Great Green Gifts

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If you’ve lived in as many small spaces as I have, you’re always looking for ways to save floor space. The oldest trick in the designer’s book for small spaces is to use vertical space and elements as much as possible to fool the eye into thinking the room is larger than it is. It is also practical, as it gives you more room to move around. Even if you’re not lacking space, any pet owner would appreciate this beautiful hanging Square Cat Habitat by Buddha.

There are a couple of people in my family who are pretty tough to buy for. They also tend to be the types who will say “nothing” or “I don’t know” when asked what they want for Christmas. Since I’ve turned over a new leaf this year and plan on doing little to no shopping for the holiday, that’s not as much of an issue. But I imagine it is hard for some of my wonderful readers. So here’s my suggestion: Think about what that person likes to do rather than what they would want. If they like to cook at all, they will appreciate this beautiful set of kitchen knives and utensils from Bambu.

My husband loves incense and uses it all the time, in every room and even in the car. I’m not quite as partial to the musky fragrance, but I know he loves it. The problem is that the ashes end up everywhere, particularly because he has a habit of putting the incense sticks in random nooks and crannies, like the window frame or the air vents in the car. Ashes end up everywhere and I’m never happy about it. So one of the things I wanted to do this year is get him a unique incense holder that would catch the ashes and look great when its displayed.

I will readily admit that when I was little, I hated getting practical Christmas gifts. You know the kind: towels, sheets, socks, underwear…Not exactly exciting for a child. But now that I’m an adult (at least I act like one sometimes ) I can appreciate the practicality of those kinds of gifts. When my husband and I moved into our first apartment, we would have been in heaven if someone had given us some beautiful towels or a slipcover for our old, worn sofa.

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.

Decorating my daughter’s nursery was quite possibly the most fun I have ever had decorating. I had a blank slate, and could do literally anything I wanted with it. This was back in the days before I was green mama and before I really knew anything about decorating. So while I had fun doing the room, it wasn’t what I would call well-designed. This beautiful bamboo Jungle Friends Mobile from Branch Home is leaps and bounds above the gaudy plastic Winnie the Pooh mobile that hung over my daughter’s crib.

As much fun as I have recycling everything in my home from plastic food packaging to cereal boxes and glass bottles, I can’t help thinking I could probably find ways to reuse those items before I recycle. Unfortunately, my imagination often doesn’t take me much further than that. Thankfully, there are many, many people and companies out there that are more creative than I am. The ReMake It! Glass Bottle Lamp is a functional solution.

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.

After months and months of wanting to do a crafty project, my visualizations turned into action in a few short days. This past weekend, 2 things made this happen: I saw an easy project on an episode of HGTV’s “Myles of Style” and Goodwill had a 50% off sale.

Designer Kim Myles created a throw pillow for a homeowner’s living room from a vintage sweater. When we moved, I didn’t bring any clothes but the necessities, so I didn’t have a sweater on hand to use for the project. But thanks to Goodwill’s monthly sale, I snagged a couple of great sweaters very inexpensively, and my mother-in-law has about a zillion throw pillows and gave me free reign to use as many as I wanted. So here are the simple steps for making a decorative pillow like (or better than) the one shown above.

My daughter has a very active imagination. Her 3-year-old mind often comes up with fantastic, intriguing stories that never cease to amaze me. This year, I plan on giving her only gifts that will help her learn or grow in some way, and I’d love to give her something that continues to encourage that imagination of hers.

The Cardboard Playhouse from Natural Pod is the answer. Made of recycled cardboard, it is very literally a blank canvas waiting for her to turn it into her dream house. Lately, my daughter has been in the “Mommy, can I have one of those” phase every time she sees a commercial for some new-fangled, cheap, plastic toy she sees on TV. This ought to satisfy those desires for a while.