Barnyard chic meets modern in Forma Living’s collection of home furnishings. This company is committed to sustainable design with lighting, rugs, accessories, and furniture that use eco-friendly or recycled materials, or are created from salvaged pieces. Don’t you just love an online store where you can shop without having to think about whether the products you’re buying are really green?

And aren’t the Bird Cage Lamps shown above fun? The bulk of the lamps are created from Buri, the center stalk of a palm frond. I can easily picture one of these in a Moroccan-inspired nursery, or hanging over a rustic, reclaimed wood dining table.

The sophisticated pillows pictured above are part of the collection selected as Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Green Designs of 2009. Each pillow is hand-embroidered or handwoven using traditional techniques by women in India who gain income and independence by keeping a traditional craft alive. Also, part of the proceeds from this collection go back to the Bholu Anganwadi Project, which has now built a total of 8 pre-schools in under-privileged communities in India.

The green credentials of these pieces are not unique at Forma Living. Read below to learn more about how their products are vetted.

Why It’s Green?

• Forma Living strives to offer pieces produced in the most eco-friendly way: using recycled and natural materials, sustainable production procedures, and giving back to the communities in which the product is crafted when possible.
• In addition to being selective about the items they offer, Forma Living also considers the impact once an item has been selected. 90% of their packaging (bubble wrap, etc.) is reused materials and the other 10% are recyclable materials. All products are shipped via UPS’ Carbon Neutral Program (with the exception of Hawaii and International orders) in an effort to offset what they cannot reduce.
• Forma Living is always looking to improve the level of sustainability in what they do and invites you to challenge, educate, and share your ideas with them.

Price: Birdcage Lamps, $253-297; Pillows: $60-$99

BONUS SAVINGS! From now ’til the end of June, enter “greenyourdecor” at check-out for 10% off any order over $30!

(Sponsored post)

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It is very rare for me to find great deals on two brands I love as much as these two. But today, the Foundary has outdone itself with sales on both Perch! Designs’ beautiful ceramic tableware and lighting AND AphroChic’s gorgeous silk and linen pillows and textiles. I’ve rarely seen either of these brands offer sales or discounts, so this is a great opportunity.

Perch! offers a gorgeous line of whimsical, colorful ceramics, and the sale includes some of their most popular pieces. You can get your hands on their Spot bowls or Early Bird light for up to 40% off.

The AphroChic sales includes the Haze pattern, which is featured on pillows, placemats and table linens, along with the gorgeous Mandala, Reflection and Silhouette pillows. If you’re like me and you’ve had your eye on these for a long time, you don’t want to miss this opportunity. The hardest thing for me to decide is which I want first!

Why It’s Green:

• Perch! products are handmade with low impact materials and processes, non-toxic finishes and byproducts.
• AphroChich textiles are made of materials like silk, linen and organic cotton

Prices: Perch, $19-119 (up to 40% off); AphroChic, $23-140 (up to 30% off)

How to Buy:

If you’re not already a member of The Foundary, you’ll have to sign up, which is free. Once you’ve registered and signed in, look for the banners that say “AphroChic” and “Perch! Designs.”

(aff): If you sign up for The Foundary via my invitation link, I will receive a site credits if you make a purchase.

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One of the things I most wish we could do to our apartment is add lighting where there is none and replace boring fixtures with ones that are more fun. Because to say the least, much of our apartment is dark. All. The. Time. Even with the windows open. So I’m feeling particularly envious of the High-Minded Chandelier and Well-Defined Lamp by Stray Dog Designs for Anthropologie.

Stray Dog has long been one of my favorite makers of sustainable lighting. All of their pieces are made with sustainability in mind, and these two are no exception.

The Well Defined table lamp is composed of a shade made of repurposed dictionary pages atop a recycled glass base. The High-Minded Chandelier is handmade of recycled encyclopedia pages-turned-papier mache.

