Pretty Little Green Things

Posts Tagged ‘Chic projects’

Even though I live in the big city, I’m definitely a country girl at heart.  Maybe it was growing up on an old farm in Minnesota, the house always full of dogs, cats, kittens and birds, or just the peaceful feeling you have being in the middle of nowhere.  Whatever the reason, when I saw the Ranch at Rock Creek in Montana, I knew they were on to something special.  Located in the mountain of Western Montana, this full service ranch is just as green as it is country.  The existing buildings provided much of the inspiration because the owners were able to keep a lot of those furnishings and light fixtures to incorporate into the new design.  In fact more than half of the woodwork like beams, floors, walls and cabinetry came from the existing property.  All of the rooms in the main lodge plus the freestanding cabins and log rooms are decorated differently.  I couldn’t decide on just a few to show, so I’ve included a large smattering of some of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Gorgeous view!

Appaloosa room. Check out the fringe on those chairs!

The living room at Bear House, a separate log cabin on the property.

Bedroom at the Bluebird Cabin.  Not to be biased or anything, but I think this might be my favorite.

The Loft bathroom.  How cool is this bathroom complete with barn doors and a freestanding tub next to the window?

Palamino room

Riverhouse living room

Sharps bedroom.  Check out the fabric on the headboard.  How fun is that?

Moose House, one of the log cabins.  Amazing view, huh?

And here’s the inside of Moose House

In addition to the main Granite Lodge, the Ranch at Rock Creek also has a few luxury canvas cabins.  You feel a little closer to nature, but have all the comforts of home including chic dude ranch decor and a full bathroom.  This one would be my choice if I was staying at the Ranch at Rock Creek.

The living area in one of the canvas cabins.  I love that wood burning stove!

And for your dining pleasure, the Dining Room at the main Granite Lodge

Not be outdone, the Ranch at Rock Creek also features a full service spa with a roof made of sod & planted with wildflowers.  I’m loving how they even decked out the pedicure stations to match the decor.

Photos from the Ranch at Rock Creek

One of the things that I love about New York City is that with a lack of open spaces, people have to get creative with seemingly normal activities.  A great example of this is a wonderful restaurant in the West Village called Bell Book & Candle.  Like many restaurants in New York, they have subscribed to the organic & local food movement.  But but they do it one better.  BB&C’s local food is even closer than the nearest farmers market – they grow their veggies with an Aeroponic system on their very own roof.  We visited the restaurant last winter, but unfortunately didn’t get to sample their produce (January & February are really the only months that they don’t grow vegetables, but they do harvest their herbs to use as dried spices in the winter months).  So with a friend in town last weekend and the plethora of greens this time of year, we figured August was a perfect time to try their food for real.  I can attest that the food was amazing, the staff is very friendly and the space is warm, inviting and cozy.  But don’t take my word for the decor, take a peek yourself!

Here’s a view of their aeroponic system.  What’s amazing about this system is that because it doesn’t have need for soil, the plants grow a lot faster than if they were placed in the ground.

Don’t those vegetables look amazing?  Makes me want to find a place with a roof so I can become an urban farmer.  Okay, maybe not, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

This is the bar, which is the first thing you see when you walk in.  I love the slightly arched ceiling, which you’ll see throughout the restaurant.  That coupled with the brick walls gives the restaurant the perfect vintage feel.

The main dining room of Bell Book & Candle.  I also really love those hanging sconces over the tables.

More brick in the dining room – makes for a cozy restaurant.

Here’s where the magic happens.  Okay, just kidding.  The real magic happens on the roof.

Right next to the bar they have a tiny private dining room they call the Naked Lady Room.  So named because of the awesome pink wallpaper adorned with, well, naked ladies.  It’s a great little spot to bring a few friends and revel in your hidden gem.

