Monday Color: Ivory

I have long been drawn to the serenity of white but sometimes in its purest form, true white can be a little cold. Ivory is the slightly warmer and more dynamic neutral alternative, no less serene than its white sister hue. It is the inherent color of many pure, un-dyed fibers like wool and cotton, and appears in countless natural forms such as fans of white coral, flowing sand dunes, dozens of flower varieties and wholesome grains.


















Images above:

1. I love this modern ivory living room, found on www.decorpad.com. Texture and form replace any need for color.

2. An ingeniously simple idea - removing shade fabric to reveal the white lampshade wire silhouette underneath - from Musie. Parchmont, old paper and ivory clothbound books are another way to celebrate the hue.

3. A palette of wood tones and textured ivory fabrics and linens makes a soothing bedroom retreat in this Manhattan apartment I designed.

4. This monochromatic lounge space feels calm yet special with the wall detail and soft ivory tones.

5. Natural linen upholstery and cream slipcovers set the stage for this dramatic white-on-white collection found on www.countryliving.com. (Photo by Bjorn Walkunder)

6. The essence of the color is befitting for this Ivory Organic Cotton Cable Knit Throw from Viva Terra.

7. Metallics are a gorgeous way to spice up an all-ivory decor. Sheesha throw pillow in Ivory from John Robshaw, available in a Euro Sham or 20x20 pillow.

8. Master of pure serenity, Donna Karan nails the look with her organic cotton Pure Comfort bedding (available in Cloud, as shown, and four other spa-like colors).

Auggie Love

It was love at first sight for me. As a nursery designer, I have perused countless lines of crib bedding. But the new line from Canadian sisters Cristina and Genevieve Burgess called Auggie that I spotted at last week's NYIGF gave me butterflies like none other. The delicate embroidery and sweet prints on fields of soft white cotton is whimsical and fresh. Complementary to any decor style from contemporary to country chic, the line includes crib separates, quilts, duvets and twin bedding that can all be mixed and matched. My heart is all aflutter. (Available this month at Yoya in NYC.)

NYIGF Eco-Highlights

Twice a year, the New York International Gift Fair takes over Manhattan's West Side. Despite the slushy streets and gray early-February skies outside, the colorful mecca of home accessories, gift items, furniture, linens and crafts was buzzing indoors. I braved the ice (and the $40 event parking lot fee) to scour the aisles for new eco-friendly housewares and accessories. I was delighted to see more offerings than ever before. Here are a few of my favorite:

Images above:

1. Cork Fabric Bowls from Bambu. They are tough enough to hold a bushel of lemons and soft enough to scrunch down for compact storage. Plus, they can be thrown right in the laundry machine for easy cleaning. (Available in March 2011.)

2 & 3. Peacock Alley's booth was definitely the show stopper. Their beautiful linens were draped over custom hammocks outside a - gasp! - fully renovated 1977 Airstream! They use the trailer, also bedecked in their fabulous wares, for outdoor trunk shows around the nation. A cozy cocoon of neutral fabrics and retro kitsch beckons warmly inside; I didn't want to leave. Peacock Alley has several organic cotton bathrobes, a line of Adriana Matelasse organic cotton bedding and bamboo/cotton towels in their collections to complement their conventional cotton and linen styles.

4. For years, Coyuchi has been one of my go-to resources for certified 100% organic cotton bedding, especially since launching their adorable embroidered George crib line many moons ago. They have since added several other baby collections and greatly expanded their adult lines of bedding, towels, blankets and more. At the recent gift fair, I was struck by their new, incredibly modern charcoal Seersucker Bumper Cover. Sophisticated, and a bit daring, I was pleased to find out that this gray has become one of their best sellers.

5. Michigan-based K Studio has been making pillows and accessories from eco-friendly fabrics like hemp and linen since 2004, each year stitching up even cuter designs than the last. Furthering their green mission, they have added Mod Green Pod's organic cotton patterns to their charming House Pillows. (Photo above is from the awesome home accessories site www.theaccessorator.com)

6. Molla Space unveiled a new, innovative, reusable beverage container simply called My PLA Drinking Can. The can is made from an eco-friendly, corn starch-based material called PLA, bearing the benefits of plastics, but without the negative effects of petroleum components on us and our planet. It is Dishwasher and Microwave safe, retains beverage temperature with double-wall construction, and as the name suggests, will biodegrade rather than adding to our landfill waste.

7. I love pretty much everything from the Urban Infant line, but I thought the Skip Rope was particularly ingenious. Constructed from 100% reclaimed mountain climbing rope that would have otherwise ended up in landfills, with soft handles also made from reclaimed materials, they prove that playtime and eco-responsibility belong in the same game!!

8. Once again, the sweetest organic cotton tees were blowing in the breeze at the Zebi booth, making my longing for another baby to clothe even stronger (like it takes much!!). Here are a few of their adorable appliqued tops available at Kitsel.

