October 2008

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When you’re a home decor fanatic like I am, you learn to recognize luxury when you see it. Sometimes, you don’t have to feel a product in your own hands to know that it will be soft, supple and indulgent. Yumi & Laurie’s blanQuettes™ fall into that category. I featured the St. Moritz blanQuette™ a few months ago, and I’ve been coveting one ever since.

The lovely ladies at Yumi & Laurie are offering up a gorgeous Laguna blanQuette™ worth $195 to one lucky reader of Green Your Decor. The Laguna is shown above, and the winner will get to select the color. This is nothing to sneeze at. These throws are gorgeous, to say the least. More importantly, they are green:

My daughter loves stuffed animals. Seriously, she has in excess of 20 plush friends of all species — dogs, cats, rabbits, bears, dinosaurs, and even a beluga whale. That last one was a memento from a trip to the Georgia Aquarium a few years back when she became fascinated by the giant, gentle creatures.

She’s free to keep all the plushies she already has, but now that I’m much more enlightened about the chemicals in the plush fabric and fill used to make said animals, I won’t be buying another traditional one. I may, however, get her one of these Critter Pillows from Garnet Hill to act as a stand in.

Image courtesy of ObamaCycle

I guess I could have called this the Happy Halloween edition, but my family doesn’t celebrate Halloween, and I think the election is just a tad more important. Thus, the name :)  Here’s some election and voter information, along with some great green reads, giveaways and sales for your weekend:

A little while back, I found a great, simple tutorial on making fabric wall art. Ever the aspiring crafter (who has yet to actually make anything), I’ve been keeping my eye out for a great piece of fabric that I won’t mind having on the walls for a while. While I’m at it, I may go hunting for a thrift-store chair to reupholster in the same fabric or recover a couple of throw pillows, so it has to be something I really like — and it has to be sustainable.

As much as I love my digital camera, its a sa fact that most of the photos I have taken over the last few years are destined to spend an eternity locked inside my computer or on flash drive somewhere. But wouldn’t be very green of me to print hundreds of photos I’ll probably never put in an album, and though I like the idea of a digital frame, something about it is a bit too cold and impersonal for my taste. I’d much rather print out a select few beautiful shots, then put them in an equally beautiful frame for all to admire.

When researching home textiles, I tend to stick to sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, hemp, linen and the like. But as most of you know, there are many shades of green, and many characteristics that can make a product eco-friendly.

When I first learned about Eclipse Curtains, my first question was what they are made of. Much to my dismay, I learned that they weren’t made of a sustainable fabric, but polyester. I was tempted to walk away right then and there, but another quality of these window treatments made me take a second look — they are blackout curtains, meant to block light, reduce noise and, lo and behold, help reduce your energy costs.

When you work from home and work for yourself, it can be really easy to become uninspired and/or overwhelmed. There’s no face to face social interaction (although Twitter serves as a great virtual stand-in), and I’m always doing 10 things at once and feeling like I’m on the edge.

I know, I know…you’ve been seeing these posters everywhere. I have too, and I really want one — it is a concise reminder that no matter how overwhelmed I might feel, panicking won’t help matters. The message, originally intended as WWII propaganda, also has an eerie timeliness given the dire state our nation’s economy.

As a couple with young children, my husband and I don’t get to stay in hotels very often. I’m sure all the other parents out there can probably relate. There’s something to be said about the luxury of sleeping in a plush, comfortable bed with crisp, clean sheets that you don’t have to wash.

I’ve never liked caterpillars much — or any creepy, crawlies. I love their brilliant colors and I’m fascinated by the fact that they become butterflies, but not enough to get up close and personal. This caterpillar, however, would be welcome in my home any day.

The Caterpillar Activity Bench from Skyline Design’s “greenplay” collection is funky and functional — and the “green” goes a lot deeper than just the color. It would be the perfect start to any kids’ play area.  It’s the perfect kid-size height and can be outfitted with a variety of graphics and surfaces depending on how you plan to use it. It is apparently intended for use in libraries and other public spaces, but I see no reason why it couldn’t fit comfortably in a playroom at home — except for the 4-figure price tag, that is.

Ever since I got an iPod for Christmas a few years ago, I have rarely bought CDs. There’s some stuff I just cant find on iTunes, but for the most part, I just download the songs or albums I want. I’ve also converted most of my CD collection to MP3 format, so I don’t use them much any more. However, I do have quite a stack of software CDs on and around my desk. I keep them on hand in the event I ever need to reinstall. I also have a sizable supply of blank CDs and DVDs so I’ll always have one on hand to provide native files to my design clients.