Green Design
There’s a whole new way of sitting, storing, even sleeping and you won’t believe the look – or the price of Karton furniture.
In Europe, KARTON means Cardboard. In Australia, KARTON means forgetting everything you think you know about cardboard.
KARTON is what you get when you leave a stack of cardboard sheets alone in a room with some of Europe’s brightest engineers.
KARTON is affordable, durable and beautiful. It’s also 100% recyclable.
Move it, flatten it, store it or leave it exactly where it is.
Posted by Michelle Lesser at 7 November, 2011
Ahhaproject have created a combination sink and dishwasher for Electrolux that saves space and time.
The Eco Automatic sink is donut shaped with one half exposed/open for loading, once full the sink then pivots underneath the enclosed section for cleaning and an open sink takes its place.
Posted by Michelle Lesser at 22 August, 2011
While many of us may dream of a swank apartment nestled amongst the Manhattan high rises, that type of apartment isn’t necessarily within many of our budgets and neither is living in New York. However, finding a nice, urban loft or apartment in a city near you isn’t impossible and can definitely give you an equally exciting experience as owning a place in the hustle and bustle of New York. Normally, when we begin looking for apartments, we look for facilities, costs, and square footage. But anyone rarely considers the green factor of many of these buildings.
Urban areas are known for their great usage of energy, and to combat our exorbitant energy consumption, many are choosing to go green – including many apartment buildings. Going green doesn’t have to be difficult. It can simply be choosing a more sustainable apartment building the next time you move. Not only can renting a green apartment complement your already chic home furnishings, but it will also save you some cash. Things to ask the property managers of the places you are viewing to ensure their energy efficiency include:
When were the Heating and Cooling Systems Last Updated?
If a heating or cooling system is outdated, you can expect to not only be living in a building that wastes energy, but one that will also cost you more in utilities. Make sure that the heating and cooling system were updated no longer than 10 years ago; however, 5 years ago is better but not always a possibility is older buildings.
What’s on the Roof?
This may sound like a funny question, but it is a great one to ask even if you aren’t on the top floor. Traditionally, Commercial Roofing has always been very dark which absorbs heat and increases the building’s electric consumption by a ten fold. To make sure that your building won’t be wasting energy, see if the roof has been coated with a more reflective coating or has a garden on top to reduce heat and green house gas emissions.
Are these Energy Star Appliances?
Old appliances such as refrigerators and clothes dryers can use up large amounts of energy which will greatly increase your utility bill. Make sure that the apartment is only fitted with Energy Star appliances.
It may sound like you are giving your potential landlord the third degree, but there is no need to feel guilty trying to ensure that your future apartment building is doing all it can to help our environment. Going green is one of the newest trends, especially in housing, and being able to say that you own a great apartment that not only offers a great view, but is also good for the environment will be sure to make your friends a little envious.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 3 August, 2011
Starrynight was created by Dr. Lin Hui-Hsiung, Huang Shao-Wei, Yang Wen-Hsun & Chiang Chung-Kai and designed to collect and store energy during the day to power its nighttime nightlight function, while bearing a beautiful resemblance to the Van Gogh’s masterpiece. This amazing light fixture is a Red Dot award winner.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 25 April, 2011
What a great bathroom concept from Japanese industrial designer Jun Yasumoto. This bathroom Using a natural filtering principle called phyto-purification, the bathroom becomes a mini-eco-system by recycling and regenerating the wastewater. The water from the shower and the washbasin is filtered through an organic system before being re-used. Phyto-purification is a natural water-recycling process which is commonly used in ecological purification systems.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 22 April, 2011
Some may say that simple is modern and modern is beautiful, and in some ways these “get to the point” designs creating the most inspiring backdrops. New York City’s New Museum has a new café, Birdbath, which is one of those spaces that you feel as though you could sit and accomplish a really great creative brainstorming session in. The Brooklyn-based design collective Uhuru (ooh-HOO-roo) composed a 40 seat space with a raw yet clean aesthetic that adds a little warmth and strong presence in the otherwise open ground-floor lobby.
Posted by Dana Pruskowski at 7 March, 2011
Structured Green builds amazing modern sustainable furniture. Built locally from rapidly renewable, certified or reclaimed materials, finished with non-toxic, low-VOC finishes, they make furniture that lasts lifetimes -without harming anyone or anything in the process. Our favorite pieces are the newly added dining tables – Spider Table and Scatter Table.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 1 February, 2011
LOT 61 is a small furniture workshop that is dedicated to creating contemporary pieces with lasting appeal. Their use of select FSC-certified exotic hardwoods from Central America combined with simple detailing and natural finishes exemplifies their dedication to good design.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 28 January, 2011
London-based talented designer Kenyon Yeh is moving on to the next level, experiencing with new sustainable material which Kenyon using bamboo material as his new contemporary furniture collection.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 20 January, 2011
