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...
Lotusland’s Giants
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Follow Nancy Chuda and Gwen Stauffer as they explore Lotusland's Giants. Check out insider videos of the endangered Chilean Wine Palm and the wonderfully colorful collection of bromeliads.
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.
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...
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...
Fishing Closures and Seafood Sniffing: Addressing Gulf Seafood Safety
by Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
via The...
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.
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.
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...
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...
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!
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...
Solar Decathlon
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
In October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored what has turned out to be a biannual competition called Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 20 teams from colleges and universities from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Spain were selected and asked to design, build and operate an energy efficient house powered exclusively by the sun. The winning team produced a house that best blended affordability, ease of living, attractiveness, comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions, enough energy to run all household appliances and hot water as well as producing more energy than it consumes. Workshops were provided about the current state of green design technologies, jobs and the future of the smart grid.
Football Goes Green At The World Cup 2010
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Football, or soccer as we know it in America, really is the sport of the world. World cup matches...
Carbon Free Remodeling Projects: From Edible to Over the Top
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
The Carbon-Free Home by Stephen and Rebekah Hren boasts “36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit” as...
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...
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.
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...
Gulf Coast Fishing Community Searches For Some Certainty
by Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
via The Pump Handle
"After three long months of oil geysering continuously from the depths of the Gulf, a temporary cap has stemmed the flow and it appears that the well is on its way to being killed. But we are by no means through this disaster," said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in his opening remarks at the August 4th Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the use of oil dispersants in the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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.
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...
Malleable Trees: The Future of Eco-Architecture
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
LuxEco previously explored the idea of growing your own home with Mitchell Joachim's "Don't build your home, grow it!",...
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...
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.
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...
APHA OHS Section Awards Honor Winners and Remind Us of Ongoing Struggles
by Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
via The Pump Handle
The American Public Health Association's (APHA) Occupational Health & Safety Section has announced the winners of its 2010 Occupational Health & Safety Awards. In a year that has been marked by what David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, has described as "a series of workplace tragedies" - among them the deaths of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine and 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico - noting both the honorees, and those in whose honor the awards are given, is a reminder of the enormous work, courage, and long history of efforts to ensure safety at work.
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.
Swim Suits and Architecture: the New Building Material
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Recycling and architecture meet on a whole new level with the design of the S_Pavilion by students from Chelsea...
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.
Hurricane Katrina: Making it Right
Just last month marks the fifth year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophic natural disaster that claimed more than 1,800 lives in the Gulf coast region with damages totaling $80 billion. After the devastation of the hurricane and consequent flooding, it seemed to its residents and many around the world that New Orleans, specifically, was making a painstakingly slow recovery. Frustrated by the sluggish progress, actor Brad Pitt founded the Make It Right Foundation in 2007 to help rebuild the hardest hit region of New Orleans, the Lower 9th ward.
Solar Beats Nuclear in the Race for Cost Efficient Energy
By: Molly Rovero LuxEco Editorial Assistant
A recent report created for North Carolina’s Waste Awareness & Reduction Network (NC WARN) was titled “ Solar and...
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.
rstBrands In Style In Harmony With The Environment:LuxEcoLiving’s Pick for Best Outdoor Furniture
rstBrands offers a variety of sustainable handmade outdoor furniture and utilizes one of the most important sun shields in the development of their products. The patented Sunbrella fabrics who I might add made environmental responsibility a priority decades before the "green" movement.
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










