I've been on a planting kick lately. So far it has only extended to outdoor plants (more on that project later!) but I would love to extend my green thumb to indoor projects as well. This Boxcar Planter from Urbillis has definitely caught my eye, especially . . .
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I'm always on the lookout for great modern furniture built by small shop in the USA. The latest to hit my radar is Joe Joe Built It. They've got all sorts of FSC certified modern wood goodies, all at very reasonable prices considering what goes into making them. Speaking of which, check out the video by LetsMakeMedia after the jump that shows a little of the process.
JOEJOEBUILTIT from LetsMakeMedia on Vimeo.
Sometimes I like it a little rough. I suspect in fact that many of you do. The latest trend in modern furniture is using reclaimed and less polished materials in contrast to clean modern forms to create an interesting visual tension. Feeling the olympic spirit, UK based James Henry Austin designed a range of furniture built from salvaged sports hall flooring (that a gym floor in case you wondered). The lines are simple and often even traditional but the execution and presentation are just right to make it modern and interesting.
So yesterday I had a chance to get back up to the Canyons to take some better pictures of the suite. The picture above is probably my favorite of the bunch. It's always great when you get to put two Eames Lounge chairs in a space. The Cush rug from BluDot is pretty great too.
Doing the design in the suite I had two big challenges. First to make it not look like just another Park City rustic hotel room. This was actually pretty hard to do. Above are two pictures that show what the space looked like when we started. The top one is from the exact same view as the first Eames Lounge picture. Which do you like better?
To start we did a lot of taking things out. All of the furniture was removed from the room as were the cushions on the built in benches. Curtains were taken down, doors were removed etc. We even took down some light fixtures. Stripping everything out made the space so much better. There was still a lot of rustic feeling in the form of knotty pine woodwork that I could get rid of, but I had a plan for that. Now I just had to fill the space up with something that looked good. That brings us to the second problem.
Everything I put in the room had to be eco conscious. Everything. Ebay has a little primer for buying green that became my mantra.
#1 Buy Pre Owned - The greenest product is the one that already exists.
#2 Resource Saving - Do more with less.
#3 Sustainable - Materials Matter
Luckily I had some good guidance in this area from Zem of Ecofabulous. I generally think of myself as an eco aware guy but it's absolutely amazing how much more she knew about everything green. It was very educational for sure.
So without delay, here is the rest of the suite, and what went into it.
Entering into the suite there was a big ugly closet that greeted everyone. I took care of it by covering it with a large white board and some Urbio containers full of succulents. Not only did Urbio just win best accessory at Dwell on Design, it's also made of recycled plastic (#3). To top it off Beau, one of the designers, is an incredibly nice guy.
Also in the front entryway was a little niche that needed to be filled up. I used a Way Basics shelf here (and in several other places in the suite) because it's super affordable and made of 99% recycled material (#3). I filled it up with items I found at local thrift stores (#1).
Around the corner there is a short hall that looks into the kitchenette which is just off the main room. It's not the best looking kitchen so I gave it a little shield with a GORGEOUS rosewood Eames screen (#1) and a flower arrangement.
The main room is dominated by two vintage Eames Lounge chairs (#1) a small tulip style side table (#1) sitting on a wool Cush rug by BluDot (#3).
The wood benches needed some sort of padding on them because we removed the horrible looking pads there were on them. I covered two of them with 1" thick felt (#3) held in place with a rug pad. The felt is actually made of wool and recycled synthetic content (like recycled bottles). Pillows are fantastically eco friendly and come from Inhabit (#3).
The other two benches were covered with wool Flokati rugs (#3) held in place by a rug pad. Lots more pillows from Inhabit (#3) too.
Also in the main room were two Way Basics shelves side by side that I filled up with vintage pieces (#1) and succulents.
My favorite part of the shelf unit is a fantastic pair of white wooden clogs (#1) lit from above by the Pablo Clamp Lamp (#2)(#3).
Speaking of lamps, I didn't get a good photo of it, but the Moooi Miyake table lamp (#2)(#3) is pretty fantastic as well although I do wish it put out a bit more light.