Gratitude

Just a quick post to thank everyone for their votes in The Homies!! Baby Green racked up nearly 60 votes, which I consider to be a victory in itself considering that it's a brand new blog and the competition was stiff. It was an honor just to be nominated and recognized for my cyber contribution to the green movement. As my son said about the Jets' playoff defeat and our loss in this contest: "there's always next year!!"

All love,
Amanda

Before & After: Mudroom De-Junked!!

One of the services my company Baby Green offers is home organization, but sometimes I wonder if the more accurate label would simply be home purging. As the trash bags fill up with JUNK, the organization naturally follows. I have seen countless clients, friends and family members attempt to get organized without eliminating unneeded objects first. I suppose it's possible in the short term to skip de-junking and tastefully arrange your trash in your home. But staying organized without the essential de-cluttering is nearly impossible.

I wasn't born an organized minimalist. I, too, had to undergo the process of throwing out, recycling and donating about half of my possessions when I relocated from Manhattan to Long Beach. (See my now minimally material home in my recent Mi Casa blog post.) I think my clients like that I can relate to their struggles of letting go with my own firsthand experiences. It's logical that we spent a portion of our lives collecting and amassing both treasures and trash, but that a second phase comes when elimination is called for.

To inspire those of you on a similar journey, I will periodically post before and after photos from my organizational work. These first images are from a local project in which the homeowner has made astounding progress with detachment, which was first rooted in simply becoming aware that her spaces weren't flowing and that she was storing nothing more than garbage in many of her closets and cabinets. An avid meditator and an energy healer, my client radiates a sense of peace and calm, but her home was not matching this. She now feels that what's on the inside is reflected on the outside and that "each room no longer feels like a to-do list of 50 tasks calling out at her." We all can relate to that. We tackled her mudroom in one session, a secondary entry into her home that you could barely walk through. All the junk is gone, systems are in place, access to needed items has been created and legs are no longer bruised trying to navigate through the room. And peace has been restored.

"To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something." Lao Tzu

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." Hans Hoffman

BEFORE:





AFTER:

Vote for Baby Green!

I know it's not flashy. I know I've got a lot to learn. Baby Green is still, well, a baby.

You see, as a novice blogger, I've focused only on regularly infusing these posts with ecologically-conscious design information and ideas. I have neglected to learn how to upgrade the appearance of my blog, add advertising and punchy navigational widgets, and I really ought to post my story of how all this came about and the resulting mission, but right now I'm taking it one post at a time. And that's it.

As the evolution unfolds, it's been heartwarming to have your support with a few inquisitive comment postings, some loving pats on the backs, a Homies Award nomination, and a solid amount of votes. But we're waaay behind. So please show your support for the new kid on the block, the less-established but well-intentioned, the stumbling baby trying to pull herself up onto standing legs for the first time.....and vote for Baby Green by Thursday Feb 3 6pm EST. If you've already voted, please get your like-minded friends and colleagues to do the same.

I'll resume normal posting tomorrow, including some inspiring and innovative new products from my swing through the New York International Gift Fair.

For now, I leave you with a manipulatively sweet photo of my son and 6 reasons why you should take 1 minute and vote for Baby Green in The Homies:

1. Because you like my blog
2. Because you are my friend, relative, neighbor, co-worker or secret admirer
3. Because you love a good comeback story: In 2010 I was near-bankruptcy, but I stayed in the ring determined to embody any timeworn adage about never giving up
4. Because you like to cheer for the underdog: Baby Green is David to a half dozen Goliath blogs
5. Because you care about our earth's well-being and want to be active in a massive cultural shift on how we consume, think, live, design and raise our children like I do
6. Because I told my son, Ryder, he could have the $50 prize if we won but he, without thinking, said "No that's OK, we can find someone who needs it more and give it to them"



VOTING IS EASY!

* First, go to Re-Nest's voting page for The Homies contest and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page where you are directed to "register" or "sign in" in relatively small text If you are not a member of Apartment Therapy or Re-Nest, you will need to click "register" and create an account, inputting your email address, a user name and a password. Don't check next to the daily email boxes if you don't want to receive any future mailings from the sites. The only email they will generate will be one you'll receive immediately to confirm your registration.
* Once you receive the email, click the imbedded link back to Re-Nest. Click on The Homies 2011 link toward the top of the page and you'll be sent back to the voting page.
* Click the circle next to Baby Green and then click "Answer Survey" to have your vote counted. And that's it!! Easy!!
* For the true democratic experience, you can come back to the page anytime and click "Show Results" to see how Baby Green is doing.


All love,

Amanda

(Anti)Bag Lady

Last year, I made a commitment to going completely bagless, employing reusable shopping bags at the farmer's market, grocery store, drug store and shopping mall, anywhere I made purchases that would ordinarily be thrown into a bag for my convenience. I met the goal about 90% of the time, so I renewed my commitment on January 1st and am delighted to have rejected every bag offer this year so far as the first month of 2011 comes to a close. This is a small environmental act of awareness that has now become second nature. My son has joined in the mission, telling people in line behind us at the supermarket that plastic bags are icky and paper bags kill trees. If you're considering going bagless too, there are a few small helpful tips that you should consider:

1. Don't worry about the awkward looks. I didn't get these as much when I lived in Manhattan, but in my not-so-progressive new home in Long Island, furrowed brows and confirmations of "are you sure?" follow most every "I don't need a bag, thank you."

