New Old Things - Refab: Clinic

Speaking of mid-century modern... If you dream about owning vintage pieces from the 1950's and 60's - visit Refab: Clinic. They have a bright, fun website featuring all sorts of decorative accessories that they classify as "happy vintage modern home furnishings". The prices are quite affordable - and if you look close enough you might find a little piece of childhood nostalgia hiding on their shelves. Read More..

Spotted at Apartment Therapy - Recycled Car Hoods, Hidden Televisions & A Dog

We're running around like crazy here at the office today, so our posting schedule is a bit off. However, we wanted to share a couple of things we enjoyed over at AT today.

These very unique recycled car hood tables from Re-Nest are created by Dallas Welder Joel Hester. He turns the colorful and rusty hoods of junkyard cars into industrial tables with a shine and finish unique to vintage metals.

Not everyone oohs and ahhs over big, flat screen TV technology. There are some who prefer to hide their gadget and gizmos, or at least have them blend into the design aesthetic of the room. Here's how designer Kelly Geisen created a great storage solution for her electronic gadgetry.

And, this picture was just darn cute. We had to post it, but if you're up for a challenge, see if you can identify the mod textile pattern design.

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Recycled Glass Tableware - La Mediterranea

Made of 100% recycled glass, La Mediterranea is a line of table top items that offer such brilliant color and hue, you would never guess the raw materials used in their production were diverted from the landfill. La Mediterranea converts 5 million kilos (11 million pounds!) of glass each year salvaged from Spain’s urban recycling bins into glasses, goblets, vases, plates, and more in a dozen patterns and 15 delightful hues. Designed and crafted in Valencia, Spain since 1975, the process combines computerized manufacturing with artisan glassblowing techniques. via: Inhabitat

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100% Recyclable Kitchen - Invitrum by Valcucine

We're always on the lookout for great kitchen design and when we find great design that happens to be green, we're even more excited. The new Invitrum line, by the Italian company, Valcucine, is made of 100% recyclable aluminum and glass. Valcucine labels each component of the cabinetry with a recycling icon, so the consumer should have no problem deciphering where each piece of the kitchen should go when it reaches the end of it's lifecycle. Very sleek, very stylish, very sustainable! (See large image below for recycling icon) Via: JetsonGreen See more Invitrum images via: Valcucine Flickr Set


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From Broken Bottles to Beautiful Baths - A Story of Reclaimed Glass

Artist Steve Weinstock of Alchemy finds his inspiration in a pile of reclaimed glass pebbles and shards of broken bottles. Many of the bathroom sink models in Alchemy’s Celestial Series transform recyclable glass scraps into a modern marvel of design.

This new series of bathroom sinks illustrates how thin one can cut a piece of glass and how the arrangement of shards can bring a colorful and completely unique look to the high-end bath.

And, did you know? Products made from recycled glass are stronger and save energy because they are produced using a lower temperature and take less time to create. Beautiful and green, a perfect combination!
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Heirloom Furnishings from Reclaimed Lumber

For anyone with a desire for handcrafted furniture and a passion for green living will fall in love Whit McLeod. His career began "on the other side of the bark" as a wildlife biologist and his abiding reverence for the natural world is reflected in his award-winning line of Arts and Crafts furniture. Heirloom furnishings with a twist, reclaimed lumber from oak wine barrels and Douglas Fir rescued from industrial waste are handcrafted into furniture fit for Gustav Stickley, Frank Lloyd Wright and William Morris enthusiasts everywhere.

That spirit of preservation informs his manufacturing process, from relying on vintage machinery that McLeod has retooled himself to scouring scrap yards for copper to be melted down in his foundry for tiles used in tabletops. Accordingly, every facet of his work is done in-house — unheard of in this present day and age.

From tables and chairs to flooring and sculptural metals, Whit McLeod captures the true essence of sustainability in his heirloom quality furnishings. This is a good as it gets!

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Cologne IMM: Sustainable Wood

So here's an interesting story... We traveled all the way to Germany to the Cologne IMM furniture fair to find a furniture maker that is helping to repurpose wood that we discard here in the USA. Hartmann takes gum wood hearts that we might disregard as unusable here in our country and they turn it into this exotic and beautiful application for cabinetry and furniture. We love the modern, horizontal grains and the sustainable application of reusing discarded materials to create something so unique and exotic!

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Heimtexil 2009: Construction Reconstruction

Our coverage of our very first tradeshow of 2009 - Heimtextil - begins today straight from snowy and blustery cold Frankfurt, Germany. Full of fabrics, textures, colors and dynamic trend statements, it's a perfect way to start a new year.

The first overall statement we're pulling out of the show is construction/reconstruction; taking something apart and reformulating it in a new more complex way. We anticipate seeing this trend across many shows this year as many designers create designs and art through the useful repurposing of many materials.

