Pretty Little Green Things

Posts Tagged ‘Accessories’

We had house guests last week and inevitably our apartment ends up a bit of a mess from the extra people and activity.  So we spent part of Sunday organizing – something that always makes me feel refreshed and clear headed after I’m done.  We live in a pretty small apartment, so a well planned and practical organization strategy is key to maintaining a neat home.  There are a few areas that I’ve nailed said strategy and a few that, well, could use a bit of help (ahem, bookshelf).  Even though we’re past spring cleaning, what house couldn’t use a bit of method to reign in the madness?  I put together eco-friendly home organization tools to help you gather, arrange and simplify your life, all while being chic and green.

1. Heirloom Recipe Card Box from Rifle Paper Co.  2. Bamboo Dry Erase Entry Butler from Three by Three  3. Campaign Storage Bench from Serena & Lily  4. Expandable gadget tray from Crate & Barrel  5. Leather trim basket from Greenhouse  6. Teak ladder with shelf from VivaTerra  7. Reclaimed root coat stand from VivaTerra  8. Vintage wood desk organizer from Redefine Home  9. Covered jars with chalk writing surface (so you know what’s inside!) from Canvas  10. Shelter caddy from Canvas

1. Vintage drawer spool cabinet from City Owl  2. Woven Ikat basket from West Elm  3. Curved rattan baskets from West Elm  4. Washed wood cubbies from Redefine Home  5. Project binder from Naked Binder  6. White Hayworth shelf from Serena & Lily  7. Reclaimed wood wall coat rack from Amenity  8. Three bin wire shelf from VivaTerra  9. Flower cork board from Three by Three  10. Salvaged wood hotel key rack from Three Potato Four

I was very sorry to miss Brimfield two weekends ago, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my share of vintage sourcing on my own.  One of my favorite things about flea markets is the dishes.  In my dream house, I would have a huge kitchen with enough cabinet space for tons of antique dishes and a dining room big enough to use them all.  Sometimes though, vintage porcelain can look a bit dated.  Thankfully Sarah Cihat has taken those very same dishes and made them totally modern with her line of Rehabilitated Dishware.  This makeover goes a little beyond my expertise as a do-it-yourselfer, so I’m even more impressed that she can rescue vintage plates that I wouldn’t have even looked twice at and turn them into something I would definitely want on my table.  Now that’s the way to reuse!  Sarah also has a beautiful collection of porcelain  objects, vases and candleholders which are even more rockin’ so definitely take a look for yourself.

The before and after views.  I mean, the original pattern is oh so dainty and the end product is totally edgy and cool.

A few of my favorite designs

Photos from Sarah Cihat

Congratulations to the winners of the bkr glass water bottle giveaway!  I wanted to post a few of their comments in case it sparks ideas, comments or discussion.  None of us is perfect, but I’m happy to hear that you’re aware and making better choices.

From Morgan: “I’ll admit that I occasionally still drink from plastic water bottles.  I ALWAYS recycle them after consumption though. I only buy them when I’ve forgotten a re-usable bottle and am thirsty out on the road. I have a few different sizes of Sigg water bottles that I use otherwise and at home of course I drink from glasses.”

From Mika: “My family just built a “green” house and are doing everything we can to live a really sustainable life. I use stainless steel and bpa plastic re-usable bottles for our water. .but none of them are as gorgeous as these glass ones.. I would be proud to tote one of these around!” Check out Mika’s blog to see more of her green house.

From Sare: “I grew up with the outdoorsy type of family, so we always had reusables on hand and never really got into the disposables. I’m still using the (BPA free) nalgene I bought five years ago and it is beat to bits. I love these bottles!”

Thank you to all who entered.  I love reading your comments, so keep ‘em coming, even if it’s not a giveaway.  Congrats to Morgan, Mika & Sare.