Chandelier in the Naked Lady Room

Photos from Bell Book & Candle

High up on my list of places to visit is Jordan, mostly for the chance to visit Wonder of the World, Petra.  It’s not just because we share a fabulous name (if I do say so myself), but because of the stunning scenery and ancient buildings carved into sandstone.  If you’ve never seen pictures of Petra, I urge you to take a look at these from photographer Mansour Mouasher.  Or do a quick Google image search and you’ll see what I mean.  A few hours drive from this lost city, is the Evason Ma’in Hot Springs and Six Senses Spa.  Just like all Six Senses, this hotel has a deep commitment to the environment and local culture.  Plus the hot springs and nearby Dead Sea make for a relaxing whole body getaway.  Enjoy!

How stunning is this location?  This green resort is nestled in the hills of Jordan.

The Six Senses Pool

The Pool Bar.  Um, if this bar was next to the pool, I might not actually make it outside.  Okay, okay just kidding, but how nice is this bar?

Brown Bar

 Brown Bar Terrace

Jordan Springs Restaurant

Zarb in the Olive. Such a romantic spot!

One of the Evason Ma’in guestrooms

The terrace of the Honeymoon Suite

The Library

Photos from Evason Ma’in Hot Springs, Jordan

What could be better than tacos & margaritas?  Eating them in a LEED Platinum restaurant!  Yup, Seattle based Little Water Cantina is expecting to achieve this lofty green goal all while serving up delicious Mexican food in their 3,000 square foot restaurant.  Designed by Shed Architecture & Design, the restaurant has a hip and sustainable vibe.  Green facts: Little Water Cantina is lit almost entirely with LED lights and they cut their water use (a huge deal in the restaurant biz) by about 70%.  Plus energy use is down and reuse is up.  Case in point, the cool light feature made of 800 reclaimed tequila bottles (and by reclaimed I mean individually dug out of the dumpster by the dedicated owners) and the awesome pendant lights hung over the bar made from vintage gramophones.

To go along with their LEED certification, Little Water Cantina serves local & organic food when feasible, uses only eco-friendly cleaning products and composts all of their food waste.  If only I lived nearby, I’d be enjoying a margarita made from local & organic ingredients right now! (That means its good for you, right?)  Plus the interiors are as hip as they are green.  Enjoy!

The bar with the cool gramophone pendants.  I also love the mix of textured wood with the tons of tequila bottles all lined up.

You can sort of see a detail of the pressed tin behind the bar where the beer taps are hung.

A close up of those cool gramophone pendants.

Bar top made from a plank of live edge wood.  Gorgeous!

How cool is this mural?  I wonder who all the people are in it…

Here’s a peek of the dining room and that 800-bottle tequila wall.  Collecting those bottles and envisioning what it all will look like really takes foresight!

Photos from Little Water Cantina

Even though I’ve officially left San Francisco, I couldn’t resist one more post about this wonderful city.  Even though we stayed with friends while in town, I managed to check out a few hotels to satisfy my design itch.  And this one is just about as eco-friendly as they come.  The Good Hotel is labelled as the first hotel with a conscience because of their “do good” attitude (yup, pun intended!).  They encourage visitors to not only make sustainable choices, but to have fun while doing so.  And the decor reflects just that – bright pops of color, modern art, unique decor, bikes for loan and reclaimed materials make it easy to be good and have a good time.

Brightly colored clocks at Reception so you always know what time it is.  I wonder if that poor guy at reception jumps out of his skin every hour when those clocks chime.  I know I would!

Curved sofas in the Lobby encourage conversation

How fun is this computer area in the Lobby?  Why be serious just because you’re doing work?

Did I mention the Good Hotel is fun?  Check out that photo booth (right next to renewable resource cork, of course!)

All guestroom bed frames are made of 100% reclaimed wood with bedding made from 75% recycled soda bottles.  Now that some green sleep!

Another view of the Good Hotel’s green design in their guestrooms.

Another guestroom view

Although the hotel has been open for a few years now, their restaurant, the Sidebar Wine Tavern opened just a few weeks ago.  Just like the Good Hotel, this restaurant features modern green design but with the addition of locally grown and organic food.  My favorite are those lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the warm, textured wood.  I only wish I would have known it was open when we were in San Francisco!

