Tag: sustainable

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Bedrooms

3 top tips for a non-toxic, eco-friendly bedroom

By Sonya Pala

Given that we spend a third of our lives in bed, sleeping in a non-toxic environment can have wonderful health benefits. But let’s face it, eco, sustainable, fair trade and organic aren’t always synonymous with stylish.

Here are some tips to get a unique, stylish and affordable eco luxury look for your bedroom:

1. Invest wisely Start off with a budget. This will help in the decision-making process! Invest in a primary piece that will last you for years and then update the room over time using accessories, smaller furniture items and fabric. During our renovation, I invested most of our budget into an amazing eco-bed and re-covering an old occasional chair with eco-velvet fabric. Many of the smaller accessories and mother of pearl inlay chest of drawers were bought over the years.

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2. Non-toxic bedding Given the rise of allergies over the last few decades, it’s really important to look at the toxicity in everyday items in our home. Conventional foam in mattresses, pillows and furniture, contains a plethora of chemicals which emit VOC gases for the life of the product. Many of these are known carcinogens and combined with conventional cotton bedding (cotton being the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crop in the world), can create a hazardous sleeping environment.

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Interiors Addict

Jardan finally open its doors to the public in Sydney & Melbourne

Jardan, one of Australia’s most coveted furniture brands, is finally opening its doors to the public in Sydney and Melbourne. For the first time the showrooms, in Rosebery NSW and Mount Waverley VIC, will open their doors to the public, a privilege previously reserved for architects and interior designers.

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For more than 3 decades, the family owned and run business has built a strong reputation as one of the country’s finest furniture designers and producers. Brothers Nick and Mike have grown the business from its humble beginnings, with just 8 staff in 1997 and more than 100 today.

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Interiors Addict

Order custom textiles online from Ink & Spindle

Melbourne’s Ink & Spindle have launched a new website which allows retail and trade customers to fully tailor their own high quality, sustainable, hand screenprinted textiles to suit their own special project. All of this online from the comfort of their home or office!

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Via an extremely simple, easy-to-use visual interface, customers can select from a range of sustainable basecloths and ink colours and apply them to their favourite design. Co-owner Lara Cameron says the biggest challenge for clients making custom orders previously, was being able to visualise the final product. 

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Interiors Addict

100 year old ship timber reborn as eco-friendly, mosaic tiles

Bella Lujo has announced the release of Renaza, a range of mosaic timber tiles crafted from 100 year-old hardwood, sustainably sourced from decommissioned boats. I can’t tell you how much I love this concept!

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The Renaza (Spanish for ‘reborn’) timber tile range offers an affordable and ecologically sound way to bring the warmth and spirit of timber to any interior. Seasoned by the elements after a lifetime at sea, the timber used in each tile is up to a century old, possessing an incredible resilience and rich character. This, combined with the finite quantity of reclaimed hardwood available, adds to the range’s exclusivity.

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Interviews

Michael Hayes: passionate about furniture, design and the environment

In a time when many people buy cheap, plastic, imported furniture, I think it’s really important to highlight the dying crafts of local furniture makers like Michael Hayes.

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You know my blog is not about being snobby or saying you can or can’t buy whatever you like at whatever price, and I realise many readers can’t afford to invest in a handmade timber dining table, for example. But one day, when you can, I’d love you to think about saving up for something that will last you generations.

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Interiors Addict

A polished result which starts off as twigs

It’s hard to believe these handmade, fair trade pieces from Nicoya Furniture start life as twigs, isn’t it?

samara boca nocoya furniture

That’s right, they’re made from rattan and palm tree twigs, hand inlaid into resin, for a very unique end result. These pieces are the latest additions to the range.

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Interiors Addict

Two Girls and a Container, bringing new homewares to Australia

When Nikki Freeman and Sam Bailey left on a whirlwind mini-break to Indonesia they didn’t realise they would come home with a new and exciting plan. What started out as a “frantic” four-day trip to Bali to source homewares and unique products for their own home renovations, ended as a business trip, and the idea for Two Girls and a Container was born.

two girls and a container

Friends for 12 years, Nikki and Sam combined their interior design, art and home renovation experience and launched their online store early this year, with a focus on unique, interesting and eco-friendly products. Although the fateful trip was their first together, Nikki and Sam have been travelling to Indonesia for years to source products for their own homes.

