Design^Sprout | Your Guide to Green Design

The Future of Trash

    You know it. I know it. We all should be recycling. What used to be simple; “metal goes here, paper goes there, and plastic goes in over there,” is now a bit more complicated. For example did you know not all plastics and metals can be recycled? If you look for the recycling symbol on most packaging, it’s often filled with a number value. They denote what can and can’t be recycled. That’s where the Barcode Trashcan from Woo Seok Park comes in. It makes being “green” a lot easier.
   There’s one bin for each type of recyclable material. Just swipe the item in question over the top and the bin that opens is your winner. Easy breezy covergirl for real!

And You Thought Letters Were Soooo Yesterday!

   Oh, how I l-o-v-e this table! Love the recycled element, love the mixed typography, love the vintage feel! Made by artisans at The Inspired Maker, each table is one-of-a-kind and as you'd expect super pricey. But don't worry your pretty little head - Crate and Barrel has knocked one off (made from sustainable wood, of course). Not quite as nice but only half the price!!!

Va Va Vintage!

 

     Interior designer Nicole and artist Kate invited me over for dinner and then pretended not to mind while I snooped through their house taking photos.  Now that is friendship. Pretty much everything you see is a thrift-store rescue, handmade by one of them or a vintage heirloom. 

     This Jesus coffee table is my favorite piece in the apartment. I always try to set my drink down around the halo but sometimes I get the face. Yet another reason you may see me in hell.

     You know how in elementary school there was always the one (strange) girl whose hair was too long, pants were too short and love of horses was a tad bit obsessive?  She's finally validated.

Matchbox cars instead of dried-out butterflies. Genius!

Even the closets are stylish. Do you feel inspired yet?

DIY - CD's Are For Suckers

   Finally, the moony, jr. high  mix-tapes you've been carting around in a dusty, old shoe box all these years (yes, I speak from experience) are reborn as an oh-so-hipster coin purse!!!  FreePepper from Craftster came up with this clever repurpose DIY and I am loving it. At last, Bel Biv DeVoe sees the light of day!

Eco Chic!

     I don't normally write about fashion (although I am such a slave to it!) but every so often I find myself so enamored with someone new that I just have to share. My absolute favorite, "new-on-the-scene" designers, Tara and Inessah of Sublet Clothing, have seamlessly blended their fashion savy with environmentally-friendly manufacturing, resulting in some of the most elegant, forward-thinking and wearable clothing on the green market. Most of their items are priced around $100, making this a splurge you can feel good about twice!

A Cute Idea

     What a great way to display your kids' artwork! The bright drawings give this stark white wall a much needed pop of color while putting your budding Picasso on full display. Best of all...it's cheap, cheap, cheap! Flexible, wire curtain rods, like the those pictured, can be found at Ikea for just $4.99.