Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for June, 2011

I know that you’ve all been waiting with baited breath to see our brand new bed in our apartment all set up, so drumroll please…..it’s finally here!  For those of you who have no clue what I’m talking about, take a peek at this previous post I wrote about the wonderful Dwell Studio upholstered bed that we got from ABC Home.  I love the clean yet elegant lines, subtle color and the fact that it gives a little extra polish to our bedroom.  There’s something about owning an entire bed frame & headboard that makes me feel like a real adult.  My husband keeps scoffing when I say that, but it’s true.  A designer without a bed is, well, a fish without water?  Whatever it is, I’m pretty darn excited.  And now that the bed is here, I can finally tackle painting the nightstands.  Stay tuned for those!

Okay, so perhaps I should have held onto this hotel to show you during the snowy winter months since Vigilius Mountain Resort is a fantastic ski destination.  But as the ever excited blogger that I am, well, I just couldn’t wait.  Located in the South Tyrol mountains of Italy, Vigilius is part spa, part peaceful getaway, part luxury resort and all green.  Designed by Italian architect, Matteo Thun, the hotel is so full of eco features that it earned 5 green stars from Eco Hotels of the World.  To name just a few of these features, the resort is a hermetically tight building to maintain the most energy efficiency possible.  In the summer months, sun shading helps keep the rooms cool and in the winter months, the rooms are heated with radiant floor systems.  Low-flow plumbing fixtures and towel changes upon request help conserve water.  Plus the area around the hotel is car free with the only way of reaching the hotel through cable car.  Now that’s how to be eco-friendly!

But on top of all of these eco-creds, Vigilius Mountain Resort is also a stunning destination.  Clean mountain air, amazing views, absolute tranquility and a hotel full of beautiful natural materials means that you may never leave.  And once you take a look at these pictures, you’ll realize why I just couldn’t save it till the winter.  Enjoy!

Vigilius Mountain Resort at night.  Notice the ‘sun shading’ devices at the exterior of the property to help it stay cooler in the summer.

The lobby.  I love the pops of red against the natural textures.

Another view of the lobby at sunset

I love the eco-friendly swimming pool filled with natural spring water.

One of the guestrooms.  Isn’t that wood color just gorgeous?  The color and texture feel very pure and clean, perfect for a getaway hotel.

The bathroom.  All of the guestrooms have a radiant flooring system that draws heat from an exterior clay wall.

Seating area in the Suite.  The chair is a wonderful nod to traditional wood carving of the Tyrol Basin.

Suite bathroom. I love the contrast of the ultra modern orange glass against the natural textured wood.

Photos from Vigilius Mountain Resort & Design Hotels

When a metal object is sand cast, the spill-over is normally removed as the piece is cleaned and polished to its perfect final product.  But Omer Arbel from Bocci decided to not only use this overspill, but make it an integral part of his design.  Bocci’s 19 Series is a brand new product out for them and oh so stunning.  Each piece is totally unique because the tray’s edge is formed only as a result of extra metal spilling out of the mold, which Arbel describes as frozen lava.  Arbel describes them as frozen lava.  I couldn’t have said it any better.

Sand casting in action

Two versions of the 19 Series from Bocci.  Gorgeous, no?

I love the slightly pitted texture on the polished surface.  It’s inherent to the sand casting process and I think gives the piece even more depth & texture.

I love the contrast between the rough, gritty exterior ring and the polished, reflective inner core.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I’m a complete sucker for maps.  On the wall, on fabric, on the computer, you name it.  For me, looking at far off places inspires me and looking at the places I’ve already been brings back some amazing memories.  So when Cath Young of Bearded Pigeon contacted me about her organic cotton pillows, I told her that she had me at hello.  These cushions are handmade by her in Australia (yay for the Aussies!) and printed on to 100% organic cotton with $1 of every sale going to Kiva.  I really love the bright colors and promise of adventure to come.  If I had one of these pillows in my house, I’d pull out my button collection and start sewing one on for every place I’ve visited.  You can purchase these lovelies at her Etsy store.

Antarctica

Canada

Australia

Chicago

Venice

Portland

Cath not only makes eco-friendly products, but she walks the walk too.  Her home in Australia relies only on sun for power and rain from the sky for water.  Outdoors her garden grows organic fruit and vegetables.  And it seemed only fitting to include pictures of the travelling pillows’ origin.  If you’d like to see more of Cath’s lovely house, take a peek at her Flickr page here.

Photos from Cath Young

As I said in yesterday’s post, we spent last weekend in Charlottesville, VA for a wedding.  We went a few days early so we could check out the town & UVA campus and enjoy a bit of time off in what we were expecting to be a charming and relaxing town.  Well, C-ville definitely didn’t disappoint in that regard, but what I wasn’t expecting was how eco-conscious the residents are.  There are tons of shops throughout the town focused on healthy living, locally produced products and organic food.  But my favorite green shop was Sustain, Inc.  Their products are colorful & chic mix of home goods, fashion and accessories all required to pass a rigorous check of their eco-friendliness.  Each item sold in the store must meet a few of the following criteria: locally sourced, made in the US, fairly traded, organic, recycled, sustainable or from an eco-conscious company.  In addition, Sustain donates 2% of their proceeds back to Kiva.  Chic & green?  Now that’s my kind of store!

A view of the store

I really fell in love with this art

Does that wallpaper look familiar?  It should!  It’s eco-friendly paper from Madison & Grow.

How fun are those rolled up rugs?

Located above Sustain, Inc. is a really nice stationary shop called Good Press Paper.  Katie, the owner, has a great selection of cards and paper as well as an impressive array of custom invitation options.  But my absolute favorite was her collection of vintage stamps that are absolutely usable for your own letters.   What better way to recycle old stamps that would otherwise end up in a dusty stamp collector’s tome than reusing them as postage?  How do you know they’re vintage?  Besides the low postage rates, they’re the lick and press type of stamp.  No stickers here!

