eco-chic design

green your home with eco-friendly felt

Felt is one of the oldest fabrics in the world and I mentioned its modern comeback in Undercollar’s pillows made from reclaimed felt or Megan Auman’s cozy/cuffs. This weekend I’ll make sure to check out the latest home accessories made of wool felt by Graf & Lantz at NYIGF. I love how the designers combine the sturdy and eco-friendly material with contemporary shapes. Graf & Lantz is a design studio based in LA that creates eco-modern designs such as bags, pillows, wallets or bowls made primarily from 100% merino wool felt imported from Germany. Wool felt is a sustainable and biodegradable material since it comes from sheep and is therefore completely natural. The beauty of the high density felt used by Graf & Lantz is that it’s not only stain- and water-resistant thanks to its natural oil content but it also gives their designs a sculptural quality. My favorite home accessories are the elegant felt bowls in heathered white, grey, pistachio and charcoal with a different colored center. They are fun to look at plus handmade in the USA. Most recently Graf & Lantz added a new line of Swiss wool felt that’s coarser and not dyed or bleached to their collections. It’s used in some of the ottoman designs and comes in the two colors white and brown. I’m curious to see what else the designers came up with.

eco-smart home and office design

What I’ve always loved about the EcoSmart Fireplaces from Australia is that they look as great at minimalistic eco-homes as well as office spaces. And then there are of course the environmental benefits that they are fueled by the renewable energy denatured Ethanol. As we all know Ethanol is produced through the fermentation of sugar from products such as sugarcane, potatoes or wheat. It needs to be de-natured with various substances since it can’t be sold in its purest form (100% alcohol) to avoid human consumption. The benefit of denatured Ethanol is that it’s completely composed of biological products making it greenhouse compliant. Its combustion results in a clean emission of heat, steam and carbon dioxide which means you’ll be able to breathe freely. The environmentally-friendly EcoSmart Fireplaces don’t require any installation or utility connection for fuel supply so that you can easily move them around. They come in a variety of stylish settings that range from modern to retro. My favorites are the Vision or Fusion that also work well as a visual separator for lofts. The Retro is a fun alternative for smaller studios or creative office spaces. Either one would definitely warm up any eco-modern space in a cool way.

office furniture for a sustainable future

Since we spend at least 8 hours a day and 5 days a week at our office desks they might as well give something back to us. The Kalidro desk designed by German designer Stefan Brodbeck for Steelcase might just do that since it’s designed with a sustainable future in mind. Steelcase has long been known for their cradle-to-cradle designs such as the Think chair or Leap chair. 

Stefan Brodbeck founded his design firm brodbeck design in 1994 in Munich to create stylish furniture based on the user and not the other way around. The height adjustable Kalidro desk is up to 99% recyclable, easy to disassemble plus its packaging materials are 100% recyclable as well. It’s made from 34% recycled materials with only sustainable wood sources being used. The designs include a wide range of colors and finishes but my personal favorite is the modern look of the desktop in pearl snow with an orange frame and the corners in polished aluminium. What I love the most is that Kalidro’s design has been created for a longer lifecycle and is upgradeable. Of course it would still be the most eco-friendly option to not replace your existing office furniture at all. But Steelcase even formed a partnership with Green-Works in the UK that redistributes office furniture to charities, schools, community groups, hospitals or start-up businesses and therefore keeps them out of landfills. This way you could actually feel good while working away at your new sustainable office desk.

a big step towards sustainable office design

The Natural Step framework developed by the Swedish oncologist Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt inspired many companies to become more sustainable such as IKEA or Interface. I even used the same principles to green my own life earlier this year. They offer a great structure on how to green an office and the eco-friendly carpet system by Interface is a contemporary way to put the sustainable principles to good use. Interface has a long history within the commercial carpet space and is the parent company to FLOR launched in 2003. FLOR is a line of design-inspired carpet squares with a focus on stylish yet responsible designs for mostly eco-conscious homes. But since I love modern design I do like their less corporate looking choices for a contemporary eco-office. The modular designs adapt to any space and are eco-friendly with some of the lowest VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound emissions) in the industry. Simply connect the FLOR squares to build eco-chic area rugs, runners or wall-to-wall carpeting. FLOR’s environmental efforts are endless ranging from their eco-friendly material selection that includes recycled polyester or carpet fiber made from renewable resources to reclaiming discarded tiles to be recycled into a new product to close the loop. I love that the modular squares allow for flooring flexibility and scalability. This makes them perfect for sustainable start-ups and our current economic climate. And the best part is that you can grow a company without the eco-guilt.

high-tech, high-touch lighting

Since I’m currently researching how to green an office I wanted to feature Yves Behar’s LEAF lamp even that his most recent sustainable project is the PACT underwear collection. You might want to check out the designs via treehugger, dezeen or inhabitat. Well, at least you’ll know what to wear while sitting in an eco-friendly Aeron office chair working next to the LEAF light designed by fuseproject for Herman Miller.

