Artist Yun-Woo Choi Makes Amazing 3-D Sculptures.

Artist Yun-Woo Choi creates expressive structures of 3-D art using materials like newspaper,magazines, wire, resin and light. Choi's style is a refreshing representation of contemporary art.

Choi describes his work as being an expression of his studies on theoretical physics. His work is organic in movement and offers a mysterious presence. It's interesting how his body of work through out the years concatenate, based on what he describes as a conceptualization of the fragments of his mind in a spiritual sense.

Small Space Living Embraces Urban Agriculture

  I love the idea of bringing the outside inside. For so many of us living in spaces where we have no access to an outdoor area can feel so limiting at times. Wouldn't it be nice if you could grow your own ingredients for a salad or herbs to season your food with all year round? In your own home at that?

Shipping Containers as Homes, say what?

OK, I know I may be a bit late with the idea of turning a shipping container into a livable, workable space, but I think it's a grand idea. My husband James (he's recently jumped on the sustainable lifestyle bandwagon, so you'll be hearing more of him), recently started reading about shipping containers being made into homes and presented me with the idea for us to consider this for ourselves. We have been doing some house shopping, and liking not loving what we have been seeing, have decided that maybe for folks like ourselves, it would be best to start thinking outside of the box.

1.

The Manifesto House by Infiniski. Made of shipping
containers and pallets.

These days the housing market seems to be headed in the direction of less is more. So the idea of purchasing a lot of land and building what we can handle sounds more feasible than jumping into something that could eventually get out of hand. What is attractive about these shipping container homes is that you can start off small and then eventually add on without it being a huge cost or a big deal. Also you can custom design what fits your needs, again, without spending the big bucks.

Vinyl Make Overs

I thought these switch plate covers were just too adorable. Recycled out of records from the company wrecords by monkeys, I think these would look great in many spaces. These guys work out of Brooklyn, NY (my home town). Very cool. The mirror and the cuckoo clock would make great little novelty gifts for the music lover in your life.Check out all of their other stuff at http://www.wbm.bigcartel.com/.

Live plant walls inside your space.

In the past few years there has been a fascination with live plant walls. It's a big hit in urban cities all over the world where nature is scarce. You may have seen them on roofs of buildings or crawling up the side of  brick walls. What's amazing about these plants are they can be created to live on the inside as well. How nice would it be to see plant walls in your doctors office, school, health club, or maybe even somewhere in your home.

Not only are they beautiful, it's wonderful to bring a little nature inside. These green wall installations work as great air purifiers and are fantastic eye candy. 



Bamboo Flooring: Eco- Hot or Eco- Not?

Everywhere you turn, it seems to be all about Bamboo when it comes to environmentaly friendly products.

Bamboo clothes, bamboo bags, bamboo floors... what's the deal? Is Bamboo the best alternative for flooring or is it just a lot of hype? Bamboo has peaked my curioustiy because I want to make sure I am giving my clients the best solution when it comes to green alternatives.

So, what are the pros and cons of bammboo flooring?

Cork, a sustainable choice for flooring.

Recently I was contacted by a client who inquired about flooring options for a room that may occasionally experience some flooding. They were thinking of using tile but immediately I thought of cork because of its' sustainability and its recommended use in basements.

The materials that make up cork are taken from the bark of Oak trees. The Cork Oak tree can be harvested every 9 years. Subelin, a waxy, natural substance makes it fire resistant as well as having a resistance to damp areas where there can be mold and mildew. Cork is antimicrobial and resistant to insects. My goodness, why doesn't everyone get cork? It can be installed in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and basements. Basically anywhere.

This Fish is Delish!

Eating healthy was never so easy and delicious at the same time. The last few days I have been sick with my first cold of the season. So with the lack of enthusiasm to cook but still in need of vitamins and nutrients from food, I have been making some good old fashioned soups. My little cold and the weather cooling down definitely called for some chicken soup which I made a couple of days ago (I'll share the many recipes I have at another time). But last night I was in the mood for fish and soup so I decided to make a fish soup for the first time.

Floating Houses: Embracing a Brave New "Water" World.

Recently, the East Coast endured weather extremities that left flooding devastation for many. Hurricane "Irene" was called the "Perfect Storm" that only comes around every 100 years. OK, so this storm that left some with out electricity, under water, and some even homeless, comes around once in a blue moon and is just one of those things we put up with, occasionally; or is it? There are people who live and work  in areas where they never experienced flooding until recently. In the past few years I watched as some of these individuals gradually watched as there buildings became submerged in water from torrential rains. First year, it was 4 inches, next 8 inches, then 1 foot and after Irene, straight to an entire basement (7 feet) under water. Maybe it's time to rethink design.



Dura Vermeer

Well, the Dutch have already been on top of this. Places like Holland, which is located in low lying areas have had to deal with rising sea levels due to climate change. Architects like Dura Vermeer and Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio have already begun designing floating houses a.k.a. amphibious homes. It makes perfect sense instead of throwing their hands up to an inevitable doom, they have reinvented the boat house.

Andrea Clears the Air

Indoor air quality has been recognized by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as being quite poor due to a variety of causes such as radon gas leaks, second hand smoke, mold and synthetic plastics used for furniture and other products that can emit airborne pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene which causes off gassing. It is also possible these pollutants can be associated with causing health problems such as asthma, allergies, heart failure and cancer. Improving indoor air quality is a great concern and there are simple things you can do to avoid having a toxic interior.

Clean air filters and check for radon leaks regularly. NASA identified that there are several plants that can be used to absorb toxins in the air. These plants are the gerbera, philodendron, spathiphyllum, pathos and the chlorophytum are plants/greenery that can absorb toxic gasses cleaning the air.

The Andrea Air Filter has found a way to optimize the filtering of these plants. Basically the plant of your choice (from the above list) can be placed in this box of aluminum and Pyrex which is designed as a natural filter which has three components; the leaves, the roots and a humid bath. Genius!