Pretty Little Green Things

Posts Tagged ‘Green furniture’

While I was oohing and aahing over the gorgeous eco-friendly jewelry at Linhardt (take a peek at yesterday’s post to see what I’m talking about), I also noticed a display of really unique lamps.  I found out that they’re made by furniture designer Stephane Hubert.  He uses a lot of reclaimed and reused materials, especially wood, in his designs.  But what I like best are his salvaged pieces made from materials that people have just thrown away.  He turns them into something really beautiful and totally different from the original.  It just shows you that amazing design can be done with a bit of ingenuity, creativity and elbow grease.  I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

This was the lamp that first caught my eye at Linhardt.  It’s made from reclaimed wood and finished with walnut dye and linseed oil.  I love the metal cage around the bulb, which gives it a vintage look.

These table and floor lamps are also quite unique.  I really like the thick organic lines running through the block of reclaimed wood, which adds a lot of depth to these pieces.

This is another beautiful lamp, made from salvaged wood scraps, dyed with walnut stain and finished with linseed oil.

For an even more eco-friendly option, this tall lamp is also energy efficient with its long row of LED bulbs.  The post is made out a pine slice from an old telephone pole and the base is salvaged redwood from an NYC water tank.  This lamp would look really stunning with the bulbs facing a wall so all you see is the wood and a soft glow from the lighting.

Stephane salvaged this really unique stand lamp and turned it from dark and black to luminous and silver.  What a great transformation!

Not only does Stephane make really beautiful light fixtures, he also creates and refurbishes furniture.  These nesting tables are crafted from reclaimed wood from an old NYC water tank.  I think they’re a really interesting take on what a nesting table is – why should the tables always stack sideways when they can stack vertically?  And I really love how the legs poke through the table below.

How cool is this desk chair?  I love the angular shape of the seat contrasting against the chrome base.  It’s made from reclaimed wood and cork.

I love the triangular shape of the cork in this stool version.  The base is made from reclaimed poplar and walnut.

This might be my favorite table, made from salvaged pieces of a walnut slab.  The asymmetrical shape and organic texture make it such a dynamic piece

Last but certainly not least, Stephane found this industrial style locker on the street and took it home.  After sanding and waxing the stainless steel, he added a reclaimed oak & maple base and turned it into something totally functional and unique.

Photos from Stephane Hubert

I spent an inspiring and exhausting day walking around the New York International Gift Fair today.  The NYIGF is not just a show full of gifts – all sorts of products are on display for retailers to order for their stores.  I went to see furniture, lighting, decorative cushions, tabletop goods, and other accessories, but baby products, jewelry, fragrances, stationary and more are available.  This show is so large that it fills up the entire Javits Center and spills over to Pier 94 and 92 in New York City.  Walking the aisles of beautiful offerings always makes me want to open up a retail shop just so I’ll have an excuse to buy all the home goods and accessories on display.  But as that is not going to happen anytime soon, I’ll just have to stick to walking around and taking pictures and drooling.

What I specifically went looking for were eco-friendly products and vendors.  My first stop was Pier 94, which houses the “At Home” section of the show.  My next stop was the Javits Center, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see my picks from there.

One thing I did notice at Pier 94 was the prevalence of vintage design.  While a lot of these products weren’t truly vintage, it was great to see it as a theme.  Hopefully it will convince more people to buy used!  The vendors above are Blue Ocean Traders, Vagabond Vintage & Peddlers Home Design.

These gorgeous tables are handmade by Brian Foster from Groundwork.  The tabletops and bases are completely interchangeable – the website is just a jumping off point for a final design.  And you can also find Groundwork furniture at ABC Home on the 2nd Floor if you want to take a look in person. I have to say my pictures don’t do the beautiful materials he uses justice, but you get the idea.

Next, I came upon Audrey and her lovely team from Audrey Sterk Design.  They make eco-friendly wallpaper, fabric, floor coverings, furniture and more from her colorful and graphic patterns.  Each one comes in a range of colors or is totally customizable according to the Pantone fan deck.  They even took a picture of me for their ‘Smiles’ board, so if you stop by make sure to take a peek at my mug!

At Vagabond Vintage, I totally fell in love with these quilts made from recycled saris.  They are super soft and oh so colorful.

Dryads Home & Garden makes really interesting mirrors frames out of recycled ceiling tin, reclaimed wood or used corrugated metal.  I love how they mix different colors, textures and patterns together for a very unique look.

I next visited the always lovely Stacy from Dunes and Duchess.  I’m absolutely in love with her beautiful candelabras and was so happy to see that she’s branched out to bright lacquered colors (like this gorgeous blue shown here), lamps, sconces and mirrors.  All of their products are handmade in New York.  Plus Stacy is an absolute joy to follow on Twitter.

You can probably guess that I love antique maps and prints.  The texture and history of these pieces is just something you can’t get with new, so I was happy to stumble upon Foreign Affair.  They have a great selection of vintage maps that I could have stopped and rifled through all day.