Last fall I showed you a really cool model home at the W Hollywood Residences, a LEED Silver building in the heart of Los Angeles.  If you remember back, towards the bottom of the post, I included a picture of the master bathroom complete with a bunch of interesting wood branch hooks (If you don’t remember, what are you waiting for?  Go, refresh you memory here.  I’ll wait…  Okay, now you remember?  Great, let’s move on). At the time I had no idea where they were from but loved them.  Well I guess someone was looking out for me because the maker of these same hooks not only reached out to me, but left a comment on the blog.  So now that I know who made them, I wanted to make sure you did too.

Live Wire Farm is a family owned business out of Jacksonville, Vermont and the creator of not only those chic branch hooks, but a line of beautiful wood spoons, rings and candle holders.  In fact, the wood is where it all starts.  Live Wire Farm takes the scraps from firewood harvesting, pieces that would otherwise be thrown back into the woods, and repurposes them into usable products.  It goes without saying, but every spoon, hook or ring is handcrafted and totally unique.  Personally I have a bit of a weakness for wooden spoons, so this definitely going on my birthday wish list.  If you’re interested in buying anything, just fill out the contact form on Live Wire’s website.  Enjoy!

The hooks that started it all.  Beautiful, no?

What a great idea to use them as shelf brackets!

Birch candle holders

Rings!

Or napkin rings

Those beautiful spoons.  I could make a mean risotto with one of these.

Photos from Live Wire Farms

Now that spring has officially sprung, it’s time to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine.  There are lots of great retailers selling your basic resin and teak furniture, but what about something that’s a bit more fun?  Something that pops a little on your patio?  I’ve put together a round-up of my favorite colorful, interesting and unique eco-friendly outdoor furniture and accessories for your summer lazing pleasure.  Or in other words, get out there and have some fun in the sun!

1. This Racer rocker from Loll Designs features a cool racing stripe design, 2. Interesting crystal shaped planter from Pour les Alpes, 3. This Water Hyacinth daybed from PIE Studio makes a statement, 4. What patio would be complete without this Wine Barrel Chiller from VivaTerra?  5. Hello swing! Rattan swing from PIE Studio, 6. Colorful Campy planters from Perch! 7. Pick your color with classic Adirondack chairs from Polywood, 8. So fun! Knot pillows made from recycled sailcloth from Sea Bags

1. Can you tell I like swings? This one is from Loll Designs and comes in lots of colors, 2. Love this Nature planter from Design Night, 3. Why stop at fun colors when you can also have patterned cushions? This Series 9 chaise from Haskell Collection, 4. Or try something curvy with these Talenti chaises from Henry Hall, 5. For those of you who want something a bit funkier, try this Sushi daybed from PIE Studios, 6. Water your plants with these colorful Kettle Watering Cans from Eco Age, 7. Love purple? Check out the purple Adirondack chairs from Siesta, 8. Last but certainly not least, you’ll need a fun outdoor rug to add to your fun furniture. This one is from VivaTerra.

Guess what today is…it’s Pretty Little Green Things’ one year blog-iversary!!  One year ago I was sitting, probably in this exact same spot, (aka. my sofa) and introducing myself & my green vision to the world.  I have to admit, this anniversary totally snuck up on me.  I’ve been concentrating on keeping you up to date with the best of eco-friendly design that an entire year passed by in a blink.  It’s been a fantastic year thanks to all of you wonderful readers, so really I think of this as your anniversary too.

To help us celebrate, bkr has graciously donated three (yes, three!) water bottles to a few very lucky readers. After chatting with founder Tal Soltz the other day, I could see that her mission and products could not be any more perfect as a giveaway on Pretty Little Green Things.  Bkr is the perfect combination of beauty & sustainability – it’s well designed, fun, colorful, feels good in the hand and above all clean & totally safe to drink out of.  Like I’m sure many of you, I use a steel water bottle instead of plastic or (gasp) disposable.  It’s not because I love the taste of metal (I don’t); it’s because I’ve never found anything better.  Until bkr’s lovely glass bottle that is.  I have to share the founder’s statement with you, because I think it sums up bkr perfectly:

After years of hard work, Tal & her co-founder, Kate launched bkr just 3 short weeks ago.  Even though they’re new on the scene, I predict you’ll soon be seeing these colorful water bottles everywhere.  In fact, three lucky readers, will be starting off the trend.  Here’s how to enter: leave a comment below or on Facebook with your story of how you kicked the disposable water bottle habit.  US & Canadian residents only please.  Comments will be open for a week, so enter by midnight on May 11 for your chance to win.

