It seems like a lot of the eco-friendly rooms I receive or come across are nurseries, and that’s no surprise. It stands to reason that if you were going to make any room in your home greener, it would be the one where your precious babies will be living and sleeping. And this particular nursery is a special one. Marsh & Clark Design transformed this third-floor attic bedroom into a soothing, sustainable nursery for the 2010 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. And to make it extra special, the room is designed for not one, but THREE precious little ones.

A baby’s room ought to be the happiest place in the house – doubly (triply so) when it’s a room for triplets, said Chiya Ewald, of Marsh & Clark. We wanted to go beyond the deluge of duckies and primary colors to create a beautiful and innovative room that that appeals to modern parents’ aesthetics and sensibilities.

The nursery features three matching, handmade cribs that were built by local craftsman Rob Taboada. They are made of Machiche, an FSC-certified hardwood, and Medite, a formaldehyde-free, FSC-certified recycled fiberboard, and finished with a zero-VOC, water-based white lacquer. To further reduce off-gassing, the designers used non-toxic paints and selected organic or natural fibers for bedding, carpets and window treatments and all the other soft furnishings.

And while the room is large by most standards, we have to remember that it is built for three. The designers solve this problem with several elements that serve double-duty. Wall mirrors, which are hung to reflect light and enlarge the space, also fold down to reveal changing tables, and hidden benches in the dormers provide additional storage. And lit from inside, the perforated constellation on the front of each bench is designed to become a soft, yet sophisticated nightlight.

So, what do you think of the room? It’s not often you see a nursery designed for triplets. Overall, I think the room is soft and soothing, but more importantly, a safe eco-friendly space. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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This room has been about two months in the making, starting with a Green Room in a Box planning the space, but it’s finally done! Before I show you the completed room, here’s Miss Ja’Naya, enjoying her new reading corner:

As Niecy from Clean House would say, can you stand to see more? Be warned…there are a LOT of photos…

The view from the doorway

The other side of the room

Facing the doorway and closet

We definitely wanted to personalize a bit

This is the artwork Ja’Naya and I painted last weekend. Mine is on top and hers is on the bottom. I never intended to put them in the room, but they work, and they’re a hilarious reminder of my lack of talent with a paintbrush.

The posters are hung low to be eye-level (or close to it) for a very tall four-year-old, a.k.a. Ja’Naya. And the spot under the posters feels a little empty, with good reason. We are having a custom-built toy box donated by Mod Mom Furniture to corral all the larger toys (like a remote control car and toy piano) that can’t fit in the small pink boxes. We won’t have it until June, but it’s worth the wait for a handmade toy box built with the love of a mother

The first battalion of the stuffed animal army. The others are hiding in the closet.

This teddy bear is a soft spot for me, so I had to take a closeup. My daughter received this bear a few years ago, and my husband put this photo in it. It is the two of us when we were a couple as teenagers. Yes…we’ve known each other THAT long. I think I was 13 years old in this photo.

This corner should look familiar from the sneak peek I posted last week.

Ja’Naya has had this vase for a LONG time, and now it is finally serving its intended purpose. And yes…that is a giant green clothespin next to it. Makes a great photo holder

And…we have come full circle.You’ll see I made another pillow since I posted the sneak peek.

Ja’Naya has an attached bathroom, and although we didn’t paint, we did make it coordinate.

Given that I’ve been picturing this room in my head for months, I’m really really happy with the final result! More importantly, Ja’Naya loves it! She’s always talking about her “pretty pink room” and how much she likes everything. That makes my heart smile more than anything else

There were some bumps in the road, of course. For example, we intended to turn the capiz shell wind chime into a chandelier, but alas, things don’t always go as planned. My husband’s stud finder also detects electrical work, and the spot where the wind chime is hanging was literally the ONLY spot on the entire ceiling without electrical wiring immediately above it. I was really frustrated by that, because I had imagined the wind chime as a beautiful, glowing chandelier in the center of the room. But I know when to leave well enough alone, and although I initially hated the placement of the capiz (I’m a little obsessed with this thing called “balance”), it really has grown on me. We weren’t able to wire it because it is so far away from the switch that would’ve controlled it, but I think it looks pretty nice even though it’s not lit up.

I also planned to paint the Way Basics storage units white, but after we painted the accent wall, I loved how they disappeared into the pink behind them, making the room feel even larger than it is. We (mostly me) definitely had to make some adjustments, but we got it done, and we think it’s fabulous!