Okay, I didn’t totally research the whole story on these really cool yarn balls, but they looked like the string was woven out of fabric remnants.  I really loved the variated colors and oversized scale of these pieces.  They come from Go Home, which was another home accessory vendor rocking the vintage vibe.

Jamie Young always has a beautiful collection of lighting and lamps so I was so excited to hear that many of these same products are made from renewable materials.  They use everything from cork and burlap for lampshades (pictured on the left) and recycled glass (left) and driftwood for the bases (right).

While the gorgeous pillows from Kevin O’Brien Studio aren’t necessarily green, their waste policy totally is.  Instead of throwing away all the remnant pieces of fabric from the production process, they fashion those leftovers into the most adorable stuffed animals.  I can’t wait to have an excuse to buy a few of these as gifts!

Made Goods is another one of those booths where I wanted to buy everything in sight.  Don’t worry, I didn’t.  But I was very happy to see that they have quite a few products made from renewable or recycled materials.  The mirror frame on the left is made from rapidly renewable abaca, the stool in the center is made from recycled saris (are you seeing a theme here?) and the mirror on the right is made from railroad ties (if you look really close, you can see me taking that picture!)

How beautiful is that rug hanging in the Patrick Charles booth?  All of his products are made from carpet remnants and are totally gorgeous.  I was loving the brightly dyed vintage rugs as well as the tiny stools upholstered in antique kilims.  I purposely not showing you pictures of everything in the booth so I can save something for a later post.  Stay tuned…

And lastly, but certainly not least this is Tempo.  The colors, textures and luminescence of these glass pendants were just beautiful.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more eco-chic goods from the Javits Center.  Stay tuned…

I’m thrilled to introduce you to my very first guest blogger, Chanee from Melongings.  Chanee is an eco-conscious design blogger who attempts to balance the subjective need for beauty, art and comfort in her living spaces with the ecological and health impacts of modern consumption.  She embraces the principles of slow design by offering her readers daily decor inspiration and eco-friendly home decorating ideas for a healthy lifestyle.  Chanee loves to create inspiration boards of vintage and sustainably-designed pieces, so I asked her to create one just for us. –Petra

I’ve been looking for the perfect lounge chair for our home.  I only need one, but it has to be unique, comfortable, not too big and above all, green.  I haven’t yet found my perfect chair, but while I was searching, I came across this beautiful and artful reclaimed furniture from Amsterdam based Swarm.  Everything is made by founder Leslie Oschmann, who grew up helping her carpenter father in his shop.  She is now using her skills to transform found objects into beautiful and unique pieces.  Each one is truly a work of art complete with a ton of character.  Take a peek for yourself.

These are the chairs that first drew me in.  The artwork on the front and back of each one is covered with found canvases making them truly a piece of art.

And then of course she repeats the process on other types of furniture.  If I had that table, I’d never use a tablecloth.  Why cover up the beautiful art with fabric?  Stains from dinner parties would give this piece even more character and beauty.

This buffet almost looks cross stitched.  I wonder if it actually is.  And I love that she didn’t do the same thing on either side of the furniture piece giving it an asymmetrical look.

This is one of my favorites.  Leslie also uses the same art canvases to make bags.  I would love to head off to the farmers market with one of these bags in tow.

Leslie has also been experimenting with the form of a chair by replacing various component parts for her Altered Ego Chair series.  She says that the juxtaposition of chair parts breathes new life into what a chair can look like and how it functions.  I couldn’t agree more.  And do you see that hook on the side?  As a girl who always has a perpetually large purse in tow, I think all dining chairs should come fitted with one of these.  Don’t you agree?

Here’s another Altered Ego Chair version.

Photos from Swarm

Now, I’ve seen my share of raw wood slabs and tree roots turned into tables, but when I saw the furniture line from the Phillips Collection, I stopped and took notice.  There is something absolutely unique and stunning about their pieces that sets them above other similar manufacturers.  I think their tagline sums it all up, “every piece a conversation.”  Founded by Mark and Julie Phillips, this couple has been searched the globe for the best designers, the best materials and the best manufacturers.  You can tell.

The founders, Mark and Julie Phillips around a massive dining table, made from a teak wood root.  I mean, did I not say gorgeous?

Most of their furniture has been sourced from reclaimed wood sources.  In fact, their Origins line of furniture, sculpture and wall art has been made from felled trees and gnarled branches so that not a single tree has to be cut down.   Smart, huh?  Most of the wood comes from South East Asia and includes teak, rosewood, chamcha and other species.  I’ve gathered a few of my favorites to show you just how unique and special this collection is, but take a peek online as well.  Which one is your favorite?

I think this one might be my second favorite (after that amazing dining table of course).  It’s just so dynamic – it looks like it might take off!

These side tables or stools are made from left over bits of wood, pieced back together to form something useful and so unique.

