by jennae on May 29, 2009

I’ve always loved the look and idea of a bamboo rug, but I’ve always been cautious about whether it would be practical in an active home environment and whether it would be comfortable to walk on. I’m not talking about bamboo that has been chemically processed down to a soft, cushy fiber, but rugs made of bamboo slats that are much closer to their natural state. Thanks to BambooandTikis.com, I got a chance to test out whether this type of rug is really practical, and whether it would really work with my decor or make it look like a sad attempt at an Asian theme.
by jennae on May 28, 2009

The news has been reverberating throughout the green building and design community since yesterday, but it still hit me like a sledgehammer when I found out this morning. Michelle Kaufmann, known as the queen of green prefab architecture, has been forced to close up shop due to the crappy state of the economy. I have featured her work before — her mkPURE sink is made of concrete and recycled porcelain. What I never wrote about, much to my regret, is her beautiful green, pre-fab homes. My husband I spent a lot of time at her firm’s website going through the floor plans and planning our life in one of her homes. I’m not kidding. We had it picked out and were just waiting for our financial situation to catch up to our dreams.
by jennae on May 28, 2009

It seems that once I stumble upon some beautiful organic bedding, most recently by Rubie Green and Amy Butler, more designs start to come my way in an avalanche. Thanks to my subscription to Amenity’s newsletter, I learned today that they have released their popular Birdseye organic cotton duvet cover in a new fuchsia colorway.
This is a bit of a departure for Amenity, because they tend to stick to neutrals. The infusion of a bold fuchsia paired with a light gray is energetic, to say the least. The stark graphic pattern makes the hot color neutral enough that even my husband might agree to let me bring it into our bedroom. I. Want. This. Now.
by jennae on May 28, 2009

In general, I try to make my life as paperless as possible, but I am a sucker for beautifully printed works. And deep down inside, I know I’d be happy to spend the rest of my days creating simple, hand-embossed posters on an ancient letterpress. This is a dream I am actively trying to pursue, and I’m doing a lot of research on the letterpress process and what I’d need to get started. Since the startup costs for this particular dream are a bit out of reach at the moment, I’ll settle for admiring beautiful letterpress pieces from other designers.