Apartment Therapy Re-Nest

Weekend Meditation: The First Day of Spring—3.20.10

"Everything is blooming most recklessly. If it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Green Pest Control Solutions With A Side Of Humor

Janice hated it when the household pests encouraged Rusty to find the pan to boil noodles for macaroni and cheese!

This vintage artwork (with added bug stickers) and it's caption gave us a good laugh this morning, but in all seriousness, pest control can be a frustrating matter, especially if you're looking to keep things green. With Spring on it's way, check out a few of our favorite past pest control tips, after the jump.

Solar Piksols Are An Eco-Friendly Artwork Display

Piksols are small solar cells that when hit with sunlight, start storing the energy from the sun's rays and also carry the ability to display some pretty cool graphics. The system uses negative and positive space to portray pictures on the outside of buildings and inside your home. Check out a video to see how it works after the jump.

Get Real with Reel Mowers

(Welcome to Rebecca, who's trying out to be a Re-Nest blogger!)

Did you know that according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a traditional gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new cars each being driven 12,000 miles? That is a lot of pollution just to cut the lawn! Have you ever considered the old reel mower? It actually helps you get fit, reduces air and noise pollution and, don't forget, it keeps that lawn perfectly manicured! But forget pushing your grandparents' old rusty mower around... these new models are sleek, sharp and a breeze to use.

The Spring Cure: Creating Your Vision
Week 1 - Weekend Prep

This bedroom feels so warm and cozy. (Via AT:SF)

• Cure Clock: 8 weeks to go!
• Assignment: Read Week One: Creating Your Own Vision

I hope wherever you are the weather is as glorious as it is here in New York today. After weeks of grey, gloomy weather and repeated rain storms, the sun is out and it's a fantastic 67 degrees—the perfect way to step into the weekend and begin de-winterizing my apartment. So what is this whole "weekend prep" thing, you ask? Well, since we figured most people are doing the bulk of the week's assignments on Saturday and Sunday, we're going to use Friday as a time to give you tips, tricks, and encouragement to get you through the weekend successfully and one step closer to a cured home!

Chicken Coop Inspiration Resource: Backyard Chickens

If you saw Erik Knutzen's post on How To Build a Backyard Chicken Coop and you'd like more design ideas, check out this resource for inspiration.

Turn Off Your Pot And Cook Your Chicken

The other day we were checking out The Kitchn, our sister site, looking for something to make for dinner. We stumbled across this recipe. Not only it is delicious but it uses a technique that can save quite a bit of energy in the kitchen! In fact, it may now be our go-to method whenever we need to poach chicken. (We bet it would also work well for fish!)

Easy DIY: Update an Old Mirror

Raise your hand if you've learned the hard way that nice-looking mirrors can cost almost their weight in gold? Consider our hands raised. So when we happened upon a vintage (read: in need of a major overhaul) mirror for $5 at a thrift shop, we managed to look past its garish faux-antiqued gold frame and bring it home.

What Is the Best Way To: Dispose of Kitchen Grease?

Reader Davin wrote in to ask about the best way to dispose of kitchen grease and oil. Most municipalities tell you not to put used cooking oil and grease down the drain, but what then should a cook do with it? How do you dispose of (or reuse) cooking grease?

Paperstone: The Earth's Surface
Store Profile

Recycled paper might seem like an unusual choice for counter top material, but in the case of PaperStone, it looks and acts much like stone – solid, durable, scratch and stain resistant, virtually waterproof, and tolerant of temperatures up to 350 degrees.

PM Scavenger
New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington DC

Buy second hand and keep stuff alive longer! Lots of great furniture finds in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington DC in today's PM Scavenger.

3 New Books on Green Living
The New York Times

We've heard about several new books on shelves now about green living, for people of all interests and commitment levels. Are you more of a lazy environmentalist? Check out "Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices." Are you an architect or designer looking for the latest news in materials and sustainable products? You'll want to take a look at "Ecodesign: The Sourcebook." Planning to build a green home from top to bottom? Then "Prefabulous + Sustainable: Building and Customizing an Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home" is likely to float your boat.

Low-Flow WaterSense Faucets from Moen

Moen is commonly recognized as an industry leader for its water conservation and waste reduction initiatives. Most of Moen's bath and sink faucets and showerheads have WaterSense certification, and feature a 1.5 gpm flow rate. Even their flow-optimized aerators restrict flow from the standard 2.2 gpm to a 1.5 gpm— a very simple add-on if you don't want to replace your whole faucet.

Upholstery Fabric Repurposed Into Seating

We always hate it when someone thinks of something we haven't, especially when it's as cool as this. Camilla Hounsell Halvorsen is the brains behind the project and put some old upholstery fabric to great use, but can you guess what's inside of it?