Photos from the Good Hotel

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

I have a special fondness for peeking into fictional homes – home tours, model homes, show houses, you name it.  There’s something about getting a firsthand view of the way other people could live together with seeing new design trends, furniture and materials that I find so fascinating.  And when the show houses are also eco-friendly, well, I can’t think of anything better.  This year’s HGTV Green Home 2011 is no exception, featuring great design plus the latest & greatest in green products and technology.

The Green Home was designed by Linda Woodrum with lots of eco-friendly aspects such as no-VOC paints, energy efficient appliances, organic fabrics, certified woods and an awesome net energy usage computer program that monitors the whole house’s efficiency.  In fact, there are so many more sustainable features that this house has earned a LEED Platinum Certification, a huge accomplishment for the whole team.  I’m loving the fresh, colorful, artful and young design which suits its location in the new eco-community of Stapleton in Denver, Colorado perfectly.

You’re actually getting an extra special sneak peek of the house, because it’s not open to the public until May 5.  If you live in the Denver area, I urge you to check out the house for yourself (and report back – I’d love to hear your thoughts on the design and eco-friendly integration).  Tickets are only $20 with proceeds going to Urban Peak, a non-profit that offers services for homeless and runaway youths.  If you like the house, you can actually enter online for a chance to win it.

Living Room

There’s actually a TV hidden behind those framed artworks!

Dining Room

Kitchen

The “Do” Room, which like its name suggests, is a room for laundry, storage, utility or just doing stuff.

The Loft

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom sitting area

Master Bathroom

Boy’s Bedroom

Girl’s Bedroom

Photos from HGTV Green Home

Continuing on the theme of cement this week, I had to show you this amazing concrete late from Doreen Westphal.  It’s made from ultra high performance concrete and suspended from steel cable.  I really love the juxtaposition of the rough texture against the soft feminine lace pattern.  It something you wouldn’t expect, which is what makes it so interesting.  Doreen is the master of interesting objects made out of concrete so make sure to pop over to her site too to take a peek.

Photos from Doreen Westphal

I just returned from a whirlwind weekend in Miami (hence the radio silence from this end of the blogosphere over the last few days) and I’ve hopefully brought back a little sun & warmer weather with me.  I’m not really a beach person so instead, I ran around and checked out all the cool hotels downtown and on the beach.  Unfortunately the cool hotels aren’t really on board with sustainability yet, so I don’t have much to report on that end.  However, I completely fell in love with the decor at DB Bistro Moderne, designed by Yabu Pushelberg.  If you’re nearby the JW Marriott anytime soon, I highly recommend stopping by and taking a peek (and maybe stopping for a drink or some food too!)  Some of these pics are mine (via iPhone, so I apologize ahead of time for the quality) and some are professional pics from the restaurant.  Enjoy!

The Bar Lounge

Look a bit different by day, doesn’t it?

The private Wine Room just next to the bar

View of the main dining room. Do you see the petal-like sculpture on the back wall?  I’ll bet you it’s from Pascale Girardin, a talented Canadian sculpter.

Another view of the Main Dining Room

To the right and left of the Main Dining Room are these bright red rooms.  Beautiful.

Photos from DB Bistro Moderne

I design luxury hotel properties as my day job so I look at a lot of properties just as a part of my research.  When I see hoteliers committed to not only creating a hi-end boutique experience for their guests, but an eco-friendly one as well, I take notice.  The Hotel Felix in Chicago is just such a property.  It’s the first LEED Silver certified hotel in the Windy City with recycled & organic materials, energy efficient plumbing & lighting and recycling programs to name just a few initiatives.  They also have an upcoming Green Roof which I can’t wait to see.  The design of the hotel is a beautiful blend of modern, artful touches and understated elegance.  Enjoy!

The Hotel Felix was re-developed in this historic building in Chicago.

The Reception

Hotel Lobby

Art glass installation in the Lobby

Another view of the Lobby.  Take a peek at the fireplace in the background with fire log display on the side.

The Lobby Mezzanine

The hotel restaurant

Guestroom

The double guestroom

Even the room key cards are biodegradable!

Photos from Hotel Felix