In my opinion, they are the ultimate textured neutrals. They are black, white, and translucent, and still strong enough to visually carry a room. And the irony of using recycled dictionary and magazine pages to create lighting you’d likely use for reading isn’t lost on me.

Why It’s Green:

• Handmade of recycled and repurposed materials

Price: Lamp, $388; Chandelier, $998

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It happens to the best of us. We’ll start a project or begin decorating a room, only to let it fall by the wayside because of the one or two small tasks we were unable to finish. The smallest space in our home, and the one I use the most often,  fell victim to this: My office space.  But I’m determined to finish it, and soon.

I bought a lamp base at Goodwill months ago, and I had been looking for a suitable shade to go with it. I found several I liked on Etsy, but I didn’t want to spend more than $50 on it. In fact, I was hoping to spend considerably less than that. I also wanted one that wasn’t made of polyester or plastic, and that featured some sort of pattern or design — and I wasn’t in the mood to make one myself.

With all these requirements, its no wonder I couldn’t find one that worked.

A few days ago, though, I finally found a shade that fit all of my criteria. Even more surprising, I found it at Walmart.com. The lamp shades shown above are made of organic cotton with AZO-free dyes. They are technically designed for use in a nursery, but I think they are stylish enough to be used in other rooms as well.

All I know is that the soft blue shade is the right color and the pattern is perfect, so it will be going on my desk.

Why It’s Green:

• Made of organic cotton printed with AZO-free dyes

Price: Blue or Red/Black, $29.99/ea. (aff)

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A few weeks ago, I sent out a tweet about one of my favorite catalogs:

I know that many design enthusiasts eagerly anticipate when stores like IKEA and Pottery Barn release their catalogs and new products. And while I like to ogle these catalogs and can appreciate the fabulous design, I’m much more excited when companies like Viva Terra debut new products. Why? Because I know they have been sustainably made and I can feel good about buying anything I discover that I can’t live without

I ventured over to the Viva Terra site today, and I found LOTS that I am really excited about. Here are some of my favorites:

Eco Sectional Sleeper: Made with a certified sustainable wood frame, water-based wood finishes, recycled fiber filling in the pillows, soy-based filling in the cushions, and organic cotton ticking with tufted buttons framed by linen. $4950. (aff)

Etched Silver Armoire: LOVE this! It’s not quite as green as I would like, given that it’s made with German silver, but it is also made with reclaimed wood. $995. (aff)

Flowing Script Chair: Made of recycled metal and upholstered in linen. $349. (aff)

Vintage Kantha Upholstered Chair: The patchwork fabric is handmade by Indian artisans from vintage cotton saris. The chair also features organic linen upholstery fabric, recycled fibers, down pillow fill, and certified kiln-dried hardwood frames. $2595-2695. (aff)

Meadowflower Rug: I can remember watching my mother crochet blankets and Christmas ornaments as a little girl, and this rug reminds me of that. The flowers are delicately handmade, but the color scheme and randomly shaped edges give the rug a modern look. Hand-crocheted of wool. $395-795. (aff)

Moroccan Hanging Lamps: Do I even need to explain why these caught my eye? Handmade of recycled aluminum. $149-449. (aff)

Ikat Dinnerware: I had to save the best for last. I LOVE this dinnerware! This is the type of setting I could easily see passing down to my kids. Handmade by an artisan ceramicist. $98-349. (aff)

There are many more new items that I’d like to share, but you can check them out for yourself at the Find natural home décor, unique women’s accessories, elegant dinnerware, organic gifts and more at VivaTerra site. Seriously, I think this is one of my favorite product debuts in a while.

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I swear, writing for this blog, I fall in love every single day. One day, I’ll think I’ve found the ultimate piece that completely defines my style and would make me happy for the rest of my life (much like the Trees nightstand and dresser by Iannone Design that I posted yesterday). Then, I’ll go on about my business and, by accident, bump into something else that I feel like I can’t live without. Enter the Sort Sol Lamp, by Stray Dog Designs for Anthropologie. As obsessed as I am with bird motifs, it’s been a long time since I’ve found one that uses birds in a new and different way. This lamp just makes me happy.

