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.

Before...

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.

... After

Personal Space… Delivered.

Today I learned about YardPods through blogger Home Design Finds. Sonoma Mountain Village, only one of five One Planet Communities in the world is being created entirely out of zero-carbon YardPods.

Sonoma Village

These YardPods are instant prefabricated sheds that can be configured to meet almost any need – backyard yoga retreat, workshop, artist studio, potting shed, or other desired interior space. Costs range from $2,000 to $20,000 and will afford you a personalized recyclable steel space with finish options that include FSC woods, recycled metals, bamboo and cork flooring, recycled cotton fiber insulation, cool roof or long-lasting standing seam metal roofing, efficient windows and doors, and Hardywood siding.

Online Yard Sale: Coming Soon.

A friend has asked me to assist in posting some well-cared for family-owned belongings to eBay. No problem. Aside from the painstaking process of locating the photos on my hard drive and then uploaded to the site, oh, and nailed down beautifully, it’s easy breezy onward from there. Kind of on the addicting side as you watch the bidding take off (hopefully – as many of you Sellers would know). I was excited to take a look last week to see what I was going to be presenting to the online bidding world. So I really hope that someone out there sees value and beauty (the greens and blues are so seaside dreamy) in what Champagne Butterfly will be auctioning off starting tomorrow night!

Ivory and green aqua glazed pot. Cool shape!

Inside of pot.

Sapphire glass ashtray. So chic in a retro home.

Lovely large green McCoy pottery (with attached tray)

Imprint from company. Great condition!

Smaller pot with ivory glazed rim. Also top notch condition!

This one is my favorite!

A Win-Win Bill for All.

This is great news for designers, retailers and homeowners! Read about the The HIRE Act:

http://www.hometextilestoday.com/article/CA6674010.html?nid=2063&rid=8040532

The High Line.

After ten years of advocacy, planning, and construction, section 1 of the High Line (runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street) is now open! The complete High Line runs through three of Manhattan’s most dynamic neighborhoods: the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton. Built in the 1930s, these neighborhoods were dominated by industrial and transportation uses. Now they are home to art galleries, design studios, retailers, restaurants, museums, and residences.

The High Line is a public park, built and maintained for the benefit of all New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. It represents a unique opportunity for members of the community to become involved in the planning of a major public amenity that will serve New York City for years to come. The design process began with an Open Ideas Competition, in 2003 – you can still view all 720 entries into the 2003 Ideas Competition here.

Site Plan fort High LIne

The High Line’s signature landscape is designed by James Corner Field Operations, with the consultation of planting designer Piet Oudolf. In fall 2008, planting began, with perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees installed in the planting beds of Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to 20th Street). The High Line’s plantings are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the out-of-use elevated rail tracks during the 25 years after the trains stopped running. The landscape architects chose species for their hardiness, sustainability, and textural and color variation, with a focus on native species. Many of the species that originally grew on the High Line’s rail bed are incorporated into the park landscape. The 210 species in Section 1 bloom from late January to mid-November.

Planting the High Line

Painting the World White.

The London Associated Press reports that the US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Tuesday the Obama administration wants to paint roofs an energy-reflecting white, as he took part in a climate change symposium in London. In an effort to cut greenhouse gases, there would be a consideration for an initiative in painting flat roofs a white color (a sloped roof would be hard on our eyes, lightening roads to a paler color (hmm, can Martha Stewart help us out with this one… perhaps Nantucket Shingle Grey?). Read more about it here.

Hanging Up the Wire Hanger.

The city of San Francisco was home base this year for the second annual Greener by Design conference where hundreds of designers, entreprenuers, and earth-conscious professionals share challenges and opportunitites through in-depth discussions on the future of green design. I found from Inhabit.com, that during this event, Green Heart Global debued their new product, the Ditto Hanger. Throw out those old wire hangers with last years pant size people. I learned that the hangers are made out of 100% compressed recycled paper and can be customized with company names and logos. 

 

Ditto Hanger

The curvy forms look so much better dangling on an empty rod and even more functional when protecting that prized vintage jacket as well as the earth. With divots for camisoles, clips for pants, and smaller lengths for children’s clothing (hellooo Miss JuJuBunny), these hangers are sure to replace some of your old habits. We hope.