Lori Dennis on Green Interior Design
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
Lori Dennis’ desire to be part of the solution to waste and pollution in the interior design and construction fields led her to write “Green Interior Design” which came out last month. Along with beautiful images of her work, it is a manual of resources for anyone wishing to create green interiors.
Something To Crow About
By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief and of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
How many of you have seen...
Water Gardens: Letting Mother Nature Do The Work
"The sound of water is so relaxing," says Peter Logan of Peter Logan Designs in Tujunga California. "And the water garden is a...
WATCH: Victoria Di Iorio and Healthy Child Healthy World Build Healthier Homes
By: Lorri Laird, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
“Healthy Child Healthy World has gone above and beyond in creating a real-life example of how to create a healthier home,” said Victoria Di Iorio, Project Director for the Healthy Child Healthy World Healthy Home 2010 Designer Showcase and Tour. Di Iorio, who also serves as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the non-profit charity Healthy Child Healthy World, recently spoke with LuxEco Living regarding the Healthy Home 2010 project and also shared her passion for green and healthy living.
Solar Tube Lights: A Great Way To Bring Natural Light into a Windowless Room!
By Trish Holder
Courtesy of Greenspiration Home
One of two solar tube in kids’ bonus room.
“Is that a solar tube light or have tiny flying saucers...
Eating Well & Healing Yourself With Your Very Own Indoor Herb Garden
By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
When I jumped on the gardening bandwagon, the first things I started to grow were herbs. I had really started getting into adventurous cooking, and it only made sense to grow my own herbs. If you go to the grocery store, you’re going to wind up spending a few bucks on a couple leaves of basil. Well, I don’t have a few bucks; but I do have a minute to snip off as much basil as I want from my garden, for free. And that’s really what it’s all about: saving time and money while bringing your food to a whole fresh, new level.
Lori Weitzner Reinvents Wall Coverings
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
Lori Weitzner's products have been seen on movie sets, an Olympic Village, the Wynn resorts, prestigious stores such as Tiffanys’ and even museum walls. Important design museums have been exhibiting and acquiring Lori’s work for their permanent collections including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and Montreal’s Musee Decoratifs. In 2006 she was the subject of her first solo exhibition at the Institute of Arts in Minneapolis. Lori is also the recipient of more than 20 awards and honors, including the esteemed Best of Neocon.
epOxyGreen Interiors: Form, Function and Fabulous
Green interiors are now innovative, elegant and easily available in every pricing category. epOxyGreen, a 5,000-square foot showroom featuring sustainable flooring, carpeting, recycled decorative...
Green Closet Shape-Up Tips
By Lisa Adams, Designer and CEO of LA Closet Design and LuxEco Advocate
Maximizing a closet is the number one issue for most people, and...
Eco Interiors “Designs With Conscience”
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate.
I know there is a lot of talk about the value of buying goods that are grown or made locally but for me there are reasons that far outweigh the use of fuels that travel such long distances to get to our shores and that is helping out our fellow human. Artecnica, a Los Angeles based design and manufacturing company, is committed to considering issues of environmental sustainability and responsible manufacturing. Design w/Conscience is a program, begun in 2002, that works with artisan communities in developing countries to produce unique handcrafted objects that reflect indigenous skills to be in accordance with humanitarian and environmentally sensitive principles.
Topsy Turvy: Easy Home-Grown Strawberries
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Nancy, LuxEco founder and garden guru recommended that I try the Topsy Turvy. Excited about the success of her flourishing tomato plants at The Green Home Under the H she showed me pictures of them on her Blackberry one day while we were chatting. This eco-friendly planter would be perfect for my busy schedule she said, no weeding necessary! Aside from the initial planting, all that Topsy Turvy requires is watering once daily.
No More Stinky Rose Water: Buy Orchids and Let the Love Last
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
I've been fascinated by the long lasting power of orchids....
Got Legs? Get LifeSpan!
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
Why Your Health Matters Most
Walk don't run while searching Google for the...
History reveals orchids are orchidellic
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Orchids can be orchidellic
Santa Barbara International Orchid Show
And...
Ignorance Isn’t Green: But It’ll Cost Ya!
By Trish Holder
Courtesy of Greenspiration Home
Are you a blissfully ignorant homeowner? Do you eat, drink, shower, sleep, wash dishes, etc. in your...
O, Come All Ye Thrifters!: LuxEco Thrift Gifting for a Green Holiday
by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
A future gift, recycled in a thrift store, made from recycled materials. Now that's a LuxEco Resplendent Repurposing triple header! by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEcoLiving Editorial Assistant
Save Electricity at Home
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant (originally published on eHow.com)
In the month of April 2010, the United States spent $25.5 billion on electricity, using a total of 266.3 billion kilowatthours. While those numbers include retail sales to residential, industrial and commercial sectors, household owners have the power to drastically decrease electricity use overall by dropping the residential portion. Home dwellers have many options for reducing their monthly electric bill while simultaneously helping the environment.
Anna Getty Gives Tips For Enjoying A Green Christmas
The Christmas season is upon us, and people everywhere are gearing up for the holiday. In her book, I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas; Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes That Use Less and Mean More, author and LuxEco Advocate, Anna Getty shares with us her ideas on how to create memorable traditions while taking small steps to reduce our carbon footprints, minimize waste, and creatively use what we already have.
