Organic Greens.

Everyone is going green tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day! This is typically the time of year when our lawns green up too. If 2010 is your year for going a bit more earth-friendly, start with an environmentally safe way to grow and maintain a greener, healthier lawn. And celebrate your hard work with some organic green beer! Luck of the Irish.

This Old House shows us how to go organic outdoors:

1. Start by mowing the lawn very short.
2. Next, use a gas-powered aerator to punch air holes into the lawn.
3. Use a shovel to broadcast ½ to 1 inch of compost over the lawn.
4. Rake the compost into lawn using a garden rake.
5. Check the health of the soil with a test kit; for acidic soil, add pelletized limestone with a broadcast spreader.
6. Add chicken-manure fertilizer to the lawn with broadcast spreader.
7. Spread grass seed over the lawn using broadcast spreader.
8. Use the back of a leaf rake to work the grass seed into the lawn.
9. Lightly water the lawn two or three times per day.
10. Once grass germinates, return to normal watering: irrigate the lawn with 1 inch of water per week.

However, if you lead a busy life, hate yard work, or need a complete landscape overhaul and would rather leave it to a really good landscape company here in the Washington, DC area, call my friends at Wheat’s Landscape.

Turning Trash into Treasure.

We all have attics full of stuff. And it’s time for a Spring cleaning. Now what. Ask designer Ryan McElhinney. Ryan has taken everyday objects and repurposed them into functioning accessories… my favorite being the  golden Toy Lamp. What child would not HEART to have this in his/her very own room?Ryan “up-cycles” old toys, bonds them together with adhesive, and then coats them with a hi-gloss polyurethane lacquer finish. A pot of gold metallic lacquer here and some professional design flair there adds some glammed up splash to the otherwise lowdown trash. =)

Ryan McElhinney's Toy Lamp

Is that Buzz LIght Year?

Spanish Legs Lamp by Ryan McElhinney

Gold Toy Mirror by Ryan McElhinney

Ryan himself.

PS Ryan also designs interior spaces. Get on that TOYride London!

Reclaimed a New Household Name.

Hooray! Green home products have finally established a permanent foothold in the home furnishings and accessories market. Wood reclaimed furniture, which has been around for years, is gaining mass appeal. From deconstructed buildings, such as barns, this salvaged wood is typically more interesting then new wood and attractive to home owners wanting that lived-in look so often not found in new development. I lived in an adorable 1940’s Cape Cod with two inch oak flooring that had taken a beating or two and loved it. When compared to my friends and families new homes’ shiny and soft flooring, there is no competition. Hands down, I stick with the old stuff. Varian Designs and Old Wood Co. are two of my favorite manufacturers of reclaimed furnishings. Salvaged, vintage, weather beaten, or water logged wood might be a wise investment if you look to lessen your carbon footprint and yearn to have something already previously owned or recreated from manufactured or handmade works from the past.

Modern vintage fir dresser | Viva Terra

Reclaimed fleur de lis table or bench | Etsy

Solid Recycled Wood Toy Blocks | Christopher H

Vintage reclaimed Wilcox collection in patchwork pattern | Urban Woods

Butch oak iron buff cocktail table | Old Wood Co.

Antique farm implements as materials for this chair | Groovystuff

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I Dream of Green.

I’m alterady over Winter. Go away! If its not going to be fluffy white out there, then how about some green? In the meantime, I’ll get my fix from pretty pictures of urban greening projects that are being planned or completed around the world. This one is my current favorite as it looks like the elaborate and layered home landscapes found right here in the affluent metropolitan uber neighborhoods of McLean, Great Falls, and Potomac. Architonic surprises its readers with this fantastic Copenhagen courtyard that’s anything beside boring. The meandering paths, accent lighting, and variegated grasses, shrubs, and trees creates interest, privacy, and a gorgeous view from the surrounding buildings.

Charlotte Garden is open to local people as a meeting place, playground, and escape.

Movement and enriched vision is enlivened by the changing patterns.

Plantings include meadow grass, Festuca glauca, Seslevia and Molina caerulea.

Colors change with season and include golden tones in the winter months.

The garden was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award.

The design team included Stig L. Andersson, Hanne Bruun Møller, Lars Nybye Sørensen along with client Harald Simonsens Ejendomsselskab. The nearby buildings are designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects. The pretty photos are by SLA.

Fir the Early Tree Hunters.

I love my green and blue Frazier Fir christmas tree. Every year, I search for only this variety of evergreen – 6 feet tall and perfect on all sides. I’ve found beautiful ones at Eastern Market, Measdows Farms, and the local Boy Scouts stand on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, VA. I typically wait until after the first week of December in hopes that the freshness remains until the New Year. =) I know many of you run out on Black Friday and pick up your soon-to-be-dripping-with-tinsel-and-lights-christmas-tree from your local garden shop or charity road side stand. Good for you. But if you feel a little less excited to lug it home – sap, needles, and all – try to find your precious online at Green Valley Christmas Trees. They will personally hand select a fresh fir for you and deliver it to your door. Ring a ling a ling is all you need to wait for until the decorating frenzy begins. Thanks for the idea Daily Candy! Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

Raising the Hem-line.

Who would ever have thought that hemp, lime, and water would make a perfect recipe for thermal walling?! We know they make a great party but the concoction is on the brink of competing with concrete. The American Lime Technology (ALT), a joint venture of UK-based Lime Technology Ltd.and U.S. Heritage Group, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, is marketing their newest green thermal wall material called Hemcrete®. This highly sustainable product can be used to create insulating walls in new structures or used to retrofit existing floors, roofs, and walls with thermally efficient, breathable insulating layers. It captures enough carbon dioxide in its creation process to offset application, making it a true carbon-negative construction material.

Hemcrete Wall Section

Hemcrete® is a blend of a special lime based binder (Tradical® HB) and specially prepared hemp shiv (Tradical® HF). Together these form a sustainable bio-composite construction material that combats climate change by capturing carbon and delivering high performance airtight, insulating walls. The carbon capture environmental benefits of Tradical® Hemcrete offer an immediate way to combat climate change.

Coke Infused… Upholstery?

Ever wonder what some people do with used Coke bottles? You might very well be sitting on this 100% green fabric yarns (Diet Coke perhaps?). Kravet Fabrics is using these recycled yarns for weaving their gorgeous fabrics. Thank you Paula Grace for the information on this recycling this fizzy container.

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The Kravet Green Collection is made of 100% recycled polyester. The polyester is a unique blend of post-industrial and post-consumer fibers woven and finished with water based products and environmentally approved dyes.

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