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...
Live Green with More Not Less: The New Urbanism
By James Chuda, Co-founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
With more knowledge, more consumer choices that allow us to support eco-friendly services and products and a better understanding of our interconnectedness to each other, the planet and the production processes of the things we buy, we could Live LuxEco! We could live truly sustainable. We could Live Green with More not Less!
What if we thought different about the way we live- we got out of our individual little cars and away from suburban sprawl? How about a New Urbanism that teaches us to be self-sufficient while still contributing to the benefit of all society?
Is Antimatter Real?
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Physics; somewhere over the rainbow.
What in the World Is a Higgs Boson?
Peter Higgs, an Edinburgh University professor, discussed the particle that bears...
The Compostable Toothbrush
by Heather Clisby Second Chance Ranch courtesy of BlogHer
The latest product to land on my radar is a computable toothbrush, apparently "the first of...
Laura Turner Seydel shares memories of building her dream eco-home
Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Last summer, I had the privilege of interviewing Laura...
Hay! Get a Handle
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Here's a LuxEcoLiving4U time saver. It's called Hay Handle.
Time...
Did you say Jellyfish?
Picture of the week
A Lions Mane Jellyfish, the largest jellyfish in the world! They have been swimming in arctic waters since before...
The Farm Effect: Are you allergic to nature?
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Get outdoors and enjoy the breeze it's good for you
I...
Google knows we just need those eggs!
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Saying goodbye to a feathered friend
We lost her yesterday. It...
Where is the Real Beef? I’m mad as a cow and not going to...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Cows have a voice too!
If you can stomach, actually bare...
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...
Citizen Kane at the Hearst Castle was The Screening on Steroids
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Seeing Citizen Kane...
Gaia Retreat and Spa offers Health Beauty and Serenity
Introduction by Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
If you haven't had a chance to...
The Lorax Movie Denies Children A Universal Truth
By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
Green Cleans: Spring Cleaning Without Hazardous Substances
Get rid of hazardous substances in your home and clean house with these great green cleaning products.
By Brooke Rewa, Lux Eco Editorial Assistant
Household cleaning products are full of hazardous substances that put our loved ones at risk. A clean house can be especially dangerous to children and pets. Toxic chemicals from conventional household products can be found on your floors, counters, carpets and transferred directly into the mouth of your pet or child. Many everyday cleaning products contain petroleum based pesticides and denatured ethanol, a type of ethanol that has one or more substances added to it making it poisonous. While we know little about the long-term health affects and environmental damage these hazardous substances can cause, it is safe to say the outcome cannot be good.
Sustainable Design: Green Cabinetry
Sustainable Design: Green Cabinetry
By: Lisa Adams, Designer and CEO of LA Closet Design and LuxEco Advocate
So much is said about going green, but what exactly defines green? In short, green design (also referred to as "sustainable design" or "eco-design”) is the art of designing and building environments that comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. The goal of designing green is to produce places, products and services that significantly reduce or eliminate negative impact on the natural environment, while creating healthy places to live and work. When it comes to your home, educate yourself and make conscious choices about the materials living with you. Do they meet these goals?
Modern Design Meets Green Architecture
By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEco Living and Beauty Expert
In 2006, James and Nancy Chuda completed their labor of love: their Green Home under the "H" of the iconic Hollywood sign. Drawing from the couple's environmental activism and Jame's prolific career as a nationally board-certified architect specializing in the creation of non-toxic living and working environments, the Green Home is a culmination of many years of the Chuda's dedication to learning, living and advocating for a natural, environmentally-safe and sustainable lifestyle.
However, going green didn't mean that their classic good taste would be sacrificed; their modern design would meet green architecture.
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...
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
A Perspective on Green: Then and Now
By Florence “Flip” Ross, LuxEco Advocate
Since I was fortunate to have just celebrated my 88th birthday, I assume I am the oldest person writing for LuxEco Living. Therefore, allow me to tell you what life was like back in my day, and how we treated the environment. We didn't. We simply accepted things as they were, and I did not become aware of our world and how to keep it clean. It was just sufficient to live it.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Lotusland’s Sustainable Horticulture
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Lotusland practices sustainable horticulture in the care of their gardens. This episode of the Lotusland series explores these practices in Madame's rose garden. Also learn how to make your own tea compost!
Grotesques and a Clock: Lotusland’s Treasures
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Among Madame Gana Walska’s collection in the theatre garden are grotesque figures, which she hid in the ground to protect during the world war. She also had a garden clock with the different star signs. Her actual birthday is unknown but Lotusland believes that she was born in June, making her a Cancer. Join Nancy Chuda and Gwen Stauffer as they journey through these two lovely gardens.