Today’s Room: This Green Room in a Box is special to me. As one of Walmart‘s ElevenMoms, I had an opportunity to purchase up to $600 worth of patio furniture and accessories to create an outdoor living space. Of course, I wanted said furniture to be eco-friendly. Thankfully, and to my surprise, Walmart.com has a pretty decent selection of FSC-certified wood furniture. I added to that some bamboo and recycled glass accessories from Walmart and elsewhere, and I am giving my mom’s front patio a makeover. Below, you’ll see the before pictures. I have ordered the furniture, to be shipped directly to my local Walmart via Site to Store. When I receive it, my husband will spend a few days putting everything together. So for the first time, you’ll be able to see how a Green Room in a Box looks in real life! Are you as excited as I am?
April 2009
Spring is a rough season for me. In addition to the annual spring cleaning (which is actually the easy part), I get the unshakable desire to change everything around me. I want to strip the beds and replace the linens with something fresh and lively and slap a new coat of paint on the walls. But because our budget and our living situation don’t warrant any major changes, I have had to be creative about finding ways to refresh our space without spending much money. A simple solution: Find an inexpensive vase, or make one from an empty glass bottle, and add flowers.
In general, I am completely averse to any product that can be labeled “disposable.” Part of the reason our planet is in the condition it’s in is that so many people have a disposable mentality. We are socialized to believe that a product’s value is determined by its convenience, no matter how or where it was made or where it will end up once it’s not useful to us anymore.
I take so much pride in promoting the work of another blogger…another mom. But even if Jackie Hernandez of Tiny Decor weren’t my bloggy buddy, her efforts to make and sell nothing but beautiful, eco-friendly, handmade products still would have gotten my attention. I have featured her work before, including a Green Room in a Box using products only from her store. But her new artwork is definitely worthy of attention. I bookmarked it a while ago, and I’m glad I found it again.
One thing I have learned about great home decor finds is that they typically come in pairs. A few days ago, I discovered and featured a beautiful reclaimed teak mirror from Pottery Barn. It got me thinking how I’d love to add a mirror to a sad, empty wall in our bedroom. Yesterday, without even trying, I happened upon the Fascination Mirror by Eco-luz at Bellacor. All I can say is wow!
As a graphic designer by trade, I can certainly appreciate how the designer managed to turn shapes as simple as circles into a beautiful, unique and completely asymmetrical design. The fact that the entire mirror, rosettas and all, is made of recycled content is icing on the cake.
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I’m Jennae Petersen, and I’m a lot of things. A mother, a graphic artist, a connosieur of beautiful interiors and a purveyor of all things design. Green Your Decor was borne of frustration in my attempts to find eco-friendly housewares that were also beautiful, and inspiration to do something to reduce my own carbon footprint and help others do the same in a beautiful way.