Netting from Nya Nordiska in which the warp is printed and laser cut into pieces and rewoven.

Another example is a puckered box texture from Vrijesh in which the fabric is raveled in areas and reattached to an elasticized grid.

We will be back with more from Heimtexil 2009 tomorrow and early next week!

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Model Home Monday: The 747 Wing House

The architect and owner of design firm SEA (Studio for Environmental Architecture) David Hertz is building a much-discussed 747 Wing House, which is still under construction in the Santa Monica mountains. The home appropriates parts of a retired jet for a multi-structured residence that embodies the idea of reuse into home design.

“I drew a section that was curved like the hull of a ship” for the 55-acre site, he recalls, “and when I completed hat ellipse, I realized it looked like an airplane wing.” Knowing that he was looking at an expensive roof, Hertz opted instead to “repurpose a real one.” An airplane wing, he found, already offered the means “to achieve the highest strength and the lightest weight.” Even better? “This is a 100 percent post-consumer product, and it’s a $200 million airplane that we bought for $30,000—the price of its primary raw material, aluminum.”

To see more of David Hertz and his firm's other completed works, visit their website.

via: Plenty Magazine

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From Wrappers into Fashion

The TerraCycle story is a tale of ultimate Eco-Capitalism. It all started in 2001 when two Princeton University students set out to change the way people do business. Inspired by a box of worms, these students had a dream: a company could be financially successful while being ecologically and socially responsible.

The company has taken their dream to the next level, inspiring the consumer to become environmentally responsible and TerraCycle is paying them to do it. Simply sign up on their website to collect juice pouches, wine corks, yogurt containers, cookie wrappers and the like and TerraCycle will send you a check. Yes, it's true, they will pay you for your trash.

This is a perfect way for schools, organizations and charities to make extra money, and in these tough economic times, maybe even the average consumer will be willing to send in their cookie wrappers. TerraCycle then turns the collected wrappers and containers into saleable, unique merchandise including shower curtains, hand bags, school supplies and packaging for the companies plant food and sprays.

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Buffalo Exchange - Hip and Thrifty Retail

Many consumers note price as a consideration when choosing between a green product or a traditional item. Buying second hand is one way to keep green ideals without breaking the bank. However, the words "thrift shop" don’t always conjure images of couture and the idea of sifting though musty racks keeps many people away. Retailer Buffalo Exchange is breaking the barriers between thrift store and hip retail.

A sustainable company that works to protect the environment by reusing and recycling clothing, it is a choosy shopper’s source for fashionable clothing and accessories. Items are bought, sold and traded directly with store customers, and used garments can be traded for any item in the store, including jewelry and brand-new clothing. The ever-changing inventory includes designer wear, vintage clothing, jeans, leather and one-of-a-kind items. The chain now offers gift cards as a great solution for greener holiday gift giving.

via: Ecofabulous Read More..

Fun on a Friday: Log Bowls

Using only reclaimed trees, designer Doha Chebib from the Loyal Loot Collective creates these innovative and colorful pieces. The handmade bowls are finished with a water-based and furniture grade acrylic paint finish in a variety of bright and cheerful hues. Grouped together in varying sizes, shapes and colors, the bowls make for a unique style statement!

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Maison Objet Coverage - Pachamama Floors

And our coverage of Maison Objet continues with some fantastic customizable flooring from Pachamama made by Conceria Priante. What started as a way for this Italian tannery to use leftover leather trimmings has now evolved into intricate handworked leather floor cushions, wall tiles and carpets that can also be hung as wall art. Their Eclipse collection of five rugs can be personalized by choosing the colors for the design elements from a range of 28 colors which you can create online using their design software. Visit their site for more custom design information.

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The Green Screen

The People's Choice winners in the 2008 Ample Sample Contest were both innovative and easy to recreate as an at home DIY project repurposing samples from the flooring industry. This contest is sponsored by the trade magazine Floor Focus, flooring manufacturer Bentley Prince Street and design tool creator Tricycle.

The Green Screen uses carpet's sound insulation properties and the unique size of unused samples to create a room divider. The Carpet Sqr'd Chair uses stacked carpet tiles and rivets to create a shapely chair. To see more winners from the contest, click here. Read More..

Barn Living

Timeless. Authentic. Seasoned. Beautiful. This is the motto of N.L. Kotting & Company. They specialize in providing traditional virgin timber post & beam barn frames for use in the construction of homes, commercial work/retail space and modern stables. They believe the hand hewn virgin timber post & beam frames provide the discriminating homeowner/builder with strength, beauty and architectural integrity from generations past for the enjoyment of generations to come.

Currently, they have been chosen to convert a rescued barn into a wine tasting room for the 45 North Winery in northern Michigan. The converted barn will include a warming kitchen, office, walkout basement, tasting bar, restroom and retail display area.

Other projects included this barn converted to vacation property in Leland, MI. Beautiful!

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