Photos from The Phillips Collection

I know we’re all in the midst of getting ready for the holidays, but I wanted to take a quick break from all the planning and decorating with a peek into the Andrianna Shamaris showroom. I’ve often visited their shop in Soho just to be inspired by (and drool over) their gorgeous collection of furniture and home decor.  While not technically green, most of their products feel very organic.  In fact, most of the furniture is handmade out of reclaimed teak & petrified wood.  Plus one of a kind furniture made by skilled artisans always makes for a smaller eco footprint.  I figured all of these were a few good reasons to share this gorgeous furniture with you.  If you’re in the area, stop by their showroom on Greene Street.  There’s also a showroom in Malibu and one coming soon in the Hamtons.

Such a beautiful dining table and cut of wood.

I’m in love with these petrified teak side tables.  The contrast of white and black organic streaks is just stunning.

This side table is made of reclaimed teak and filled with cracked resin.  I love that it looks like a big square geode.

This are antique necklaces, turned into a gorgeous sculpture.

Andrianna Shamaris sells architectural pieces too, like this one which is made from a banyan tree.

Photos from Andrianna Shamaris

It’s not often that I speak with affection about stacking chairs.  I totally understand how useful & necessary they are, but most are SO ugly.  The Belloch Recycling chair from Santa & Cole, however, is different.  Reminiscent of some sort of mash-up of an Eames chair, a Wishbone chair and a Profile chair, its design is sleek, modern and with just the right amount of wood to make it interesting and fun.  But what’s truly remarkable about the Belloch Recycling chair is that it’s, well, recycled.  The plastic body is made of 60% polypropylene from post-consumer plastic waste and the wood legs are made of 40% recycled wood dust from sawmills.  Good design and recycled materials?  I’m sold.

Photos from Santa & Cole

I feel like I’ve been running around like crazy since we got back from our trip to SE Asia (the price you pay for a vacation, right?), that I haven’t even gotten a chance to take a look through any of our photos.  But I made a point to look through the pictures of Hong Kong today because I wanted to share a stylish home store we happened upon while wandering the streets of Soho.  Tree is Hong Kong’s first eco-chic furniture boutique, started in 2005 by Nicole Wakley.  I’m loving the clean lines and simple design of their pieces.  Plus their wood is all responsibly sourced – either certified wood from Indonesia or reclaimed wood from the Philippines.  And because they’re located in Hong Kong, this is actually local!

The pictures I took in the store give you a good idea of what Tree does, but make sure to check out their website too for more inspiration.  Enjoy!

Yup, that’s Trove eco-friendly wallpaper behind.  And this is my absolute favorite pattern of theirs.

How cool is this coffee table?  Love!

Eco-friendly Wishbone chairs!

I love the shape of these pendants all hung together.

I have a soft spot in my heart for red home accents.  These side table are just the perfect amount of red.

I love the white side table version as well.

I’ve been working hard on the apartment all week so I thought I’d take a quick break from the painting, sanding and cleaning to blog away.  And what better way to relax than on these super chic fuzzy chairs from Fredrik Farg that were exhibited at RH Gallery.  You can absolutely see how Farg was inspired by classically tailored suits and dressmaker details to create these one of a kind chairs.  He transformed flea market finds by using recycled industrial felt for their new fashionable backs.  I love that even though the felt shapes are elaborate, he kept the color palette muted.  It would have been easy to go overboard with color so I’m glad he didn’t.  Now if only I could decide which one is my favorite!  Which one is yours?

Photos from RH Gallery

I’ve been painting away in my apartment, but in the meantime I wanted to share this amazing SAYL Chair from Herman Miller with you.  As an interior designer, I’m constantly looking at other designers’ work for inspiration.  I’m generally drawn towards more traditional interiors rather than modern or especially futuristic.  My one exception?  Yves Behar.  His products are incredibly creative and are always pushing boundaries.  And his work always has some sort of humanistic element to it.  For those of you who might not know who he is, here’s a quick bio: Behar was trained as an industrial designer and is the founder of fuseproject, a design and branding firm.  He was the mastermind behind One Laptop Per Child and the Jawbone Bluetooth Headset and has worked with brands such as Swarovski, Birkenstock, GE & BMW Mini.

So when the SAYL Chairs from Herman Miller and designed by Yves Behar came through my inbox, I knew I had to share them with you.  I’m not sure I would use them in my own home (maybe in my someday office space), but they’re incredibly well designed and of course super cool.  Made of an elastomer suspension material, these frameless chairs encourage a full range of motion.  You can tell that the back is reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge from Behar’s hometown of San Francisco.  And of course in true San Francisco fashion, these SAYL chairs are eco-friendly: they’re made of fewer materials than a similar office chair, are 93% recyclable, made in the US and are aiming for MBDC Cradle to Cradle Silver, BIFMA level 2, and Greenguard certifications.  Plus at $400, Herman Miller created a less expensive desk chair that’s more attainable (compared to $700 for a similar Aeron chair).  If you’re in the market for one, they’re sold through YLiving.

What are your thoughts?  Do you like the SAYL chair?  Would you put one in your home or office?

Photos from Herman Miller