If you don’t win, fear not, you can also purchase a bottle online with a special VIP code for readers of Pretty Little Green Things.  Click on the Shop tab and enter code 826543 for access to the online store.  I can’t wait to read what you guys have to say.  Good luck!

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a terrible gardner.  Every spring I pretend that this is the year I will get my act together and grow herbs in a box by the window.  It doesn’t usually happen, although in my defense, our apartment gets almost no direct sunlight (gotta love Manhattan) so growing plants is especially challenging.  Maybe if I had one of the sleek pots from Urban Nature, my plants and I might be a little bit more inspired to coexist.  I’m loving the modern shapes and finishes – they’re the perfect compliment to the organic shapes of the plants.  And best of all, they’re also eco-friendly.  Made from aluminum & steel from 80% recycled material, these planters are durable and made to last a lifetime.  They’re also powder coated (an eco-friendly finish) and heaven forbid if you ever did want to get rid of them, they’re also recyclable.  I don’t know about you, but I’m getting out the gardening trowel!

Photos from Urban Nature

I was at the New York Design Center last week and took the opportunity to wander through the brand new 1stdibs showroom on the 10th floor.  For those of you who don’t know what 1stdibs is, it’s an online shopping destination for one of a kind vintage pieces.  It started out as a way to connect the numerous antique furniture galleries to potential clients and has since transformed into a marvelous curated website of all things beautiful.  You can find anything from the aforementioned furniture to home accessories, jewelry and clothing, all of which is valuable and most of which is vintage.  1stdibs’ latest transition has been from an online shop to a real showroom full of real pieces.  Each gallery owner maintains their own booth, but patrons can come wander the aisles and see everything in person.  Such an important thing when the piece you’re buying is, say, $30,000.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the showroom.  I mean maintaining a website is one thing, but an enormous showroom full of one-of-a-kind furniture is quite another.  It looks like it’s not quite complete (they were painting the entry area), but there’s plenty of furniture to spend hours wandering and dreaming.  I took a few (okay, a lot) of pictures to show you what 1stdibs in person is all about.  Enjoy!

For me, there are a few retailers out there that absolutely define luxury.  One of the most understated and beautiful of those is D. Bryant Archie Textiles.  Her pillows and blankets are absolutely chic and always made of the finest wool, baby alpaca or linen sourced from around the world.  D. Bryant’s latest limited edition collection includes beautiful vintage fabrics from Morocco, Uzbekistan & Japan.  I took a ton of pictures at the AD Home Show so you could see a range of her products, and I’ve included some shots from her catalog as well.  As always you can purchase D’s products online or at a store near you.  And on Monday, her beautiful pillows will be featured on the Foundary where you’ll be able to purchase one for yourself at 50-60% off retail, so head over and sign up so you can get in on the sale!

I’m obsessed with this new limited edition sparkly pillow line, made from vintage fabrics.

Baby alpaca on the left and ikat on the right.

Here’s another sparkly vintage pillow with ikat & wool pillows behind.

An assortment of pillows from the AD Home Show.  The one in front is a vintage Japanese fabric.

This picture is from the online catalog.  Such beautiful colors and pattern.

Photos from D. Bryant Archie Textiles and Petra Boykoff

If you’re an interior designer, you probably have a library that’s exploding with beautiful fabric samples many of which are outdated, not needed anymore or out of stock.  Sometimes the manufacturers take these pieces back, but more often than not, it’s a bigger hassle for them to be returned, so they just sit in the library.  So what to do with this extra stock of fabrics?  I’m up to my neck in throw pillows so I’m ready for new ideas.  Decorative pillow designer, Kevin O’Brien, makes these super cute stuffed animals from his fabric cast-offs.  I’m not quite up to sewing my own toys, but seeing pictures of these products are inspiring all on their own.  I think this is the perfect way to recycle.

Photos from Kevin O’Brien Studio