Best seat in the house! Linen Barcelona Modern Love

Taken at Pixelbrand

Many moons ago (17, to be exact) I blogged about the Butaca modern-day sustainable take on the Barcelona chair.
Gorgeous, hand carved, coffee sack stuffed, 100% covetable chair. (I fell into obsession, perhaps.)
It's gorgeous, but my budget didn't cover $3500 for 2 chairs, even if they were absolutely perfect for my space. I loved the softness of them, the idea of a leather-less Barcelona chair and the look of the repurposed materials.
Fast forward a year and a half: We found linen Barcelona style chairs at Homesense for less than $600 each. One added pillow, and a faux-fur throw left us with a snapshot worthy solution.
Almost the Butaca. Almost. Not FSC wood. But also not leather.
I couldn't be happier with my soft, cozy take on a modern classic that I will always love.

Here's the original that was my inspiration:

Backyard Offices : Hip, Hot & Sustainable Design

Garden office by IN.IT. Studios. I might never leave work if I had this in my backyard!

In 2050, will most professionals work remotely from their homes?
We seem to be moving in that direction. I am jumping on the early adopter band-wagon and thinking about moving my office to my backyard. There seem to be so many advantages...

• Instead of commuting to work, you stay at home and save both gas and time.
 (It's nice to save money, and it's nice to have more time. And it's nice to know that you aren't polluting while commuting. It's a win-win-win.)

•Working from home offers more than a few perks.
(For me, this means my favorite cup of tea, the perfect radio station, and doggie-walks at lunch. Pulling left-overs right from the fridge instead of packing or buying a snack at work is always nice, too.) 

On the flip-side, welcoming clients into your personal living space for creative pow-wow sessions is not always ideal. And sometimes people find it difficult to disconnect from work, and to focus on family time.
(My office calls to me at all hours of the day, because I love my work.) 

A backyard office seems to be the perfect solution. It would allow you the benefits of being at home, and it would also help keep those home-work boundaries a little more rigid. It wouldn't be a stretch to run something this size on solar power, so you could even be absolutely sustainable in your space from 9-5.

I am drooling over some of these lovely out-in-the-back solutions that would allow me to really close the door at night. They would also look awesome from my living room window. This means that I could still enjoy the view while spending quality time where I belong: at home.

 Ecospace Studios designs these work pods, along with other equally gorgeous
backyard structures. Goodbye fence, hello ultra-cool office!

Another example of Ecospace Studios architectural design

And for my teeny-tiny backyard space, this office on
castors might be a better match! 

My obsession with skid pallet decor continues....

PART 1: Repurposed Skid Pallets, A Way to Look at the World here.

(The recycle-upcycle-repurpose movement has truly mainstreamed.)
It's wonderful!
We already know that we need to slow down our over-zealous desires to consume shiny new things.... right? But it can be so hard!

So, here are some guilt-free ideas to spice up your interior. New materials optional.


Unique Palette Ideas & Furniture Made to Measure: Creative ways to use wooden pallets!

Pallet Accent Wall, DIY !
(Please sand and seal.. pallets are sprayed with pesticides during shipping)

Wooden Skids Used as Shelving

Desk Love.

More Wood Palette Coffee Tables: These just keep getting better.

Okay, so this is more of a desk than a coffee table. STILL, AMAZING.

Who would have thought they could look so classy?

Painted Union Jack Repurposed Skid Palette Wonder

Bright Chartreuse Coffee Table. Modern Interior Decor!

Repurposed Skid Pallets - a way to look at the world

The organic / upcycled / repurposed fad must be reaching its peak.
While wonderful to see, my wish is that people add a few trendy pieces to their decor and stop for a moment to think about the why and the how of it all.
The why:
We desperately need to change our habits if we want the earth to sustain our human population and the growth of developing nations.  Culturally, we are changing some of our habits (recycling, composting, and "going-green", if you will.) The eco-trend has found its way into every corner of our lives... and that includes every corner of your home. Eco-fashionable home decor makes sense. Start with what you can, and change as you can.
The how: 
By repurposing waste, we are doing the good green thing. On some level it makes us feel like better citizens of the earth. (In the 80s I got the same fuzzy feeling when I bought bottled Evian.)
The caveat: 
Decoration is just frills. Yes, it's true.
(I am a designer. Please realize that frills are very important to my life / environment /overall well-being. Yes, perhaps that is  shallow. Moving forwards.) 

Let's keep the momentum (which is amazing) and start to examine the other important things in our lives. Things like the food we eat and where it comes from, the supply chain of the things we buy, the politicians that we vote for and the repercussions of our choices - our use of the world's resources and our community, our dependence on oil...

It's a lot to think about. And home decor is, by comparison, so mild. I don't mean that we should strip away any of the great eco-things that are popping up everywhere. They're great! They're phenomenal. 