Fuseproject in an award-winning industrial and branding firm founded by Yves Behar. I’ve always admired the humanistic approach to his iconic designs like the XO laptop for Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization. The development of the LEAF lamp took about 4.5 years and created a completely new experience of lighting. Fuseproject not only designed a new light but also a new light bulb. The user can choose between warm mood light and cool work light that can be adjusted through simple touch sensitive controls. I love how the design brings a human touch to the office environment while taking care of our eco-system through energy-efficient lighting. The LED task light use 40% less energy than an equivalent compact fluorescent for the same light output. The sleek and organic design comes in black, white, red, nickel, or polished aluminum and is designed with a sustainable future in mind. The LEAF light is part of Herman Miller’s Be Collection that uses Herman Miller’s Design for the Environment protocol (DfE) for material selection and product design.

green heirloom furniture

While at the airport in Germany a few weeks ago I picked up the book “Ecological Design” published by TeNeues. It has some great examples of modern eco-friendly designs that range from high-tech to handcrafted within the office, home and transportation space. You can find a lamp made out of reshaped PET bottles, a repurposed airplane trolley, and even a bookshelf made out of discarded large-format books. But since I love contemporary eco-design that feels timeless I’m a big fan of the Isometric Chair by Kalon Studios. Not only does it look elegant, but it’s made out of my favorite rapidly renewable resource bamboo that’s used in a laminated form with non-toxic glue and wood oil. The production process utilizes up-to-date CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) technology to reduce waste and energy consumption. The Isometric Chair is available with or without the three engraving styles honeysuckle, fern, or trumpet. Within the same signature collection I also love the multi-functional 3 Blocks that can be used as stools, tables or footrests and come with or without fern engraving. Kalon Studios is based in Los Angeles, California and Berlin and produces all their non-toxic and sustainable pieces of furniture domestically in the US. All eco-designs are made to order and handcrafted by traditional furniture makers in New England.

a natural conversation starter

Modern cardboard design has been gaining popularity over the last few years, but not often have I seen it used in such a witty and dynamic way. The Conversation Table designed by Leo Kempf is imaginative, functional and sustainable. It’s made out of cardboard with a highly recycled content and hardboard from compressed secondary wood fibers without formaldehyde and resin. The designer uses birch spacers to add strength to the Speech Bubble Coffee Table so that a person could even sit on it. I love when cardboard is transformed into recyclable pieces of furniture or accessories. Not only do they keep paper and cardboard out of landfills but also turn waste that would otherwise be discarded into something useful and therefore help closing the loop.

Originally Frank Gehry was the pioneer in the use of cardboard in modern furniture design through his series "Easy Edges" from 1972. They were made of layers of cardboard held together by hidden screws. His iconic wiggle side chair is part of the MoMA collection and is now being produced by contemporary furniture maker Vitra. Another piece by Leo Kempf that uses cardboard design in an eco-modern way is his curved Wall Shelf that’s made out of corrugated cardboard, hardboard and laminated hardboard spacers. Both of his designs are great reminders to join the green conversation.

reclaim your workspace

Originally I was attracted to SMC Furnishings by the reuse of discarded saddles in their may lounge chair that I saw at ICFF earlier this year. But since I love more streamlined minimal design I really like their pw stool/tables that play with contrasting lighter and darker wood. They almost look like metal combined with wood at a first glance, but the beauty is that they’re made out of antique long leaf hard pine and African wenge wood or hickory.

SMC Furnishings is a small New York based company that produces handcrafted and eco-friendly furniture. In fact 90% of their wood comes from waste and recycled sources like reclaimed building timbers or locally sourced trees downed by storms, disease or nuisance issues. The company’s commitment to a sustainable work environment shows in their philosophy of no waste. In 2004 they converted three early 19th century barns in the Finger Lakes region of New York into a workspace with low impact on the environment. Every piece of leftover wood is re-milled until it can’t be re-cut anymore and even then it’s used as fuel to heat the facility. I love companies that live what they preach and I applaud SMC Furnishings for implementing sustainable practices into their furniture as well as workspace. Luckily a lot of their eco-friendly benches or stools look great at any lobby or retail store that will hopefully inspire more sustainable business practices in other companies as well.

imaginative eco-furniture for kids

Greenplay’s caterpillar activity bench extension peeked my interest at ICFF last week right away with its playful approach to green design. In fact it was hard to ignore the two eyes starring right at me. It’s part of the Group Loop series and designed by Joe Fiacchino for Skyline Design. The eco-friendly children table is a creative introduction to nature for budding treehuggers. It comes in different configurations to match the size of your family or green living space and is available with or without eyes. I love the bright green color of the tabletops. But I love even more that they are made of post-consumer recycled plastic (HDPE) such as detergent bottles that are chipped up and heat-pressed to form sheets of material. The base is constructed from urea formaldehyde-free MDF with FSC-certified birch veneer. It contains no or low VOC finishes. Another favorite of mine was the submarine activity station with its big round windows that are easy to climb through for adventurous eco-kids. It’s great for future explorers or aspiring marine scientists that might help to preserve our oceans one day. The tabletops are made from 100% post-consumer composite wood. All Greenplay items are shipped flat to reduce their carbon footprint and all packaging is 30-40% post consumer recycled.

naturally green furniture design

Until I saw SHIMNA’s furniture at ICFF earlier this week I didn’t realize that walnut could look this dynamic and stunning. It seems that being green has always been second nature to SHIMNA’s furniture design. All wood is treated with a lot of respect by not imposing the designer’s vision onto it without regards for its inherent beauty. The design story behind the SHIMNA Beam coffee table is a perfect example. While reorganizing a stack of beams that are also used as legs for the SHIMNA Beam sofa collection one of SHIMNA’s designers configured the beams to create a beautifully proportioned coffee table. I love when chance becomes part of the design process and looks this effortlessly chic. The beams are treated with nothing else than tung or mineral oils and show off the natural beauty of the wood. The table is probably every cleaning lady’s nightmare but every planet lover’s dream including my own. The use of walnut looks equally gorgeous in the hand-constructed headboard of the SHIMNA Liffey bed that’s new for spring 2009. It’s also available in oak, maple and cherry. All woods for the SHIMNA Beam coffee table and the SHIMNA Liffey bed collection are supplied from family owned and operated sustainable sources in Pennsylvania.