The soft blue color is my idea of the perfect neutral. It could pair well with SO many colors, and right now, I’m wishing I could put it on my desk for some extra brightness at night.

I’ve featured lamps by Stray Dog before, and as pricing goes, this one is reasonable compared to some of their others. Still, it’s a little steep for my current budget. So birdies, I’ll be keeping my eye on you. And the very second you go on sale, I promise I’ll bring you home.

Why It’s Green:

• Handmade of recycled glass and papier mache

Price: $298

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Dark blue has been on my “must have” list lately. Although I’d originally planned to find something to paint, I may have to reconsider. The Organic Indigo Collection from Zen Deluxe is like something from a green dream. Finding gorgeous, eco-friendly linens in indigo isn’t impossible, but it’s definitely a challenge. This collection single-handedly changed that.

Each piece is available separately, so you can go subtle with a pillow cover, rug or lamp shade, or combine several of these elements for a look that is both cohesive and eclectic, as seen in the first photo. Personally, I think having all of them in one space would be overkill, but the ability to mix and match to your desired saturation is awesome.

Available pieces: Duvet cover (king, queen or twin), 4 different pillowcase styles, rug (small or large), accent pillow cover, kimono robe, curtain panels, beehive lamp shade, and Euro pillow cover.

Why It’s Green:

• All textiles made of organic cotton
• Dyed with natural Indigo
• Fair Trade

Price: $22-272

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I love our new apartment. Really, I do. It has presented us with some decorating challenges that have forced both me and my husband to think creatively about how to solve them. But the one feature of this new place that’s driving me absolutely nuts is the lack of lighting in both the bedrooms and the living room.

We generally don’t use any lighting during the daytime, preferring to open windows. But as soon as it gets dark, we find ourselves scrambling for light. The living room is lit by an old lamp in one corner, but we tend to also use the dining room light (which at least contains a CFL). But the bedrooms are maddening. In my daughter’s room, she often has to use the light in the closet or the bathroom in addition to her small lamp just so she can see what she’s doing at night. And because the lamps in the master are on the far wall, we have to stumble into our room in the dark and find our way to them.

Note to property management company: A central fixture in these rooms would really be nice.

Again though, this particular challenge just gives me a reason to ogle at beautiful ceiling fixtures and figure out how I can bring one home with me. Ever on a budget (aren’t we all), I discovered this recycled beauty from Urban Outfitters. I’m not really thrilled about the gold tone shown in any of the three angles above, but that’s nothing a can of low-VOC spray paint can’t fix.

I do love the Moroccan-inspired look of the octagonal etching stamped throughout the shade. I can only imagine the beautiful shadows this would cast throughout a room. And for less than $50 (right at 60 once you add the cord kit), we could have a light fixture that would brighten the entire room instead of lamps that are just barely doing their jobs.

Why It’s Green:

• Shade made of recycled metal

Origin: Imported (not sure from where)

Price: $48

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Back when I first started Green Your Decor, there weren’t very many websites dedicated to selling eco-friendly home furnishings. They existed, but tended to be hard to find or feature only a limited number of items. At the time, green retailer Green Culture was the exception to the rule. There’s a reason I included the retailer on my list of the top 10 online resources for eco-friendly decorating. They have a vast collection of eco-friendly furnishings for every room. For decor addicts like me, it’s easy to spend hours browsing the sites under their umbrella.

Even today, when more and more eco-friendly online retailers are popping up almost daily, their collection is tough to match. For decorators who like the simplicity of being able to shop in one place, Green Culture will make your life a lot easier. You can find everything from coffee tables to chandeliers and everything in between. The other bonus is that you can find decor for every budget, whether you’re pinching pennies like many of us these days or have a little (or lot) of breathing room to buy what you want.