Perhaps my favorite piece in the room were the 6 Coventry Stools by Studio Dunn (#3). The are a nice little bit of eye candy for the room and they provide flexible seating or a convenient place to set a drink. Also a huge thank you goes out to the guys from Studio Dunn who built these 6 stools and shipped them to Utah with just a week or two of heads up.
The last seating area is the dining table built in bench. Unfortunately I couldn't remove those cushions, but I was surprised that they didn't look as horrible as I thought they would. In front of the bench is a vintage Brown Saltman coffee table by John Keal (#1) lit from above by a Claudo pendant by Cerno (#2). The wall behind the bench was covered with raw Wall Tiles by Inabit (#3).
There were two good outdoor patios that I filled up with vintage Bertoia chairs (#1) a vintage teak bar cart (#1) Emeco 111 Navy chairs (#3) and Tom Dixon Offcut stool (#3).
Last but certainly not least was the green fashion room. I designed three literal Pinterest pin boards for attendees to use. The idea is they pick out outfits from the clothes in the room, pin them to the board, and share them on Pinterest. The person with the outfit that gets the most pins wins and iPad. You should be able to see all the outfits by looking for the ebaygreenstyled hashtag on Pinterest.
Also in the room is the reclaimed clothes rack I designed. A few people have asked for more info on it, and I'll give a better DIY on how to make your own next week.
Today in Park City hordes of social media mavens are gathering at the Canyons resort for the 2012 Evo Conference. I hadn't even heard of the conference until this year, and while it's not really my scene (lots of mommy bloggers) I am super excited to be involved. The Ebay Green Team (bet you never heard of them either) asked me to help do the interior decoration of a suite they have at the conference. It's been an absolute blast to source furniture from some of my favorite companies (Moooi, Tom Dixon, Emeco, Studio Dunn, Pablo, Blu Dot) and to bring in some epic MCM pieces from some of my favorite local stores The Green Ant and Now and Again. Some of my favorite vintage pieces include 2 Eames Lounge chairs, a rosewood Eames screen (1 of 500 ever made) Bertoia chairs, a teak bar cart and more. I even had a chance to make a reclaimed clothes rack (above) out of a piece of wood used during the construction of the Brooklyn bridge. I'm hoping to get up there and take some more pictures of the rest of the suite tonight or tomorrow night. Stay tuned for more.
I finally broke down and bought a Nest thermostat a few days ago. I can honestly say that it's the first time in a long time that my expectations have been exceeded across the board with a new purchase. That's not to say that I had low expectations either. I had seen the Nest in friends homes, and I knew it was good looking. I wasn't expecting it to be so well thought out from beginning to end though. First off I ordered it from Apple.com and received it like 2 days later. Next came the installation which was super easy, the thing even comes with it's own multi tip screw driver. Setup continued to be a cinch, getting it connected to my wireless network and controlling it from my phone took all of 10 minutes to do. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about it at all.
Who else has a Nest? What's your favorite thing about it?
It's no secret that I'm a fan of steel and wood coming together to make beautiful furniture. It is surprising however that I have only mentioned Misewell before in passing lately, because they do wood and steel so well. The new Grain desk shown above is a perfect example of that. Solid walnut and black steel have never looked so good.
An old friend of mine sent me this link for a story that our local TV station recently did. It features a passive house designed by local architect and Assistant Professor at the University of Utah Jorg Rugemer. I think it's important for a couple reason. First it's great to see modern architecture featured in local mainstream media. Second it shows the growing movement for passive house designed homes in Utah. Lastly, it's amazing to see that you can get good design and energy efficiency all for only slightly more than current construction costs. What's not to like?
I just can't get enough of this paired down simple modern craftsman aesthetic lately. The Moxo Stool is a simple Ipe stool made in Brazil. It's part of the Caboclas Project, which in and of itself is pretty cool.
The Caboclas Project is an innovative forest management project launched in 2000 with the support of leading Brazilian environmental agencies. It allows members to remain in their communities by providing an alternative income source through traditional woodworking while employing sustainable practices. Comprised of nearly 300 families, artisan members work in communal areas with simple hand tools. Their furniture and other handcrafted wood pieces reflect the rich folk culture and traditions of communities in the Tapajós region. The group's popular animal carvings illustrate these influences. The group uses wood from managed forests as well as reclaimed and dead trees.
