apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

FortMakers is the creative brainchild of Nana Spears and Naomi Clark. Based in Brooklyn, the two use blankets and quilts found at thrift stores, flea markets and eBay as a jumping-off point for beautifully repurposed blankets — Quilt Paintings —by Naomi Clark.

The idea of a radiator humidifier is elegantly simple and efficient — by regularly filling it withe water and placing it on a hot radiator, steam helps humidify the dry winter air. A new collection of ceramic radiators from Il Coccio Design employ the design genius of Patricia Urquiola, Alfredo Haberli and others for ceramic humidifiers that double as objet d'art.

In the Dwell archives, don't miss the story of architects Sally and Ken Wilson's renovated home that sits in Hollin Hills — the progressive housing mid-century development in Alexandria, Virginia.

When she's not lounging at her insanely cool cabin by the sea, Studiomama — aka Nina Tolstrup — is busy in her… studio. Featured on Dezeen is her new Reveal storage and display cabinet made of reclaimed floorboards. It's perfect for displaying your favorite objet d'art, and hiding your mess.

A family in Orleans, Massachusetts hired Boston-based architects ZeroEnergy Design to design a new energy-efficient house to replace their existing lake home. The new 2,300 square foot space includes green design elements like radiant floors, a living green roof and solar electric panels which provides about 30% of the home’s electricity.

These colorful recycling bins are more sophisticated than they first appear — the Husmus (translation: house mouse) bins from Swedish company Muungano are designed to fit in cabinetry under sinks. Because of their modular construction, the sizes are customizable and each bin is designed to be able to accommodate multiple sizes of plastic bags and contents.

Portuguese designer Luís Teixeira creates furniture and lighting by reusing and recycling mass produced materials — here are his lamps made with disposable plastic hangers.

Studio Mesila is a Tel-Aviv based design collective that specializes in sustainable design and creative reuse of materials. Their lamps use buttons, ribbons, leather, woodscrap and clothespins to dramatic effect and great DIY inspiration...

We received this impressive peek inside architect Ricardo Bofill's Barcelona home and office via LoftLife — it's an abandoned cement factory that Bofill found in 1973 and has adapted to highlight the industrial past and his own unique design aesthetic...

I had to share this amazing fireplace facade — it's part of a home renovation in Sag Harbor, New York by Jendretzki Design and Planning Consultant. The update to the existing home included the addition of some green technology and an overall plan that better unites the interior with the exterior spaces and amazing wooded views...

We've featured Jennifer Levy's smart solutions before — she repurposed a Marais stool as a sink pedestal. Jennifer has sent us pictures of her office makeover which she completed using a combination of IKEA and leftover materials from previous renovation projects...

Designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and David Edwards, the ANDREA amplifies the natural ability of houseplants to absorb and metabolize noxious airborne chemicals. The concept originated from the collaborators' Bel-Air design for a mini-mobile greenhouse — and after 2 years of development, it is ready for consumer sales and use...

Name: Joyce
Location: Stow, Massachusetts

"We live in an eco-home that we designed and built on the foundation of a 1959 ranch. It was designed to embrace the beauty of simple natural materials, open spaces, and carefully thought-out systems for health and comfort. Inspired by Sarah Susanka's The Not So Big House, every aspect of the design aims to maximize space, making use of the entire footprint (and the vertical space) to accommodate the way a family lives. The result is environmentally sustainable, aesthetically delightful, and lovingly suited to the needs of a family..."

This concept for a cantilevered house on water is from architects Jedrzej Lewandowski and Lukasz Skirzynski. After researching yacht architecture, the pair came up with the idea for a self-sufficient 2 family home that includes an integrated floating dock (rises and falls with tide levels), desalination water treatment, and tidal and solar energy generators...