A Tree Huggers Vacation Home

I’m not the richest person in the world, so if I want to take my family on a vacation it has to be in the states and we have to be able to drive there. I would prefer to find a destination off the beaten track and it would be great if it was a eco-friendly destination.  So when I saw this treehouse vacation home and found it it was a sustainable destination, my inner tree hugger was jumping up and down for joy. Now i just need to figure out how to overcome my fear of heights 😦

Temple of the Blue Moon
This charming treetop cottage is just one of the many treehouse lodgings available at Pete Nelson’s Treehouse Point in Issaquah, Wash. Nelson, a world-renowned treehouse builder and author, created this sustainable destination as a beautiful, educational getaway that provides visitors with a unique way to connect with nature. The Temple of the Blue Moon sits partway up a 300-year-old, 160-foot-tall Sitka Spruce and boasts skylights, built-in cedar beds and handmade quilts.

Via Mother Nature Network

Repurposed Vintage Suitcase’s Make Stunning Focal Wall

I thought Ki Nassauer’s Vintage Suitcase Shelves was a great way to repurpose these vintage flea market find. I am not sure what you have to do to the back so they will hang but they look great.

Ki Nassauer, editor-in-chief of Fleamarket Style magazine and founder of JunkMarket, a monthly sale of vintage and repurposed finds, knows a diamond in the rough when she sees it. This has earned her the nickname “The Martha Stewart of Junk.”
We’re big fans of finding new uses for vintage suitcases, as shown here, here and here, but mounting them on the wall and using them as shelves is something I’ve never seen before. I love it! And the blue wall that they’re mounted on is such a nice compliment to the tones of the cases.

Via Apartment Therapy

Homeowner Installs Cork In Kitchen And Basement

Homeowner has installed a deep rich brown cork flooring in the kitchen and a natural color in the basement bonus room. Both installations turned out amazing and homeowner is extremely happy with the completed project.

 

Homeowner Has The Foresight To Install Cork Underlayment Underneath Their Laminate

Cork underlayment is the perfect insulator for any type of flooring, so it always amazes me that such few people use it when installing new floors. This homeowner had the foresight to install cork underneath their laminate which will help reduce room noise and help insulate the floor.  Good On Ya!

Cork Flooring Bathroom Renovation

Homeowner has installed cork floating floor in their bathroom which is perfect for walking barefoot in. Make sure you visit their Flickr site

Tembo, Tembo Stool

Swedish design group Note Design Studio has created a great collection of seating, lighting and storage pieces. The Tembo stool (Swahili for elephant) is styled after the large pad like feet of the elephant and uses cork as the cushion.

Tembo is Swahili for elephant. When elephants walk, they always have at least one foot on the ground. They don’t run. Because of their straight legs and large pad-like feet elephants can stand for very long periods of time without getting tired. Just like our Tembo table and stool. They are part of our collection Marginal Notes #1, still in development and yet without a producer.

Via Otto-Otto.com

Building Contractor Use Cork Tiles For His Spec Home

Building a spec home is always a risk since the builder is paying for the cost of the home out of pocket and only gets paid when they sell the home. Because of this builders typically build a home in a way that will appeal to the most buyers so that they can sell the house quickly. However one of our customers decided be bold and use cork flooring and other sustainable materials to make their home as green as possible. If the building industry had more people like this our community would not be filled with energy sucking McMansions.

Via Flooring Store Online

The Hot Seat

Art school was a great time for me because I was able to explore all of those “stupid” ideas and wrap it in some Freudian explanation to make me look cool while wearing my turtle neck and Barrett. But every now and then you create something in those hazy college years that resonates with others and as I use to say “It isn’t complete crap!”

College student Andy has taken an object destined for the land fill and breathed a new soul into it by making it into a chair. I love the sense humor in this.

Anyone who has lived in a tiny city apartment can tell you that the oven is the perfect storage place for bulky comforters and other hard-to-store items. But design graduate Andy took that concept to crazy genius levels with his transforming oven lounge chair. Built as a student project while Andy was attending the University of Cincinnati, the lounge chair was made by taking apart and modifying an existing oven. Adding an internal seat and a removable ottoman, Andy created a truly unexpected new piece of transforming furniture.

Via Dornob

Conserve. Explore. Inspire

It’s great to have the commitment and the courage to live out your convictions and Cece and Brenda have done just that by greening a Airstream, including cork flooring and spreading the message of sustainability one mile at a time. 

They started their journey on 8/2011 and converted an old Airstream using American Clay walls and ceilings, solar panels, eco-friendly furniture and waterless composting toilet. The Airstream is towed by a diesel truck that has been converted to a lean mean veggie oil machine to prove to the people they meet that it is possible to live simply and off the grid.

Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty.  Our goal is to green an Airstream, turn a used diesel truck into a veggie oil machine and hit the road in complete “off the grid” style.  Our quest to live outside the lines and explore what it means to be sustainable, comfortable and bold has led us here.  Exploration and educational outreach will be our primary objectives…. we seek to partner with businesses, schools and non-profits to promote On the Green Road – driving towards sustainability one mile at a time.  

Via GreenRVLife.com

How Big Is Your Footprint?

We talk about sustainability as objects that you can purchase to help the environment. Buy cork flooring, buy eco-friendly products, buy bamboo and the world will be a better place. But one of the biggest factors in living a sustainable lifestyle is purchasing only the items you need.

I feel that one of the areas that Americans need to scale back on is the size of the homes we live in. Yes it is great to have a lot of square footage to move around in but having a theater room, bonus room, finished basement really a necessity for a small family? Have you thought how much energy it takes to heat and light these rooms?

This micro home is to the extreme but do we really need a McMansion for a family of 3? Of course we love the cork flooring they are using in this micro home.

One big key to small-spacing living is vertical space – with nine feet in each horizontal direction, the only way to go is up. At the same time, this particular design manages to look like it evolved somehow organically, with elements not simply occupying every spare spot. Read More

Via Dornob