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Nikki says she had often thought about how she could bring unique materials and homewares back home for other Australians. “I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking of how to turn it into a business.”

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Interiors Addict

WIN Kirstie’s Vintage Home DVD and book set

I’m a huge fan of Kirstie and Phil’s Location, Location (I grew up on the stuff in the UK, where it was HUGE), so I was keen to check out Kirstie Allsopp’s latest show, Kirstie’s Vintage Home.

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Following on from the success of Kirstie’s Handmade Showdown, the queen of craft (and real estate) takes on hopeless homemakers and turns them into handmade heroes. She shows them how, with a little bit of vintage inspiration, their own fair hands and that little bit of extra homemade magic, they can transform their houses from shabby to chic. In today’s disposable culture of cheap furniture and trying to keep up with the latest trends, it’s a really nice message. And I think the idea of mixing vintage finds with newer pieces in your home, as well as getting back to basics with old-fashioned crafts, is alive and kicking in Australia.

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Interiors Addict

Tait Outdoor turns 21 and offers 21% off everything for 21 days!

Australian owned and 100% Australian made, Tait is one of Australia’s longest standing designer-manufacturers of indoor/outdoor furniture. To celebrate 21 years in business, Tait is offering 21% off all products, including orders, for 21 days, starting on Tuesday (21 May).

Jak & Jil by Tait

With a total of 20 different ranges – all designed, prototyped and manufactured in-house – Tait’s versatile furniture options can be found right across the country, in home, hospitality and commercial settings. In my opinion, they’re some of the coolest outdoor pieces around.

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Interiors Addict

Vases and glasses from recycled beer bottles

Tumblers made from beer and wine bottles

With a background in graphic design and a passionate eco sensibility, Pete Dobson has launched his own label of recycled glassware. He collects wine and beer bottles from bars and restaurants in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and hand cuts and polishes them to produce glasses, tumblers, carafes, and vases.

Tumblers made from beer and wine bottles
Tumblers made from beer and wine bottles

The eco-friendly aspect of his business is important to Pete, who can be found on a weekend scouring local bars, restaurants and cafes in Coogee for bottles. “I think there are more than adequate amounts of new products on the market,” he explains. “I love the idea of owning something with a story – reusing something that has already had one lifetime.”

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Furniture

Saving timber from old cattle yards and wharves and giving it a new life as furniture

Just like its name, Rabbit Trap Timber is unique. It’s a family run furniture business that produces handcrafted pieces from individually chosen, recycled materials; no table, stool or bench is quite the same.

Rabbit Trap Timber trestle

Initially inspired by “a few pieces of timber full of rusty nails” – and a heap of character – Rabbit Trap Timber is now a full-time job for Justine Taylor and her husband Rabs in the NSW Southern Highlands. “I love it,” Justine says.

Rabbit Trap Timber share platter

Central to their business is a commitment to the environment. The pair source material from old cattle yards, wharves and demolished warehouses, turning it into furniture that will “last another lifetime.” Offcuts become share platters, chopping boards and pilgrim stools, and the sawdust even goes to local farmers.

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Interiors Addict

Sarah’s found her happy making sustainable homewares

With sustainable design practices gaining momentum, basket weaver Sarah Powell is bang on trend with her new venture, Find Your Happy. “The majority of my designs start with rescued or found materials,” she says. “I love giving materials a second life. I can often be found scouring op shops, recycled centres and even my husband’s shed for ‘potentials’.”

Find Your Happy Baskets
While many basket makers work with natural materials, Sarah laughs that her preference for manmade materials stems primarily from laziness, as natural materials require preparation to work with, whereas manmade materials such a rope, wire, nylon, and paper are all readily available.

“By working with recycled, manmade materials, it allows me to also address sustainability and the fact that we continue to over produce things. I like to think by rescuing materials for my baskets I’m doing my very small bit in helping reduce landfill.” Having studied textiles design at the University of Wollongong, Sarah was drawn into the world of photography, and initially chose to pursue this medium as a career. She spent most of her twenties travelling the world, documenting what she saw with her camera. 