I love these simple industrial/vintage looking bookshelves. The material pallet is simple and straight forward, as is the construction. Blake Avenue seems to have hit the nail firmly on the head, although the $1,150 price tag does seem a little on the high side. That being said the rest of his Etsy shop is full of great looking custom furniture that falls in the same industrial/vintage vein, and I'm always a fan of paying a little more for a truly custom piece.
What do you think about the price? To high? To Low? Just right?
Reclaimed Shelving Unit $1,150
Oh man... I totally want to cover my office walls with these recycled cardboard "wall pockets"! They're available in three colors, but I'm sure you could paint them to suit your needs. I'm thinking a blast of white spray paint for the outside and maybe some neon pink for the interior would suit me just fine.
I love these upcycled material tea light holders from London-based designer James Tattersall. With the right skills, I have the feeling they'd make a pretty easy DIY project, too!
You know how irresistible this cutlery from Core Bamboo is to me, right?? As a lover of all things bright and colorful, it pretty much knocks not one but both of my sock off. Available in 11 colors, each set is made from 100% organically grown bamboo.
I can geek out on tech products just as much as the next guy, but what I really love is good looking and innovative product. I'm not sure how useful the BioLite really would be, but the concept is fascinating.
By converting heat from the fire into usable electricity, our stoves will recharge your phones, lights and other gadgets while you cook dinner.
Just make sure you have some matches handy.
I find myself strangely attracted to this moss wall hanging planter by Mr Lentz. It's a simple plank of cedar stained with walnut husks and black tea then sealed with a little flax seed oil. It's topped with a piece of dried moss. While it reads more like the ingredients for a exotic salad, it actually makes a nice piece of wall art.
From tool caddies to bookends, cutting boards to balanced wine bottle slabs, craftsman and designer Jonathan January builds them all by hand from 100% reclaimed materials. His environmentally friendly finishes are just the cherry on top of these one-of-a-kind pieces. My fave? The Sculpted Kitchen Work Station in black walnut--yum! Check out his Etsy shop for more!
Readers know what a big fan I am of Gilt.com. They curate an amazing collection of things I want to fill my home with. I'm excited this week to offer a sneak preview of one of next weeks sales, and to offer a giveaway for one of our readers!
It's obvious why Gilt chose to feature Parvez Taj on their website, his unique technique of using photographs, software, UV cured inks and a variety of substrates to create his artwork is amazing. His latest collection "Print on Reclaimed wood" adds an additional richness to his artwork.
The wood used for these art pieces is reclaimed Douglas Fur harvested from old buildings throughout Southern California. Each unique piece is of wood is hand selected by the artist... and then prepared by fine art craftsman for printing - no piece will look the same - making them truly one of a kinds.
GIVEAWAY!!
One lucky Grassrootsmodern reader will win a 36" x 22" print from the Reclaimed Wood collection.
To enter to win, simply comment below on which Reclaimed Wood piece is your favorite, and why. For an additional chance to win, make sure you "like" Grassrootsmodern on Facebook and comment here on your favorite piece.
A week from today on 10/19 we will be picking a winner at random from all the comments made. For those that are feeling less lucky the Parvez Taj sale on Gilt will begin on 10/18.
Good luck everyone!
Wooden pallet chairs from the Rough South Home Etsy shop. Personally I think that half the fun is building them yourself, but if you aren't the handy type, maybe this is your ticket. $75 each with free delivery in Atlanta. They have some other great treasures on their Etsy shop as well.
This geodesic-shaped habitat is made of superior grade durable recycled cardboard and features two points of entry/egress as well as an interior scratch deck for clawing and nesting. It's generously proportioned, easy to assemble, and stackable with integrated tab connections. Mostly though, I just like the product photo of the cat on top of the stack. It may even warrant a caption contest...
Too cool for words: "Working out of a converted schoolhouse, Potting Shed Creations (based in Troy, ID) crafts contemporary garden accessories with sustainable potting materials. The Bottle Garden line creates indoor or outdoor self-contained herb gardens out of discarded glass beverage bottles."
