Happy 4th of July! We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend planned, sitting and talking out in the sun with great food and great friends. Since the 4th is a popular time of the year to throw an outdoor party or barbecue, we've rounded up some of our favorite eco-friendly entertaining ideas, including easy DIY table settings, biodegradable and recycled tabletop, and healthy tips for having guests over (hint: have them remove their shoes!). It's all below the jump...
We've been preoccupied with pallets lately, and this image from photographer Ashley Campbell just sent us over the top. It's amazing how you can turn something so raw and industrial into a beautiful, colorful and dreamy piece of furniture...
We've got a bit of a problem. We share our recycling receptacles with our upstairs neighbors and lately we've been noticing that they're a little confused. They've got their papers and their glass and their cans all mixed together (and we don't have single-stream recycling here). What should we do?
Okay, so we know Outdoor Month is over, but there are still many summer weekends to come, and so we couldn't resist sharing some more ideas for garden parties from Sweet Paul, the blog of food stylist Paul Lowe. He uses cut flowers in unconventional ways, providing helpful tips for how to replicate the ideas at home. For this lovely garland, which we spotted on Housemartin, Paul used binder clips to suspend the flowers from lengths of ribbon, wrapping the ends of the stems in some wet cotton to preserve them. Check out a few more flower projects from Paul after the jump...
Location: Chicago, IL
Size: 3600 sq/ft
Years lived in: For Sale!
Located in the picturesque and historic Chicago neighborhood, Ravenswood Manor, this home is a future forward ‘American Four-Square’ house, updated to be green with a super insulated envelope, passive and active solar elements, a green roof and lots of reused and reclaimed goodies…
With a budget of $10,000, Christina Salway and John Moskowitz transformed an abandoned 700 square foot house in the Catskills into a weekend cottage with a touch of urban sophistication. The New York Times tells the story of the couple's first home purchase and their 8-month DIY renovation (they did hire a roofing contractor)...
Layovers and travel delays can be a drag unless you're "stuck" at a cool place. Imagine spending your layover sipping coffee under a domed atrium with a 4,000 square meter tropical garden with exotic plants and palm trees, or a station surrounded by water on three sides, supported by a foundation of 1,100 wooden beams hammered into the seabed. You can, if you choose the right spot...
What is this, you may ask. Excellent question. These futuristic leaf-like designs you see above are actually solar leaves that harness power from both the sun and the wind. This unique hybrid energy delivery system (called GROW) is the brainchild of sustainable design company SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology). We love how it's inspired from nature, and can just imagine how beautiful it would look fluttering on the side of a building...
We dream of taking a world-class vacation one of these days, and one of the stops along the way will have to be in South Africa. Even though we're not planning that trip any time soon, a number of eco-chic hotels have caught our eye with their fantastic decor...
Just in time for your 4th of July shindig, Branch Home introduces their Biodegradable Party Kit with service for up to 50 people! For $48 you get a large kit with plates, bowls, and trays made from bagasse (sugarcane fiber that remains after the juice is extracted from the cane), utensils made from potato starch, cold or hot cups, recycled-paper napkins, and even some compostable waste bags for easy cleanup. And everything is biodegradable, so you can wine and dine with an easy conscience...
Buy second-hand and keep stuff alive longer. These are my top 2 picks from Apartment Therapy's City Scavengers. I have a weakness for mid-century-inspired tufted back sofas, and this Gus*Modern sofa for sale in Chicago is a looker. So, too, is the Danish Modern Wooden Chair for sale in New York. Imagine how cool it would look with a modern updated fabric! We've always wanted to try that. Jump below for more links...
Apartment Therapy Furniture Classifieds are open for your business in our Shopping Guide.
Here's a great question from Nick, who asks:
I eat breakfast at my desk at work. It usually consists of store-bought cereal, a cup of yogurt, or oatmeal from the cafeteria. But I'm bored with all that. Not to mention, store-bought cereal is expensive and full of lots of other preservatives and sweeteners.What are some other easy and/or quick, inexpensive, healthy, low-calorie breakfast-at-work ideas? (High-fiber would also be a big plus!) Or what are some ways to make the current routine more fun and interesting?
Thanks,
Nick
Now that McMansions are out of style, we're not sure how necessary ride mowers are going to be in the near future. But, if you do need one for some reason, an electric version makes a lot of sense. Get more details and vote after the jump.
We have a soft spot for characters, particularly when they're illuminated! Helsinki designer Aleksi Hautamaki recently birthed the simple but brilliant idea to refurbish and resell old signage. Typically the characters are demolished at the end of their lifespan...
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
