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!

Lilipad Studio Makes Delicious Childrens Furniture.

Lilipad Studio is a privately owned small business that makes hand crafted and hand painted childrens furniture. Located in Hailey, Idaho, Laura Higdon and partner Ben Sinnamon are devoted to creating pieces of furniture using healthy design techniques.

FYI: Green Reading.

If you're looking to get started in truly understanding and learning about sustainable design, the best place to start is the book "Cradle to Cradle" written by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. This is an extremely helpful and insightful book.

While studying interior design, I wanted to offer eco friendly design services but struggled and questioned what is real "green design"? During my internship with TerraCycle, one of the designers suggested this book along with others to read. It really changed the way I viewed sustainable design. It's very empowering and showed me there are many options out there and this type of change starts with us.

You don't have to be a designer to read this book. If anything, this will help you to make the right choices in how you live. I highly recommend this easy reading informative book. Two green thumbs up!

Michelle Brand

Thoughts that come to mind when looking at some of the beautiful designs of Michelle Brand are "Wow", "Amazing", "So delicate". These items made from recycled bottles are intriguing and well executed.

Michelle Brand is an Ecological Designer living in the UK. Michelle was determined to take garbage which is considered useless and turn it into something functional and beautiful at the same time. She was extremely successful in doing that by creating room dividers, lamps, and window shades.

Not only are these creations brilliant and dazzling, but they are also very functional. This is what Up Cycling is about. Turning something useless into something you can hold on to for a lifetime.

Green Spray Paint? And not just the color.

Whether you're looking to paint a chair or paint a wall, spray paint has been quite questionable when it comes to it's effects on the environment and health. Well, now there is an American made spray paint that claims to be safer than others for the environment.

OK, so maybe this paint is mostly intended for the serious artist with claims of no drips, bright and vibrant colors, and can be used indoors or outdoors. This is a fabulous step towards the right direction and it's nice to know that some manufacturers are just as concerned as we are about our health and the environment. In comparison to some of the other popular brands out there that may not be so Eco friendly, Evolve is affordable while bringing you just as good results. A set of 12 cans with the most popular colors can be purchased for $48 on eBay.