2. In addition to the pouch of reusable bags I've been packing for years (like the convenient Planet Green Environsax 5-in-1 Pouch, their new RPET 100% recycled Slingsax or line of hemp bags, all pictured above), I keep a small number of produce bags that I've gathered from past purchases conveniently tucked inside the pouch. Most fruits and veggies can go in the cart without a bag, but string beans, cherries and such definitely need a vessel.

3. I'm pretty vigilant about my mission: if I forget my reusable bags, I take my purchases out in my hands and just plop them on the front seat of my car until I unload them at home. This wouldn't have worked as well in my city days, but whether you're a driver or an urbanite on foot, keeping lightweight reusable bags on you at all times (see #2) becomes an easy habit with some practice, especially if you find yourself cradling a drugstore's run worth of purchases once or twice.

4. Know the facts. According to cleanair.org, Americans use approximately 1 billion shopping bags each year. The state of California spends about 25 million dollars sending plastic bags to landfills and another 8.5 million dollars removing littered plastic bags from streets. Recycling one ton of plastic bags costs roughly $4000 and produces recycled product that can be sold for only $32. There are a long list of other downers that might make you consider joining me in my bagless quest.

Monday Color: Turquoise

Happy Monday!! It's time to feature another color and today I chose turquoise. Likely influenced by my winter daydreams of tropical blue waters, cheery aqua tones are showing up everywhere on my design radar right now. It was a hit color of 2010 but I feel its lure is timeless, a unique blue that is both sophisticated and uplifting. The turquoise stone has long been believed to draw out negativity and help you stay in a place of love and connectedness with others. Glancing at the rooms below, it seems like the hue itself has some of these same uplifting powers.





















Images above:

1. image from www.houseofturquoise.com

2. image from inspirebohemia.blogspot.com

3. a room I designed in a Manhattan apartment in 2010 featuring bold turquoise and subdued grays and creams

4. a living/dining room from a 2005 design project showing just how much my love of this color has certainly endured!!

5. image from www.apartmenttherapy.com

6. photo by Lisa Romerein, from www.coastalliving.com

7. Lamp Works Recycled Glass Table Lamp from www.rugsusa.com

8. Handmade Moroccan Poof in turquoise from John Derian.

9. 100% organic cotton Thick & Thirsty Towels in Lagoon from Gaiam.

Goodwill Hunting

Falling in love with a European-American who has been shooting guns since before he could ride a bicycle or write his long Greek last name has caused me to consider my position on firearms and hunting season. I was surprised to find that operating a rifle is a very zen-like experience in which everything but my own breath ceased to exist for a few moments while I aimed at my target. But in my case the target was - and will always be - inanimate paper circles tacked to wooden posts, which apparently are very safe from my novice aim. And even if I someday become a skilled markswoman, the targets will remain the recyclable kind and I won't be putting a real skull or artfully preserved buck head up on my wall anytime soon. But still, for some reason, I like to look at them; in fact the decor of one of my favorite Manhattan restaurants closely resembles an upstate hunting lodge, trophy heads and all. They impart a rustic feel of yesteryear that pairs well with my affinity for patina, peeling paint, wool blankets and clothbound novels. Fortunately for me and nonhunters everywhere, clever home decor brands deliver the look, minus the trip to the taxidermist.




The Steer Horns in Cast Resin from Restoration Hardware is molded from a real skull and hand-finished for striking realism.




This faux Moose Head from Z Gallerie is covered in white lacquer in a nod to taxidermy that is kitschy and fun.




Velocity Art and Design offers a whole herd of hand-carved wooden trophy heads that are as modern and tasteful as they are humane.




Add a little shine to your trophy wall with the oil rubbed Bronze Trophy Head from Ballard Designs.




Designers Christophe Hascoet, Annabel Karim Kassar and Isabelle Rolland created this unique wall-mounted Trophy Lamp replacing fur with form and function.




For a more practical lighting solution, the resin Barbara Cosgrove Ram Horns table lamp has a rustic Southwestern appeal that works with any decor style.

Conceptual Consoles

I'm on the hunt for a unique credenza for one of my design clients. Our three criteria points are that it must be eco-friendly, functional enough to be loaded up with dishware on the inside and loaded with character on the outside. Here are a few of my finds so far:



Trees Graphic Console by Iannone Designs is comprised of kirei doors, FSC certified plywood, Greenguard certified real wood veneers and formaldehyde-free adhesives.



The Weave Credenza by Structured Green is made from salvaged manufacturers' scraps and FSC certified walnut or white oak.




Made from FSC certified hardwoods and materials local to Brooklyn's Wud Design, the Red & White Sideboard looks like whispy clouds in a sunset sky to me.




Quality and craftsmanship are the sustainable aspects of the Namibia Credenza by Ilan Dei Studios, but it's still jaw-droppingly original.