Sponsors

As you know, this room was largely made possible by some generous in-kind sponsors who offered their products for this project. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

• Celery Street: Provided the Large Green Capiz Cylinder Wind Chime.
• Harmony Art: Provided several yards of organic fabric, including Let It Grow, light green solid, and Sweet Jane. Used for curtains, bench cushion and throw pillows.
• HomeSweet: Provided a handmade Lampshade
• Humble Collection: Provided organic pillows and tote bag used as a pillow.
• Merida Home: Provided the Letter Lines wool rug (aff)
• Mod Mom Furniture: Will provide a handmade Owyn toy box
• Wallter: Provided the Starburst Wall Application
• Way Basics: Provided a custom storage system

I can’t wait to hear what you think of the finished room. Is this what you imagined when you saw the Green Room in a Box? Would you like a list of all the elements in the room that are green? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Like what we did with this room? Check out what we did with our master bedroom, including our custom, eco-friendly $54 headboard!

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It makes my day when readers thank me for helping them make their homes greener through this site. I feel like I’m doing my job of making green decorating accessible to any and everyone. It makes me even happier when I get to see photos of their fully-decorated spaces. Kelli Taylor of Purple Tree Photography, is one such reader, and I hope you’re as stoked about her gorgeous nursery as I am. In her words:

I just finished my baby nursery that I wanted to submit. I found the eco-friendly crib and changing table thanks to you!! Other green items in the room include: paint, crib mattress, FLOR rug, changing table pad, redone rocking chair, sheets & changing table sheet.

CREDIT: All photos by Kelli Taylor of Purple Tree Photography

Now for a breakdown of her shopping list:

• Crib and changing table (filled with cloth diapers): The CUB Netto deal that I found on your blog! YAY – THANK YOU! (Note: This deal is no longer available)
• Paint: Sherwin-Williams Harmony Zero VOC paint
• Mattress and changing table pad: Organic Naturepedic from buy buy baby
• Crib sheet & changing table sheet: Made of organic cotton and found at Babies’R'Us on clearance. Killer deal! I think the brand was Summer.
• Rocking chair: Given to my Mom for her baby shower for me (before photo shown) and she painted it for me (same kind of paint as the room). I had the pad made.
• Rug: FLOR carpet tiles
• The light bulbs of course!

I don’t know about you guys, but I am loving the light blue and orange color scheme! It feels like creamsicle on a hot summer day, and it is completely unisex. In fact, I was so impressed by the room that I didn’t even think to ask Kelli whether she has a little boy or a girl until I started writing this post! She did a great job of taking a few eco- AND budget-friendly pieces and turning them into a minimal, soothing space that any infant would be happy to grow up in.

Oh, and if you are as impressed by these photos as I am, that’s because Kelli is a professional photographer. You can see more of her awesome work at Purple Tree Photography.

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A few months back, my family and I toured the Greenhaven eco-friendly show home in Marietta, GA, right outside Alanta. To say that the home was gorgeous would be an understatement, so when Atlanta interior designer Laurie White contacted me with photos of the media room she designed at Greenhaven, I was more than happy to add it to the Friday Room Reveal lineup! I did include some photos of the design in my Flickr photo set after our tour, but these professional shots by Attic Fire Photography really do the room more justice than my Nikon D40 and intermediate photo skills ever could. Click the images to view them larger.

Why It’s Green:

• Zero-VOC paint by Benjamin Moore Natura
• Sconces and recessed lighting by Progress Lighting are Energy Star qualified
• Anso Premier carpeting is from Shaw’s Green Edge, Design N Style line
• FSC-certified wood used for all built-in cabinetry
• Vintage furniture and accessories found locally by Laurie
• Vintage furniture reupholstered in remnant fabrics and wood refinished with eco-friendly products. Vintage pieces include: sofa, side chairs, dining table with 4 chairs.
• Vintage accessories refinished in zero-VOC white paint by Benjamin Moore Natura.
• Custom lamps made by Laurie of antique French wine bottles mounted on acrylic bases, white cotton lamp shades trimmed in silk banding, and antique hand-blown glass finials.
• Antique coffee table from Bjork Antikt
• Antique sunburst mirrors from The Mercantile

I am loving the dark navy, almost-black walls with bright white accessories and furniture! More than even the massive TV, the color contrast between the blue and white was what stuck out most to me on the tour. What is your favorite part of the room?

Readers, whether you’re an interior designer or just someone who loves beautiful spaces, if you’d like to submit a room to be featured as a Friday Room Reveal, click here or email jennae {at} greenyourdecor {dot} com! I’m also looking for eco-friendly small projects to feature. Did you refinish your grandmother’s desk, use flea market dinnerware to create wall art or find a creative reuse for something destined for the trash? Submit your project and share it with all of us!

