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Cool Recyled Product from Smile Plastics
Smile Plastics makes panels similar to 3Form except theirs are made from recycled products like Wellington boots, CDs, and now discarded cell phones. The boots and CD panels just look like a wash of color. But the mobiles (as they’re called everywhere else in the world except here) really look like the phones. Much cooler in my humble opinion.
The Mobile panels are 6mm thick and can be used for just about everything. Furniture, wall panels, etc. You can see examples on their site. I think one of these would look great hung from the ceiling as instant art. Or how about a headboard? File this product under A Thousand And One Uses.
Dwell & AIA “How Green Are You” Contest
Dwell.com and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) would like to know, “How Green Are You?” This contest, which runs now through June 20th, is your chance to show how green you are, and win some great prizes for it.
The most inspired entries will be posted on the competition pages on Dwell.com and evaluated by Dwell’s editorial staff and AIA architects. The grand prize winner receives $1000, and two runners-up will receive $500 each from the AIA to apply toward their next big Green Project. Here are some of the latest entries, which you can view here.
To enter, simply pull together up to four images of your green or sustainable project, and write a 250-word description of the project that highlights the most important aspects of the project, including material names, vendors, etc.
Projects will be assessed on their sustainability, functionality, originality, cost effectiveness and design, and the submissions will be judged by Dwell.com editors and AIA architects. To enter, or to find out more information, visit Dwell’s “How Green Are You?” page here.
Seaweed Lamps by Julia Lohmann
I found these lamps over at Inhabitat. Kelp lamps from Kelp Constructs. Designer, Julia Lohmann has been experimenting with kelp, and exploring its potential as a sustainable material.
To read more about it and see more photos, scoot over to Inhabitat here.
Mythic Paint
There’s a new paint on the market that seems primed to turn the green world on its ear. Mythic contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). That means it has no off-gassing from toxins. It also means it’s an ultra-low odor paint.
Low VOC paints have been around for a while. The difference here is that Mythic isn’t just a low VOC, it’s no VOC. The other thing that impressed me is their extensive color palette. It’s not limited to pastels and contain a wide assortment of mid-tone hues.
The formula was developed in cooperation with the University of Southern Mississippi. It took them six years, but they finally came up with Mythic’s ultra-top-secret paint technology. (I guess that means that any student leaking the secret gets double-secret probation.)
You can order the paint on-line, or check their site for a dealer in your area. It’s a brand new paint, so be prepared to order directly from Mythic. Their pricing is competitive with other quality paints. A quart sells for $16.49 and a gallon for $46.99.
The one glaring omission is that they don’t seem to have a fan deck or a color sample system. I hope they’ll come up with one fast, because I wouldn’t recommend choosing a paint color from a computer screen. I’m waiting to hear from them on the subject and will add an update when I do.
Fantastic Deals on Reclaimed 3-Form
I’ve written about the eco-friendly resin building product, 3-Form, several times before. Obviously, I like this product. Mostly because it has a thousand and one uses. It’s used for furniture, doors, shower doors… The list is endless. Which is why I thought you’d like to know that 3-Form has a reclaim program.
The reclaims are listed for sale on their site. Pictured here are some of the reclaims currently for sale. What are reclaims? They’re materials removed from installation, and the good part of sheets damaged during production. It’s an opportunity to save some green on a green product.
Most reclaimed sheets seem to be either 2′x4′ or 4′x4′ - a good size for lots of small projects. Pay attention to the gauge (thickness) listed. All sales are final.
Don’t forget to send me a picture of your 3-Form project.
Chair of the Day: Giramundo Chair
I couldn’t pass up this chair. It’s Green! So, it has to be cool, right? Wouldn’t you be proud to vacuum this? On second thought, I guess you couldn’t. Maybe get one of those old shag rug rakes from the ’70’s.
Anyway, here’s the green part. Thomas Bina’s Giramundo swivel chair, designed for Environment Furniture, is covered in yarn scraps collected in Rio de Janeiro. The legs come in a variety of metals or Sustainable Forestry Initiative–certified hardwood.
You see, from my point of view, I don’t care if something is green. I don’t care if it’s green and was designed by Philippe Starck. It has to be attractive, useful and at least a tiny bit practical. This is just my humble opinion, but I think what’s been done here is that Bina has taken someone else’s trash and created more.
Ice Stone
Ice Stone is a recycled glass material with a conscience. The manufacturer diverts millions of pounds of recycled glass to create this countertop material. It’s totally green and beautiful, too. Each thick, cement matrix slab is porous, like stone, and is heat and scratch resistant. Best of all (to me at least) it comes in 27 colors.
Kitchen Remodeling on a Budget
Designers and fellow Bloggers, Irwin Weiner and Nicola Chernicoff offer up design advice on their blog, Design 2 Share. I thought you’d enjoy this five-minute video on kitchen remodeling on a dime.
3-Form: A Countertop Alternative
Okay, had enough cute stuff? Here’s a personal favorite of mine. 3-Form makes endless varieties of eco-friendly resin panels that can be molded, cut and shaped into just about anything. If you want your new kitchen to look contemporary and/or green, this is a choice to look into.
The counter, shown above, is from their 100 Percent line. It’s made entirely of recycled HDPE. It comes in four colors.
Two options below pictured below are from their Chroma Collection, and they come in about a zillion colors. Chroma is very versatile and can even be back-lit. Love it!
Translucent Chroma
An opaque style from the Chroma CollectionThe Perfect Kitchen Pendant Lamp
Isn’t this great? It’s even made of recycled kitchen utensils, so it’s green. Find it at UNIK.
Marmoleum Flooring
Here’s a product I love. Marmoleum is a natural product made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute and limestone. It comes in a lot of great styles and colors. Now, they have an easy-to-install product called Click. You can mix and match the colors to do your own thing. Shown here are a couple of ideas.
Cabinets: What You Should Know About Lyptus
I found this post on eco-friendly kitchen cabinet choices on K+BB Green’s blog and thought you’d enjoy it if you’re thinking of installing a new kitchen and are thinking green.
Lyptus cabinets made by Dura SupremeIf you’re looking for an alternative to bamboo, eucalyptus is a great choice. (You may have also heard of Lyptus, a hybrid of two species of eucalyptus available from forest products company Weyerhaeuser.) It offers excellent quality and is aesthetically pleasing.
Its environmental attributes make it a great choice for a sustainable hardwood product. Eucalyptus grows quickly and is harvested 14-16 years after planting. The trees are pruned while they grow, and the logs that go to mill are uniform with very few knots. Uniformity means less waste during the milling process. The majority of the eucalyptus tree goes to market while its byproducts often get used as bio-energy.
John Boos makes beautiful Lyptus butcher blocks, and the Heritage Cabinet Company has door styles and finish options that use the wood.
I just visited a year-old project, and its Lyptus butcher block had a deep, rich patina that was a striking complement to the other design elements in the room. We are using Lyptus wood more and more for butcher blocks and look forward to specifying some cabinetry with this sustainable material as well.