Gifts on your mind? Me too!
Organic bath towels by Amy Butler. Shop.
Shop
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From the category archives:
eco-chic
Anne Hart designs these lovely cushions made from cotton and recycled plastic bottles. How cool!
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Amy Bulter’s fresh, bright, modern and organic bedding. And its only her first line of bedding!! I am a huge fan.
Like them all but this black and white one is my fav.
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One big project in our home’s future is a two-level sunroom. One level will be our formal dining room and the other an office and library. I have no idea when this project will become a reality but I am always looking for inspiration for it.
I love the architectural details and natural palette of both these rooms.
Room designed by Trina and photography by Angus Fergusson
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As an eco-friendly blog, I am happy to share Eco-light.com’s lighting fixtures with you. Eco-lights products are made using recyclable materials, ecologically harvested timber, and other earth friendly ingredients. They have a large collection of chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps, wall lights, and lamps.
It was hard to select my favs for this post and I hope you hop over to see more eco-lights.
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Guest post by Fiona Kelly from Fashmom
Fashmom back again. Glad to be here for another guest blog while Manvi kicks back.
In accordance with Mochatini’s eco-friendly design premise, I’m going to talk about re-decorating on the cheap in an environmentally friendly way. Thrift shopping is the good old fashioned way to save money while saving the environment. As they say, One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Though trash has negative connotations, I can tell you that after living in NYC for years, I’ve acquired some quality freebies from the curb. A sold oak chest, an antique baby chair and Ikea shelves to name a few. If you’re not comfortable with “garbage shopping”, try the Salvation Army, flea markets, and garage sales. They can be great places to score one of a kind pieces that will be the envy of your friends. If you are even remotely crafty, like you can pick up a paint brush, then you can breathe new life into other peoples cast offs. A bright coat of paint over a beat up dresser can do wonders. If you want more high end pieces and have a little extra cash to spend there are great online auction sites and of course more upscale antique and furniture shops. Ebay and first dibs both have huge selections for just about every taste.
The bottom line is when you buy used (pre-loved) merchandise, you cut down on production, manufacturing, packaging and freight costs; environmental and otherwise. Even small scale helps.
Here are some tips…
• Buy mismatched china instead of place settings from a department store.
• Collect bottles and use them as vases.
• Use tea cups for your herb garden.
• Instead of wall paper, cover a wall in framed photos, postcards and art you collect.
• A wall of mirrors looks cool and makes a space appear larger.
• Find beat up chairs. Re-paint the frame and recover the seat with new fabric. Re-upholstering is a great way to make something old new again. You can also just leave as is. Wear and tear shows character.
Enjoy the pictures and share some of your own budget decorating ideas.
Check out my related post on fashmom about vintage clothes shopping. Thanks again to Manvi. Hope to see and hear from you at fashmom!
images: Living, Marche au Puce, Real Simple, John Derian, Haringtons Main, Zara
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Hello Monday and hello my lovely friends. Hope you had a good weekend. Did you do anything special? I hope some of you got to spend it with your mothers. My mommy is far away {Dubai} so I got her a book that I know she will enjoy and we chatted on the phone. I started to pack for BA, {2 more sleeps}, replanted hostas and ferns, among other things. Almost everyone in the neighborhood was out tending to their lawns. Dont you just love the smell of freshly cut grass?
A while back I found some moss in our garden that I decided to use to start a terrarium garden {miniature succulent and moss gardens in glass containers}. I first came across terrariums in Domino magazine and have been fascinated with them ever since. Terrariums are fairly easy to maintain. Depending on the plant, they need indirect sunlight and are suitable for most corners of your home. My guest bath gets very little sunlight so a moss terrarium with a couple of succulents should work well there.
Glass jars make good terrarium containers. Try reusing empty food jars. Or look for assorted containers at Ikea like this and this. Whether you live in a tiny apartment or a mcmansion, a terrarium will add interest to unexpected corners of your home. You can also buy pre-grown moss terrariums from Viva Terra and Etsy store made by mavis.
Do you have a terrarium garden? Send me pictures of them. I would love to feature them here. Have a fantastic week ahead.
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Hola! Did you have yourself a good weekend? Hope some of you had sunshine. It rained here all weekend. While the rain did put a hold on most of my projects for the weekend, I was able to do some fun things. We went to the Embassy open house on Saturday. It was interesting to see some really well designed foreign embassies in DC. We also sorted through a lot of important papers and I got a start on putting away my winter clothes.
I did play around with an eco-friendly DIY. I spray painted used wine and beer bottles white.I didnt have any specific purpose except to reuse these bottles decoratively. I think they turned out quite nice! Dont you?
I had loads of fun styling and photographing them with Paul. Another busy week ahead of me. I have tons to do before our trip to Argentina next week. Lots of wonderful posts coming your way. A much awaited interview. And a book. Stay tuned.
images: MDH + PDH
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This is what I call a “dinner party table”! If you can’t tell, I have a thing for furniture crafted using reclaimed wood. Hudson Furniture are the makers of these beauties. This table is perfect for 20 plus person summer dinner party. I can imagine it in my garden under a cluster of round paper lanterns. Are you into furniture made from reclaimed wood?
Notice the birch bench on the bottom right corner? I love it!
I want this birch coffee table too!!
See also furniture made from reclaimed wood by Kings Road Home
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