2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Homeward Bound

Perhaps you too have taken stock of your home and decided to incorporate more eco-conscious elements. Commendable decision, but where do you start? You'll find great direction in Judith Wilson's book The Natural Home: Stylish Living Inspired by Nature. Wilson covers everything from planning a green construction to blending naturally-sourced furniture and materials into a finished design. The book endorses major eco cornerstones including recycling, conserving energy and integrating found objects and antiques into your space versus buying new and contributing to the enormous drain on the planet caused by the continuous manufacture of new product. Awe-inspiring contemporary designs and numerous other styles are highlighted throughout the book. Wilson's Natural Home delivers ample proof that green can be as imaginative as it is pivotal in reducing carbon emissions.

Scraplights by Graypants

Seth and Jonathan are architects who first crossed paths at Kent State University in Cleveland, Ohio. Now eight years of collaboration and spirited adventure  landed them in Seattle, where Graypants, Inc. was forged from a desire to make a difference through design.

Scraplights, made of scrap corrugated cardboard, are a direct result of their collective passion for sustainable design and a by product of their first project made from scraps:  the Scrapchair.

More about what the duo are up to can be found at their website.  I have a feeling we will be hearing much more about about these boys.  They could be the second coming of the Campana Brothers.  via Inhabitat. 

Pet Projects

I will soon bring a cat home to my apartment and I'm having trouble finding attractive pet products to keep her entertained indoors.  Most everything I've found seems to be made of packaging detritus combined in some purfunctory operation to create an ungainly rufuse palace of carpet turrets and twine palisades.

Imagine my delight when I found Marmelade Pet Care's beautiful modern pet products.  They have a lovely selection of combination cat scratchers/kitty beds made out of the same recyclable materials as their less stylish peers.

Above: The Sweet Lounge Cat Bed.   Below: The Wall Flower Scratcher.

 

Purrrfect!

Olli & Lime

Olli & Lime is now on 2Modern! Great Eco-Friendly kids and baby accessories for boys and girls. Outfit the entire room from the walls, with Billie Wallpaper or Carrie Wallpaper, to the bed, with Oliver Twin Bedding or George Crib Coverlet.

The Resurrection of Chic

     To me, one of life's greatest joys is waking up early, grabbing a latte and looking for that diamond in the rough. Still, there are flea market staples I see all the time that no one seems to be able to find a use for -  racks of holey, leather jackets well-past their prime, mismatched silverware, discarded drawers with no home - the list goes on...   The ladies at Wis Design in Stockholm tackled just such a problem - the result being one of the most whimsical collections I've seen in awhile. 
    The Decades chest of drawers (above) is made  from rescued one-off drawers they gave a new home to.

  Made entirely from unwearable leather jackets a modern chair gets a touch of craft with the simple addition of  beautiful, scalloped leather trim this plain white chair become somewhat of an art piece. Gorgeous!

   Even that old jewelry you don't ever seem to wear becomes instantly chic when adorning this stylish metal lamp, no?

New Business Invitation Designs from Sendomatic

New business invitation designs on Sendomatic - online invitations & announcements. These new designs are great for Corporate Meetings, Seminars & Conferences, Product Announcements, Conventions & Trade Shows, Fundraisers & Holiday Parties. Love the jewel tones and flexibility with these new designs - AND online invitations are eco-friendly!

Urban Woods

Introducing Urban Woods, a brand new eco-friendly designer on 2Modern! Urban Woods makes sustainable furniture from reclaimed wood,  eco-friendly materials and an environmentally conscious manufacturing  process. The Sunset Bed is stately and inviting with solid wood frames and deeply tufted, organic cotton. The Palisades Dining Table was designed to accentuate the natural beauty of the vintage wood used to craft each element, while the Melrose Club Chair is wide and comfortable with organic cotton upholstery.

Greenwashing

What is greenwashing? Greenwashing is the creation or promotion of a products or ideals that exhibit environmentally sound qualities without actually performing at a less consumptive level. For example, the illusion of buying bamboo chairs imported from Vietnam over oak chairs from your native state. Yes, bamboo is a very renewable resource, but once the deforestation and glue toxins and shipping fuels and packaging are considered, its much better to just buy local furniture that doesn't require so much processing. Read a similar article on the greenwashing of the Chinese Olympic Gardens here.

Beijing's Olympic Garden

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing has festooned the grounds with lush sculptures portraying a greener version of China than we’re used to seeing. But artful topiary design is no replacement for creating a cleaner city at its height of pollution. Read the full article.

From eco-design to design-art: Design Now!

From Taschen. $39.99.  566 pgs.
"Not only an in-depth exploration of contemporary design practice, this book is also a rallying call for a more sustainable approach to product design of every type, from lighting and furniture design to consumer electronic equipment, transportation, product architecture, and environmental design. Visually stunning and highly informative, Design Now! illustrates the latest work by 90 of the world’s leading designers and design-led manufacturing companies, while also featuring in-their-own-words statements that give a unique insight into the nature of  3-dimensional design today. Additionally, the editors’ introductory essay authoritatively outlines the main issues facing designers, manufacturers and consumers, and offers a perceptive vision for a better way forward that focuses on the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Design Now! is essential for anyone interested in design and the road towards a greener future."

 

Selected designers and design-led companies featured in the book: Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Ecotricity, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Intelligent Energy, Jonathan Ive & Apple Design Team, LOT-EK, Ross Lovegrove, Marine Current Turbines, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, POC, Philips Design, Seymourpowell, Tokujin Yoshioka, and more.

Edited by Charlotte J. and Peter M. Fiell who run a design consultancy in London. They have lectured  widely, curated a number of exhibitions, and written numerous articles and books on design, including TASCHEN’s 1000 Lights, 1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, Industrial Design A-Z, Scandinavian Design, Graphic Design for the 21st Century, Designing the 21st Century, and domus 1928–1999.

Taschen.com.