$100-500

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I’m a strange creature. Drop me off at a clothing store with no spending limit, and I’d probably walk back out without buying anything. But leave me at a homewares store, and I’d stay there all day. Actually, I’d probably camp out for a couple of days. I tend to leave a lot to be desired when it comes to “prettifying” myself, but I could prettify my home all day. This obsession with home decor means that I really love changing my bedding. It is one of the easiest ways to give a boring bedroom a whole new look. Beautiful organic bedding is probably my biggest vice. If I didn’t receive this beautiful Kayla Duvet Set to review from Blissliving Home, it’s not farfetched that I may have bought it anyway.

I change my sheets fairly frequently. Sometimes it’s because I just want the bed to have a new look, but it’s also because I hate doing laundry for one set of sheets. So I’ll take one set off, put another set on, and then wash them all once I’ve built up a decent-sized load. The key for me now is building up a collection of bedding that is all organic as I replace my old, worn linens. The folks over at GreenNest.com sent me an Organic Jersey Sheet Set by Sage Creek Organics to try out, and I’m happy to have these comfy solids in my linen closet.

After pushing my 3-year-old’s legs back onto her toddler bed in the middle of night too many nights in a row, I decided it was time to move up to a big girl bed. This was a big milestone for both of us. She would get to sleep in it and I would get to dress it up. For me, of course, that meant organic bedding. I priced out a couple of organic mattresses, but they were too pricey for our budget. I then spent weeks trying to find a used bed in good condition, to no avail. Craigslist doesn’t have as much to offer when you’re in a small town. I finally settled on a new, antimicrobial mattress set.

Most of you know that my family and I recently moved from Georgia to Tennessee.  We’re currently living in a situation where we rarely have any control over the thermostat. That means two things: It’s always a bit colder in the house than I’m used to, and we have been layering our bedding to make sure we’re warm at night. During the winter, which is a lot colder than I expected here in Tennessee, there’s nothing quite as valuable as a really warm blanket.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ll be offering up a series of product reviews this week. Over the past couple of months, I’ve received some great eco-friendly product samples to test, so I want to catch up on those this week. You’ll learn about great eco-friendly bedding, artwork and even a vaccuum cleaner, and I’ll be giving my honest opinion of the products. I’ll also be posting giveaways of some of these products, so don’t miss anything!

It’s no fun being cold. This is especially true for me, as I am originally from the Caribbean. Even though I’ve been in the states for nearly 10 years, I’m still more partial to warm weather than the chill of the winter. But since upping the thermostat also means upping energy use and our electric bill, I’ve learned to snuggle up in other ways. Besides, I’m not a big fan of the dry, artificial heat created by home heating systems and space heaters.

One of the things I’ve been looking to focus on more here at Green Your Decor is technology. Gone are the days when interior designers could create a room completely devoid of TVs or computers of any kind. They are an integral part of our lives and often, an integral part of our decor. So as Green Your Decor continues, I will present you with some technology options that are both stylish and green, so you don’t feel like you have to hide your computer/TV/gadgets for the sake of a well-designed room.

First, I want to thank everyone for all your well wishes on my move. There were some bumps along the way, but at least the hardest part is over.

And of course, moving to a new place means I get to decorat — I am loving every second of it. In the few days that we’ve been in Tennessee, we have basically gutted two rooms of everything in them and started over. We’ve painted (more on that later this week) and furnished, mostly with items we already had.

I never, ever thought I would want to decorate with a beanbag chair. I’ve never found them attractive — not even in kids’ rooms. But leave it to Pottery Barn to create a beautifully designed room around a beanbag that makes me want to do a total 180. I am really loving this Bean Bag Sectional from PBteen. And what makes it even more beautiful is the fact that it is covered in organic cotton canvas and filled with 100% recycled fill.

There are a bunch of pieces to choose from, so you can get whatever fits in your space. Here are some of the configurations:

You know the “3 Rs” mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle. Well, if artist Dolan Geiman had his way, there would probably be a fourth R: rescue. Geiman salvages wood and found objects and puts them together to create beautiful, eclectic works of art. These constructions often feature animals, and the paint used to create them comes from the Chicago Paint Exchange Program, which helps give traditional, but unwanted, paint a home.

In other words, you won’t find these at your local TJ Maxx or IKEA.