© 2008-2011 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Today’s room comes from one of my all-time favorite interior designers, Kelly LaPlante of Organic Interior Design. As the name of her firm implies, Kelly is a designer who focuses very specifically on green design, employing a combination of reuse with vintage and new, sustainably-made furnishings. I LOVE her style, and if I could have my way, I’d have her come take a look around my apartment and give me some pointers.

Here’s a room Kelly redesigned for a client who wanted to lighten and warm-up her old guest house/studio with cottage charm. Below the photos, you’ll find info about what makes the room green.

An antique bed and organic bedding with eco-silk throw by Lulan. Side tables, custom made from FSC wood and scrap marble, hold antique lamps and a vintage poster.

Extra storage was created by opening up the space under the stair case. Custom FSC flooring with a non-toxic finish replaced the old carpet.

A bird finial adds a touch of whimsy to the organic cotton draperies.

Recycled glass tiles by Oceanside Glass and a custom vanity made of FSC Certified wood.

An antique mirror hangs over the sink, in front of the window.

A custom bench and daybed with cushions and pillows made of organic latex and wool, covered in eco-fabrics.

Built-ins refurbished with a non-toxic finish and antique hardware. Custom shades made of organic cotton.

My favorite part of this redesign? The awesome bench and daybed by those gorgeous windows. Every time my husband and I do our hobby house touring, I always find at least one window under which I would put an upholstered bench so I could sit and work on my laptop while looking out at nature. What catches your eye about this space? Feel free to share your adoration comments below

You can see more of Kelly’s work in the Organic Interior Design portfolio, and you can also visit the site of another project Kelly is working on, The Green Grades. The site offers comprehensive expert reviews and grades of green furnishing companies and highlights their strengths and weaknesses. Really informative.

Readers, whether you’re an interior design or just someone who loves beautiful spaces, if you’d like to submit a room to be featured as a Friday Room Reveal, click here or email jennae {at} greenyourdecor {dot} com!

© 2008-2011 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

I’ve realized something. Looking at individual furnishings is great, but it tends to be more inspirational to see these items in a room that is fully put together. That, and I just love drooling over photos of beautifully decorated rooms All of this is to introduce a new feature here at Green Your Decor: Friday Room Reveal. Every Friday, I will leave you for the weekend with a beautiful, eco-friendly, finished room to admire. Some will be from readers and regular people just like you and I, and others will be from bona fide interior designers. Hopefully, this will inspire you to finish your own rooms with eco-friendly decor and submit them to be featured. As soon as I finish my own rooms, I’ll show you those too

Without further adieu, here are the details for this week’s room: reader Kerri’s nursery for her little girl, Arabella. In Kerri’s words:

I’m an avid reader of your blog and would like to submit my daughter’s eco-friendly nursery to be featured on the site. Almost everything in the room is organic and/or eco-friendly. We live in a rental apartment, so we could not control the paint or wall to wall carpeting. However, we live in a green building so those materials are likely less toxic than in a traditional apartment building. We spent so many hours and months trying to create a truly non-toxic, yet beautiful, space for our daughter. It’s nice to know we succeeded!

What’s Green:

• Crib: Q Collection Junior Solare (aff)
• Mattress: Naturepedic No Compromise (aff)
• Sheets: Cotton Monkey (I also use Amenity, Pixel Organics & Kate Quinn Organics)
• Glider & ottoman: Luca Glider by Monte (aff)
• Blanket on chair, artwork, and crib and floor pillow: Amenity Organic Nursery Collection (aff)
• Small dresser: Argington Sahara Dresser
• Toys: Mi Yim (aff) & Pure Beginnings
• Side table & bench: Ecotots (aff)
• Basket on side table, window treatments, crib skirt & clothes hamper: Sweet Kyla Dew Drop Leaf (organic cotton)
• Area Rug: Anji Mountain Bamboo Shag Rug (aff)
• Not pictured: All of her clothes are organic cotton or bamboo and hang on BGreen bamboo hangers. We use organic cotton cloth diapers, so our Stokke changing table with custom made (Etsy) organic cotton changing pad covers is in the bathroom.

See readers! You can have a beautiful eco-friendly room, even if you’re a renter! Click on the images to see larger versions.

For tips on how to make your rental greener, check out the Green Your Rental series. And if you’d like to submit a room to be featured as a Friday Room Reveal, click here or email jennae {at} greenyourdecor {dot} com!

© 2008-2011 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.