An Eco Home: A Living Sactuary
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
I believe that every home should be a sanctuary and that upon entering it one should immediately feel physically and emotionally protected. What I first noticed upon entering Jim and Nancy Chudas Green Home to select a room to design for an upcoming feature in Los Angeles Magazine was that it had all of those qualities even in the construction phase.
Is A Sustainable Green Home Also Non-Toxic? Susan Fredman Weighs In
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
With as much time as we spend in our homes these days, we want to create a home that is a retreat, that is what we speak to, but we want our retreat to be safe so this is definitely going to be an option. Certainly they don’t have to take it all the way to major extremes, but they can do little things that will make a huge difference in their health, their design and in the environment.
Healthy, Green Design: Improve Indoor Air Quality with Plants
By Stephanie Nickolson, Healthy Green Interior Designer and LuxEco Advocate
Originally published at Natural Home & Garden
Air pollution abounds in our homes and businesses, but many air purification systems are not safe to use. A Key to Healthy Green Design in your home starts with purifying indoor air quality with plants.
Have you ever walked into a store, restaurant or other environment and couldn’t stand the heavily scented aroma that someone used to try and cover up another (worse) scent? Well, I have. It’s one of my favorite stores that I frequent and whenever I enter the washroom, I cannot wait to get out of there as the air is so heavily perfumed it makes me feel ill. This is not an effective remedy, nor is it healthy. Anything that exudes that much fragrance is certainly loaded with phthalates. Most commercial air fresheners mask odors but do nothing to remediate them.
Sustainable Home Improvement Projects
6 Ways to Make a More Sustainable "Green" Home
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Many homes weren't build with Green in mind and home improvement...
Cleaning Doesn’t Have to be Toxic
By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
I recently moved into a new apartment, and with that came a massive scrub down of both old digs and new. My roommates and I spent hours cleaning the old place after moving everything out, but the products we used were hardly eco or health-friendly. When scrubbing the Comet-filled bathroom tub, the smell was so overwhelming that I nearly passed out. While cleaning bathrooms isn’t normally an enjoyable task, it doesn't have to be one that puts people’s health and safety at risk.
METHOD, More of an Organism Than an Organization?
By Lewis Perkins reposted from “Semantic of Sustainability” - FastCompany.com
So I think we can all admit by now that “green washing” is a thing...
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This: Recycled, Sustainable Environment Furniture
By Rachel Sarnoff, Writer and Founder of EcoStiletto.com and MommyGreenest.com and LuxEco Advocate
via www.ecostiletto.com
Want to keep chemicals out of your home? Start with your furniture. Carcinogenic formaldehyde is...
CDC Panel Recommends Lower Threshold for Childhood Lead Poisoning
By Lorri Ballance Laird, Writer and LuxEcoLiving Advocate
Since 1978, lead paint has been banned in the United States. But even today, in 2012, the...
Lisa Adams Designs The Ultimate LuxEco Closet
As a closet designer, I became conscious of green design about four years ago. It translated directly into my work when I was asked...
Home Size: How Big is Too Big?
By Trish Holder
Courtesy of Greenspiration Home
“We’re going to die,” I pronounced.
We were in the third hour of our drive to Folly Beach, SC for...
Jill Salisbury On Eco Interiors: “If It’s Not Beautiful, It’s Not Sustainable”
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate.
Jill Salisbury, founder of Chicago based el: Environmental Language, formally educated and trained as an Interior Designer, has found her true calling and passion in the design and manufacturing of furniture. Ten plus years ago, while working as an interior designer, she began learning about the benefits of sustainability but wasn’t able to find furnishings that were stylish and had any kind of environmental initiative. “There wasn’t anything available and I felt the Interior Design community needed to have what I call the Eco-Chic Alternative where you can have style with environmental integrity and promote a healthy indoor air quality for your clients.”
Reflecting on The Home Within Us
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
As I wind down for the year I find myself thinking about a book called The Home Within Us and how much that says about my design philosophy. Everything I approach as a designer lies first and foremost in the feeling of comfort, well being, creating a place of safety and sanctuary. Problem solving, space planning, furniture and color selection comes later but it is driven by these things.
Bed Bugs on the Rise; Protect Your Home and Family Without Pesticides
When I was a little girl, I remember my mother saying to me, “Nighty, night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Fortunately for me, I had no idea what she was talking about, as I had never encountered a bed bug.
But that may not be the case for millions of people the world over, as more and more bed bug infestations are currently being reported
Chemical Creepers: Don’t Wash Your Liver In The Sink!
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
The largest organ in, or should I say on, our bodies…the epidermis. It is defined by the Online...
The Green Home’s Meditation Suite: Connecting Zen Philosophy to Sustainability
The meditation suite, powder room and terrace of the Green Home, was designed to reflect James and Nancy Chuda's love for Buddhism, Zen philosophy...
Meth Labs’ Long-Lasting Toxic Legacy
by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series
As if those of us who are concerned about toxic chemicals in our environment didn’t have enough things to worry about, we must now add methamphetamine lab sites, either currently operating or long closed down, to the list. The inconvenient truth is that you could be living in one right now. Or parked next to one. -- Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEcoLiving Editorial Assistant
To Own a Piece of History: The Old St. Angela Bed & Breakfast Monterey...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
You don't want to miss the breakfast or the bed...