I’ve featured their products before, including the Gorgeous Ibiza  Panel bed, which is still on my wish list for my daughter’s room whenever we move into our own home. On my wish list for today? The Napoli Console Table shown above. The metal mixed with dark wood makes it a dream for me and my living room.

(sponsored post) – I was compensated for this post, but not for my opinion. Click the link for more information.

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I understand that living in an apartment means that any major changes we make to our living space will probably have to be changed back before we move out. For example, we know that we have a 5-gallon bucket of Kilz primer in our future to cover up all the painting we did. But as tempted as I am, I don’t want to be responsible for switching light fixtures, then having to switch them back. Still, I’m dreaming of a dining room punctuated by a beautiful pendant or chandelier, and this woven option from West Elm just might make me change my mind.

I grew up in the Virgin Islands where it wasn’t unusual to see items made of woven palm leaves. But I guarantee that none of them were quite this stunning. This pendant would be just as at home in a modern, minimal loft as it would be in a villa near the beach somewhere. And at just under $200 for a fixture more than 23 inches in diameter, you get a lot of presence for not a whole lot of money.

Why It’s Green:

• Made of woven palm leaves

Price: $199

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So…you all know how much I love bird decor, right? If you do, it should be no surprise that I’m drooling over this birdhouse lamp by inke. I have every intention of painting a forest mural on the walls in my daughter’s room, inspired by this gorgeous nursery “before & after” over at Design Sponge. Can you just imagine how beautiful it would be to have this hanging on the wall amongst the trees?

In the main image, you can see it paired with the beautiful inke wallpaper tree I featured last year, made of vintage wallpaper. I’m seriously ready to go get a few pints of paint right now so I can get started on the mural.

The $300 price tag on this baby does give me a little pause, but I guess you have to pay if you want a birdhouse made of reclaimed French oak. It does, however, give me a goal for my next treasure hunt at the Habitat for Humanity Re:Store. I’ll be looking for an old birdhouse to turn into a lamp.

Why It’s Green:

• Handmade of salvaged French oak
• Compatible with CFLs

Made in: Leiden, the Netherlands

Price: $300

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After living among boxes for a few days, I wanted to complete at least one room. A place of order, if you will, in an apartment otherwise in a state of chaos. The dining room won. My husband and I painted the living room and dining room the day before we officially moved in, so the walls are a lovely shade of light gray with a red accent wall. We pulled together the rest of the room with items we already owned, including our existing table and chairs, candlesticks, woven placemats and a funky geometric rug. But there’s one thing missing: A great hanging light fixture to really anchor the space.

As hesitant as I am to replace a light fixture in an apartment, I really want a chandelier or pendant in the dining room. We have an inexpensive paper shade lamp from Ikea, but I want something more substantial. I’ve had my eye on this silk cocoon hanging lamp from Viva Terra for quite some time, and now that it’s on sale for less than $200, I’m really itching to see it hanging over my table.

After that, all I’ll need is a sideboard or console table under which to create a well-organized (and hidden) recycling center, and the room will REALLY be complete.  Then I’ll take show you some photos

Why It’s Green:

• Handwoven entirely from recycled and organic materials by a women’s farming collective in Thailand

Price: $199 (on sale from $419) (aff)

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I love lamps. They’re great for mood and task lighting and they’re even better if you’re like me — meaning you’re too lazy to walk over to your light switch. They also encourage us to conserve energy because we’re less likely to leave them on when we walk out of a room. About 2 months ago, not long after we moved back to Georgia, I bought a $5 thrift store lamp for my daughter’s room. The problem? The shade that came with it was a few sizes to small, made of plastic and melted on one side.

It took me a while, but I finally got around to updating it. As you can see above, a can of low-odor spray paint, a new lamp shade and a creative idea really can do wonders for a cheap old lamp.

The lamp was originally painted an off-white, almost sickly-looking color. It wasn’t cute, but it was functional, so I intended to replace the shade and leave the rest of the lamp alone. Alas, I couldn’t bear the thought of putting a new white shade next to that ugly shade of yellowing white, so I picked up a can of Krylon’s H20 low-odor spray paint in pink and set out to create a better lamp.

