Salone del Mobile 2011: The Best Designs for Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. I’m beginning my Salone report today because eco-friendly designs were one of the major trends at this year’s show in Milan. Here are a few of my Earth Day favorites.

Emeco has created one of my top favorites – forgetting the eco-friendly element. Each of their new 111 Navy Chairs, is made from 111 plastic bottles, 65% recycled PET plastic and 35% glass fiber and pigment. This year, the chair has diverted 3.5 million bottles out of landfills. 111Navy is made in the United States, beginning in Tennessee and molded in North Carolina. Love it!

I’ve always loved the soft, buttery woods from 1920R. A few years ago, they had a small, lonely space. This year, their space was huge and business was booming. Their Briccole di Venezia collection was the star of their show. Made from Briccole, the posts standing in the lagoon from time immemorial. The old posts are replaced every year and 1920R is using those to create some beautiful tables and chairs.  Venice is my favorite. See the rest on their site.

My other fave is their Aukland table made from Kauri trees that have been buried, due to earth quakes, under the earth for centuries. The wood has been preserved, not fossilized. Super cool. You can see a number of their Kauri designs here.

Are you sick of the green cast from your fluorescent light bulbs? I am. Say hello to LED bulbs. Alessi really went for the design aspect of their bulbs. LEDO’s are pretty cool as well. LED bulbs save 80% over incandescent and halogen bulbs. They create less heat and they last for years.

The U2Mi2 was designed by Frederic Gooris. The Flame was designed by Giovanni Alessi Anghini and Gabriele Chiave. Alessi’s range of bulbs ran from the cute to the sublime. You won’t have to hide them under a shade. They’ve created fixtures to show them off as well. You can see them here.

I’m kicking myself for not taking better photos of these rugs. They are probably my most favorite new design item I saw. I’m sort of nuts about them. They’re made from old, beaten up oriental carpets. They bleach out part of them and add new, more vibrant colors with natural dyes. The effect is a rug that looks old and new at the same time. These are from Moroso, and it’s hard to see exactly how cool they are. I’ll write more about them (complete with how-to’s and better photos) later. Love these!