe you’re better described as fuzzy slippers or a blank canvas.

GE’s new website, What’s Your Lighting Style?, will help you to figure that out. After a fun (if a bit cheesy) eight-question “getting to know you” quiz, you’re given a lighting style for each room in your house. Based on each style, a “tip sheet” tells you how to create just the right atmosphere you want for the room, including furniture, colors, and – of course – lighting. Recommendations include each GE Energy Smart bulb that might be useful in your room, including dimmable bulbs and spotlights.

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FSC Certified Furniture Attracts Diverse Luxury Markets

Delia Montgomery — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:11:25 +0000

Sublimehome is a company in Scottsdale, Arizona that designs and manufactures innovative custom-made home furnishings with a limited production of eco-chic furniture. Owner Paul Jeffrey offers a contemporary style with master craftsmanship. “Transcend the ordinary” is his motto.

What makes Sublimehome green? Well, the FSC certified hardwoods that Paul uses are rapidly renewable, including exotics. Other materials are plyboo, kirei board, bamboo and palm wood. His stains and sealers are water and soy based while adhesives are formaldehyde-free. Finishes are with low VOCs.

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Where Are The Men In Organic And Sustainable Fabrics?

Skye Kilaen — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:26:36 +0000

So I’ve been doing the Fabulous Fabrics series for a while, and I’ve been noticing something.

HarmonyArt Organic Design, Amenity, Oliveira Textiles, Mod Green Pod, Rubie Green, Kirin & Co, Thea and Sami - all of the designers behind these wonderful fabrics are women. (Right? Someone correct me if I’m wrong.)

Michael Miller Organics stands out as the lone male name with an organic fabric line.

Can someone educate me a little here? Is it typical that most mainstream fabric is designed by women? I don’t know enough about the industry, honestly. I know that in quilting, men like Kaffe Fassett, Michael James, and Ricky Tims stand out not just because they’re good at what they do, but because they’re guys in an industry dominated by women. (Side note: am I the only person who really, really wants to pronouce Kaffe Fassett’s name as “coffee faucet?”)

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Recycled Plastic Chair Design for Nice House Plants or Outdoor Garden Furniture

Lucille Chi — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:36:52 +0000

This chair design takes healing house-plants to a whole new level. It is the “Let’s grow some balls! ” seat by Doreen Westphal who presented this object in april at the Salone Internazionale de Mobile as part of the Tuttobene (www.tuttobene.nl) exhibition in the Via Tortona. Their blog post explains:

“Let´s grow some balls! is a combination of lounge chair and plant container from recycled plastic. The design is a spontaneous and yes; very direct reaction on the ‘tegenlicht’ documentary here in Holland which introduced the cradle2cradle production principle. Let’s grow some balls! is a call to us designers to take more responsibility for the things we make.”

The shape changes every time, depending on the plants grown inside the ball. Some examples include the mediteranian herbal garden, tulips or exotic plants,

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Eco-Friendly Interior Design: Sustainable Furniture For Your Modern Home

Stancie Wilson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:36:17 +0000

A modern take on a Victorian classic, the Cleo sofa is just one in a collection of completely sustainable and modern furniture. Greener Lifestyles, based in Seattle, WA doesn’t believe you have to sacrifice your health, the environment or good design for well-made, long lasting pieces for your home. Priding themselves on impeccible craftsmenship and attention to detail with 100% sustainability their goal, they’re always searching for the best non-toxic materials.

Responsibly harvested FSC-certified wood is used for the frame, while sustainably harvested rubber tree sap is turned into their biodegradable and mold, mite and mildew-resisting latex cushions. Anti-microbial and naturally fire-retardant organic wool is used with organic cotton for all cushion batting.

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Interior Design Inspired by Local Salvage Centers

Deb Hiett — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:21:44 +0000

Looking for Style in All the Green Places

Lately I’m a bit obsessed by home decorating with reclaimed goods like old doorknobs, ornate metal heating grates, and odd hanging crystals from a long-gone chandelier. Sure, it would make more sense if I actually had a house — at the moment, my new husband and I are squeezing into our 600 square feet, one-bedroom apartment — but one day soon we will own a home, and when that day comes, I’ll be able to spread out and complete all the projects I have going in my head.

Meanwhile, I’ve found that trolling architectural salvage yards and house-part recycling centers is a fascinating diversion. You can find some amazing ways to decorate your home in completely unique (and green) ways, but you can also find perfectly good double-hung windows, newel posts, kitchen cabinets, big pieces of wood flooring, and bathroom vanities (from this century, even!).

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USGBC and ASID Launch REGREEN: Green Remodeling Guidelines

Joel Bittle — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:27:44 +0000

Under the FAQs for LEED for Homes is a question on whether the US Green Building Council has a LEED program for remodeling. The response is that they are “in active consideration.” It seems they’ve done more than just consider. Last month at the Interiors 08 conference in New Orleans, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) unveiled REGREEN, a joint program with the USGBC to provide guidelines for remodeling green. REGREEN will target residential designers, construction professionals, and homeowners. Though the USGBC was involved in its creation, REGREEN will be vastly different than LEED. Instead of assigning a point value to each green product or practice, REGREEN will be used more as a resource of what remodelers have done in the past to make homes more energy efficient, healthy, and sustainable.

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Metropolitan Home Goes Green

Kristin Dispenza — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:21:49 +0000

As green design becomes mainstream, it faces the challenge of having to appeal to an ever wider audience. To do so, it must adopt a diverse vocabulary, and not remain limited to — or associated with — a subculture. It is invaluable, then, when designers who are working to reinvent green are showcased in traditional publications that reach a broad readership.

In April, Metropolitan Home is introducing its first entirely green issue. One of the feature stories, “Sustainable in Seattle,” details Greg Smith’s remodel of a downtown penthouse. According to the article, project architects Kyle Gaffney and Shannon Rankin “tried to avoid the burlap-and-Birkenstock earnestness that can afflict green projects.” And Smith, a developer himself, said, “The goal was for visitors to walk in and not recognize that it was a sustainable, green space.” To this end, attention was lavished on the selection of interior materials, with an emphasis on stylish as well as sustainable design.

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