Meaningful. 

Hopeful. 

Inspiring.

If nothing else, I hope we embrace these trends with a vigour that inspires even more humanity and compassion - and positive change.  If we can change ugly, old and dirty skid pallets into works of modern eco art- we can do.. well,  just about anything.

Without further ado - my selection of repurposed skid pallets:

From Creature comforts

From Apartment Therapy

From /caisak.blogspot.com/

Pallet Garden

The grandaddy of upcycles: from skid pallet to Barcelon-esque Daybed

Henry Sofa : FSC Love

West Elm's Henry Sofa
We went to West Elm today. Great store, great furniture and decor, great prices...
and I fell in love with their Henry sofa. Simple, unassuming, and devilishly comfortable; the Henry caught our attention from a distance. Things only got better as we swarmed in a little closer. The price was a mouth dropping $699, which was appealing. The little tag on the side is what really made me excited about the little guy:
1) Solid wood frame made with FSC wood. (Forest Stewardship Council's sustainably harvested wood is one of the highest standards in the industry)
2) The springs in the couch are made with 70% recycled metals
3) The Foam in the seating and arms is made with 20% soy
4) The pillow filling is made with recycled water bottles
5) The padding/fiber on the seat is made with recycled carpeting

With a price and aesthetic like that, along with a curriculum vitae that would make Al Gore nervous, what's not to love?

Greener Look. Greener Heart?

From http://emmas.blogg.se/index.html

As we move beyond the era of recycling novelty we are starting to surround ourselves with things that look and feel green. Natural fibres, raw wood, dried branches, mini-containers with living moss - the style is fresh and organic and lovely. It's that summer and lemongrass feeling of a spa in your own home,  and the look is eco-divine.

From http://lalalovelythings.blogspot.com/

From http://www.anthropologie.com

The more I think about this look, however; the more I wonder if we aren't giving ourselves the illusion of being eco-advocates.  I am a huge fan of FSC or repurposed wood. If given the choice I would chose organic cotton over regular cotton, of course. It makes me feel great to purchase sustainable products for my home. Sometimes, it makes me feel so great, in fact; that I stop thinking about what I need to do to make the world a better place. I feel like I have done my part by buying up beautiful eco-friendly things.

So here's where my contemplation begins and my doubts creep in... do dried tree stumps, moss stolen from its natural fauna & fake animal antlers make me a greener, better person? I'm pretty sure they don't.

They certainly allow me to look that way, though. 

From Manolo Home

Urban Garden Heaven

I've just found urban garden heaven.
This vertical garden design was spotted on kickstarter.com - an amazing site where you can pledge to fund the creative ideas you like. I am going to back this amazing live decor, and purchase a set in advance of production. (Just look at these gorgeous prototypes!) I imagine it right by my kitchen window, touting herbs for my salads. *Just about perfect*

Albero Upcycled Reclaimed Wood Side Tables To Die for

Today I came across these Albero side tables. They are eco-perfection in a nutshell. (I suppose we could say that they are perfection in Walnut shell ?)

I, for one, love having a few accent pieces that scream rustic, and these would certainly fit the bill.
They are made from fallen trees, put together by hand, and of course - each piece is absolutely unique. They run a steep $1025 - $1200, but considering the manufacturing process, the overall look and the fact that they are one-of-a-kind; the price tag seems to fit these eco-chic little tables.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, a well chosen set of ikea legs and a friendly phone call to your local  arborist might be a cheaper option.

DIY Upcycled Pendant Lampshade (One more reason to love Threadbanger)

Threadbanger, we love you. Your amazing eco-deco tips, your inspiration, your creative flair for turning junk into faux-couture. Here is a DIY video that shows us how to use chicken wire, galvanized steel wire and bit of used, found, or discarded items (a.k.a. one man's garbage) and turn it into an amazingly chic upcycled lamp shade. (a.k.a. another man's treasure.)

How to Make an Upcycled Pendent Lamp

Thanks for the wonderful ideas !
5 minute life videopedia

Upcycled Repurposed Clothes hangers

Organelle Design has this fantastic set of repurposed clothes hangers... If you have extra - instead of throwing them away, why not "upcycle" or repurpose - and join the thousands of design savvy eco-conscious creators that are swinging the art of recycling to new heights. These awesome hanging lamps can be purchased in Organelle's etsy shop .

As seen on Curbly

Recycled Wall Planters Breathe Green and Seethe Style

First shown at the 2009 Milan Furniture Fair, Maruja Fuentes "green pockets" are made of recycled ceramic and they literally bring life to functional green design. The pockets, when many are used, serve as an air filter as the plants release oxygen into the air. At the same time, the stylish fish scale shape allows interlocking and unique placement so that each person that uses the pockets can tailor the look to their tastes and create a unique pattern with plant and tile.