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Interiors Addict

The book shelf in the shape of a book!

How cool is the award-wining design of The Book Shelf? Yes, it’s a moveable bookshelf in the shape of a giant classic book. It’s also sustainable, made in Australia and on castors, which makes it easy to move, even when full of heavy books.

The Book Shelf

Winner of a Sydney Design Award last year, it has a dark brown recycled mahogany cover, chiseled sides to represent the pages and two page-like sides painted in milk paint to give it the authentic touch. The two ’pages’ are connected with a flexible hinge so that the angle of the open book is adjustable to fit into any corner.

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Interiors Addict

Gorgeous Boucherouite rag rugs from Morocco

I’m really excited about these new Boucherouite rugs from Morocco, available in Australia with free shipping from Fossik. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some really unique rugs at this price point.

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Boucherouite, (pronounced boo-shay-reet), is a rug style specific to rural tribes of Morocco. Hand-loomed by Berber women from recycled remnants including cotton, synthetic fibres, Nylon, Lurex and occasionally wool and plastic, they’re colourful, one-of-a-kind creations.

Unlike most European techniques, the boucherouite, also known as the rag rug, is not based on a predetermined pattern or design. Rather, it is created at the whim of its weaver. It would be equally at home on a wall as it is underfoot.

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Interiors Addict

Emerging trends in decor from Echo Chic

Will 2013 bring terrible trends in décor, will it break new ground or will it just be more of the same? Here’s what Eco Chic founders Cris Bucknall and Paula Breckman are predicting will be big this year.

Manly swagger – we have seen a lot of fondant shades, delicate touches and feminine finishes over the last three years, so it’s not surprising the pendulum is swinging in favour of the men in our lives, who probably prefer leather to lace. Expect pinstripes on walls and on fabric, dark leather making a return, and a gentlemen’s club flavour emerging for lounge rooms and libraries. Check out our Darcy range of sofas and armchairs.

Golden sunshine – yellow and gold will be prominent tones, used especially for accents and accessories, sometimes even for large items such as sofas. Gilding on wallpaper and for details on pictures and mirrors will be especially popular. Eco Chic’s sunshine inspired outdoor rugs are the perfect accent homewares in golden shades.

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Feathered friends – animals, birds and feathers will still feature prominently. It’s amazing how long this bird trend has lasted! This year it’s hello to gaudy parrots and peacocks and goodbye to owls and ostriches. Feather details are tipped for the top and elephants forecast to be big!

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Interiors Addict

WorldWeave combine the best of old and new in sustainable rug making

Using a combination of modern technologies and artisan hand skills, WorldWeave take their inspiration from ancient sensibilities and techniques. They exaggerate, collage and reinvent new ways of working, with rugs designed in Melbourne and made in India.

When designer Piero Gesualdi and textile designer Sara Thorn combined their talents and wealth of experience, they ignited a common passion for authentic design and craftsmanship. Piero’s architectural approaches to space and form are complemented by Sara’s decorative approach to pattern, colour and textile techniques.

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Interiors Addict

shelf / life, ethical design for everyday living

Yesterday I visited a lovely homewares shop called shelf / life in Sydney’s Surry Hills. It’s not in a location where you’d stumble across it so I wanted to tell you all so you can make a special trip!

Owner Jess Ibbett is a former interior designer with a passion for sustainable design. “As a homewares fanatic with a healthy appetite for design blogs, I became aware that my favourite designers all crafted their wares with deliberate environmental consideration and/or employed sustainable production methods,” she says. “Thus, born from a desire to showcase a collection of my favourite designers’ offerings, and the exciting prospect of establishing a retail environment that introduced Sydneysiders to products handpicked according to our own ethical considerations, my husband and I opened shelf / life at the end of 2009.”

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Interiors Addict

Philippe Starck & Emeco’s ‘green’ chair

Philippe Starck and Emeco have joined forces to create a product that both avoids and eliminates waste, combining intelligent materiality with beautiful form.

“Mies van der Rohe said ‘less is more,’ but with the Broom chair we can say ‘less and more’, because we chose to make less… less style, less design, less material, less energy. And finally… we have more,” says Starck.

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