The stamps are sold either pre-affixed on an envelope & notecard set, or…

Gathered together in a little package totaling the correct amount to send your own first class letter.  Pretty clever, huh?

We just returned from a long weekend in Charlottesville, VA where our good friend got married at a gorgeous vineyard surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains and rolling hills of grapevines.  I’ll have more to report on the lovely (and eco-friendly!) town of Charlottesville tomorrow.  In the meantime I wanted to share this picture of the paper lanterns we lit at the end of the night, rising up into the air.  Just like mini hot air balloons, each lantern was lit by their guests and rose up to form this beautiful constellation.  I know my picture doesn’t do it justice, but it really was a gorgeous sight.

In my mind, sustainable and art always go hand in hand.  The care and thought that goes behind each and every handcrafted piece of art means that it’s not a mass produced product that’s going to end up in a landfill someday.  But for me, art is even better when it not only looks great, but is made of eco-friendly materials too.  This Abstract Paper collection from Natural Curiosities definitely fits the bill.  Each sheet is made from a combo of mulberry, pineapple (I didn’t even know you could reuse this fiber!) and banana fibers taken from agricultural waste and hung on linen.  I love the subtle geometric shapes that form a really interesting contrast between the organic material and the angular lines.

Natural Curiosities only sells direct to the interior design trade, but you can find their art at many shops around the country including Calypso Home, Lillian August, Mecox Gardens and more.  Check online for a location near you.

Photos from Natural Curiosities

I love the look of antique Edison lightbulbs – they have a really nice warm glow with just the right amount of vintage-ness.  Unfortunately looking vintage doesn’t necessarily equal actually being vintage and eco-friendly.  So that’s why I was excited when I saw these awesome lightbulbs from Plumen.  They’re actually compact fluorescents, reshaped into something that’s as far from boring as you can get.  In fact their dynamic little shape was inspired by feathers (hence Plumen – clever, huh?).  I think they also somewhat resembles those Edison bulbs that I was just waxing poetic about moments ago.  And best of all, they’re also as energy efficient as a CLF.  The one bummer is that you can’t dim them, although with a shape like that, why would you wanto to?

For you lucky Brits and Europeans, the Plumen lightbulb has been out in 220v for a while.  But they’ve finally branched out to a US version for us 110 volt-ers.  You can purchase them online or in stores at MoMA or The Future Perfect.

These light bulbs really do look like a modern take on an Edison bulb.

I love that they’re hung without a shade in this installation so their shape really takes center stage.

Of course, they also look great peeking out from the bottom of a pendant…

or thru a translucent shade

Photos from Plumen by Tom Mannion

Every year my friends and I get up bright and early, take the A train to the Cloisters at the very northern part of Manhattan and spend our day walking down the entire length of the island.  Yup, that’s right a walking tour of all 13+ miles of Manhattan in one day.  I know what you’re thinking to yourself right now: “Self, why in the world would someone do a thing like that?!  I mean exercise is great and all, but walking all of Manhattan is pretty hard-core.”  Well, I’ll tell you.  Not only do we have a ton of fun chatting & laughing the day away, it’s also a fantastic way to see and appreciate this amazing place in which we live.  I truly believe that exploring a city with your own two feet is the best way to learn what it’s all about.  Whether you live in New York City or not, walking through your own city is a fantastic way to really get to know it, even if you’ve lived there your whole life.  Try it our for yourself!

This year our walk took us through Washington Heights, Harlem, Columbia, Central Park, Hell’s Kitchen, the High Line, the West Village and as a bonus section, Brooklyn.  It was a wet, drizzly day, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.  Actually I think the icky weather helped lessen the crowds especially on the High Line.  Bonus!  I took tons of pictures during the day so I could show you some of our favorite stops and sights during our day long Walk of Manhattan.

Here we are, ready to go!

The Cloisters Gardens

Columbia University has beautiful grounds

And it’s great to see that they recycle too!

Me and my husband at the Central Park Reservoir.  It normally makes for a much nicer picture here than on this drizzly grey day.

I had never heard of Lawn Bowling before nor seen these courts in Central Park.  It looks very similar to Bocce so I may have to give it a try someday.

A nice little farmer’s market in Hell’s Kitchen

Our walk was also kid friendly.

I knew that there are food trucks and a beer hall at the northern end of the High Line, but what I didn’t know is that there’s also this fun Rainbow City park created by AOL.  And it wasn’t just the kids who loved the huge balloons.

High Line section 2.  There are fewer art installations and features in this new section compared to the first section, but tons of benches.

Plantings at the High Line section 2

The kids loved the big poufy plants.

I really loved this bench installation in front of this old brick building.

City Hall near the Brooklyn Bridge

Isn’t that fog crazy?  This building is next to the Brooklyn Bridge, but you can’t even see the top of it.

And over the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo

And found this crocheted bicycle on the other side.  How cool is this?

See, we’re all still smiling!  The end of a great walk and fantastic day with a well deserved glass of wine.

Section 2 of the High Line, from West 30th to 23rd streets, opened on Tuesday to much press and acclaim.  If you live in the New York area, I urge you to go and take a peek at the new section for yourself.  From the pictures I’ve seen, the newest area looks really interesting and, well, awesome.  For those of you who don’t know what the High Line is, it used to be an abandoned industrial elevated train line that was turned into a very innovative and well traveled park for visitors and locals alike.  Not only does it bring a bit of green to the city, but reuses an area that could have easily been demolished.  If you want to see more pictures of the High Line, take a look at the Friends of the High Line website, the High Line Blog or their Facebook page.

As for me, I know what I’ll be doing this weekend!