What I did:

I wanted the power cord to remain white, so I wrapped it in a piece of old packing paper, and did the same for the top of the lamp where the light bulb fits. Without any prep work at all, I sprayed the lamp with two coats of pink. The surface was already painted, and I was spot-on with my hunch that the spray paint would adhere well.

While the paint dried, I set out to jazz up the boring lampshade I had picked up at Walmart. I did go to at least 4 thrift stores trying to find a used shade, but couldn’t find one that fit or was in good enough condition to use. Alas, I bought a new shade. I loved the french styling, but the shade was made of plain white fabric, and I knew I could do better. I initially planned to add the pink and orange stickers shown in the supply photos above, but I didn’t like the way it looked. Instead, I bought a fleur de lis stamp at Hobby Lobby and stamped the design onto the shade with some pink craft paint. I had to go back and fill in some of the gaps left by the stamp with a paintbrush, but it was a quick process.

That’s it! I just let everything dry, and now my daughter has a new lamp that she loves to use, and I feel great because I designed it myself.

Total Cost: About $20.94

• Lamp: $5 at the Salvation Army thrift store
• New shade: $9.99 from Walmart
• Krylon H20 spray paint: $5.95 (available at Walmart, HomeDepot, Michael’s craft stores and elsewhere)
• Fleur de lis stamp: $0.99 (Hobby Lobby)

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I used to be seriously afraid of the dark when I was a little girl. I would see monsters in every shadow and picture my dolls coming to life behind my closed closet doors. I have the old Child’s Play movies to thank for that last one. But now, I absolutely love sitting in the dark. Rather than scary, I find it to be relaxing, and sometimes it’s the only way I can get my mind to shut down. My husband and I have been looking for a lamp for our room, since we both love being in the dark and hate using the bright overhead lighting. These Punctured Paper Lampshades by Etsy seller warpeDesign are a dream come true.

The dark shades will keep the room in relative darkness, just the way we like it, with just enough light to allow us to walk around the room without tripping. But I am much, much more impressed by the beautiful, hand-punctured holes that create elaborate designs on the shades. I can just imagine the textures these shades would create on our walls.

I’m not sure if warpeDesigns uses recycled paper in their creations, but these handmade beauties were too good to pass up. They do make some cards on recycled paper with the same hand-punctured technique, so hopefully, that practice will soon carry over to their lampshades. They recommend use of a bulb no larger than 40 watts (paper is flammable, after all), and I would suggest you take that one step further by using a compact fluorescent or LED light bulb, which burn much cooler than traditional incandescent bulbs and, of course, require much less energy.

If my local Goodwill can deliver a suitable base, I see a beautiful warpeDesign lampshade in my future. They are available in black and white paper, but I’m partial to the black.

Why It’s Green:

• Handmade in the U.S. (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Price: $55-90

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Finally completing our long-overdue patio makeover has left me itching to start another decorating project. Of course, this is complicated by the fact that we aren’t living in our own home and therefore don’t have as much free reign as I would like to go on a decorating spree. So I’ve settled on trying to convince my mother of more subtle changes. For example, she could hardly complain if I replaced the outdated, builder surplus light fixture over her dining table with this beauty!

The dining table has its own nook carved out in the kitchen, but because of the lighting, it has never really felt like a true dining room space. This beautiful felt creation could help fix that in a flash. Made by FELT studio, it is made of 100% wool felt that would otherwise be thrown away. It’s not a huge fixture, with just a 13″ diameter on top and 11″ on the bottom — really more of a pendant than a chandelier. But that’s a good thing, because this isn’t a huge space, and I’m not sure if my mother would agree to something more substantial. Of course, there’s always the little issue of price…

Why It’s Green:

• Made from 100% wool felt die-cut waste material

Price: $396

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