Cuddledown Organic Bedding: Seashell Sheets & Estrella Comforter Cover

Cuddledown known for it’s eco friendly, organic bedding and healthy, hypoallergenic linens easily pleases those seeking a healthy home and a healthy planet.

The 300 thread count Seashell Organic Bedding Collection is an organic cotton percale created from low-impact dyes and 100% certified organic combed cotton.

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Home Decor Buyer Resource:  Cuddledown

Eco Friendly Christmas – Resources and Inspiration Guide

Have you been dreaming of a Green Living Christmas? This year it will be easier than ever to lessen your holiday carbon footprint. We’ve searched the internet for the best eco-friendly Christmas decorating tips, advice and shops – so you don’t have to. Sit back, relax and click your way to a healthier Christmas for your home and the planet.

• Julie Deardoff, the editor of “Julie’s Health Blog” at the Chicago Tribune helps reduce the confusion of picking the perfect, and by perfect we mean “Greenest”, Christmas tree. She discusses the pros and cons related to three types of trees: plastic (aka the artificial tree), farmed and eco-farmed.
• BlogHers ACT Canada highlight a couple of eco-wrapping papers (including recycled fabrics) and alternatives to wrapping gifts – like using online gift cards or certificates, donate to charity, and several other great and greener gifting options.
• Who said going Green has to be expensive? Fellow Curbly contributer, DIY Maven, posts “Curbly Recession Busters: Free Alternative Christmas Trees“. That gets you a two-fer! (1) Recycle, Re-purpose and Reuse EQUALS Eco Christmas tree and (2) Holiday decorating on a budget.

Green Ornaments – Where to Find Them or Make Them

• World of Good.com (eBay) – Eco Positive ornaments in categories such as Energy Conservation, Eco-Friendly Production and Environmental Conservation.
• Uncommon Goods has a real conversation starter: Elephant Poo Paper Elephant Ornaments. Seriously. These ornaments are handmade from 100% recycled elephant dung. According to Uncommon Goods, the ornaments are “eco-friendly, attractive and most importantly, odorless”. We would hope so
• Planet Green‘s Kelly Rossiter shares her kitchen recipe for baking up some fun ornaments.
• ecoBites has anarray of awesome, creative and easy to make eco-ornaments. This is a terrific resource for the craft DIYers. Our favorite idea – dressing up old, empty thread spools in ribbon and glue together to create a festive tree shaped ornament. Another one of our favorites and one we’ve been using for years, is repurposing old, costume jewelry found at estate sales, flea markets and garage sales into sparkling, unique ornaments.

Last, but not least, our own post, ” Dreaming of a Green Christmas: 4 Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorating and Entertaining Ideas ” .  Content provided below for easy referencing.

Want to leave the planet a little better than you found it? Then you will love these four eco-friendly holiday decorating and entertaining ideas:

1. Gift Tags That Grow: Instead of buying regular or recycled gift tags do the Green Thing and go Green all the way by purchasing plantable holiday gift tags that are made from 100% recycled materials AND each tag contains seeds which can be planted and will bloom into pretty blossoms.

2. Christmas Tree Lights That Don’t Die: Bid adieu to those old fashion holiday lights that barely survive one Christmas season without burning out. Instead opt for Forever Lights (23 1/2′ string for under $20) which are made from LED bulbs and are very Green since “they last for about 200,000 hours, and use almost 80% less electricity than incandescent lights.” On top of being energy efficient “Forever Lights” will illuminate your tree up to 20 years even if one bulb burns out the rest will keep shining. Just think of the reduction in discarded Christmas Tree lights at landfills and the reduction in carbon emissions and other plastics related toxins that will no longer have to be created to produce another non-Green Christmas light string.

3. Save That Bulb: 3R Living takes recycling to a whole new level with their clever re-use of burned out old light bulbs, giving them a painted face lift and re-purposing them as delightful tree ornaments. Too cute and oh, so Green. Do expect to shell out a little of your own Green as these one-of-a-kind holiday beauties range from $18 to $32. By the way, for our DIY-er readers this is an easy to do week-end craft project if you rather make than buy.

4. Trash to Treasures – The Ultimate Recycle: Instead of buying new holiday dinnerware check out eBay, thrift stores, estate sales or yard sales. When you’re done with the dinnerware and decide you no longer want them you can recycle them by: selling them back, donating them to a food kitchen, church assistance program or break the plates up to make a unique and artsy mosaic project.

Eco Friendly Office Chair Mats Made from Bamboo

Stop feeling guilty about that awful plastic office chair mat. There is now an environmentally safe solution to the age old office problem posed by desk chair wheels and unyielding surfaces such as carpet.  Anji Mountain Bamboo Rug Co. has created eco-friendly Roll-Up Bamboo Office Chair Mats – made from (as the aptly named product title) – bamboo.

Dark Cherry Wide	Natural Wide	Dark Cherry Narrow

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Home Decor Buyer Resource:Anji Mountain Bamboo Rug Co.

How many layers should a latex mattress have?

“Ask The Decorating Diva”

Dear The Decorating Diva,

I’m looking to buy a latex foam mattress and after reviewing all the available mattress choices I’m having a hard time figuring out if there is any benefit to buying a latex mattress that has one, two, three, or more layers. Is it worth the money? These mattresses are kind of steep price wise and I don’t want to spend money on a feature that isn’t necessary.

B. Steele in Austin, TX

B.,

Most eco-friendly bedding, including mattresses do tend to carry a much higher price tag than it’s less environmentally friendly siblings, so I can understand your desire to obtain some savings by carefully weighing your mattress buying options.

Typically latex foam mattresses are constructed from either two, three or four layers, with the softest layers on top of more firm layers beneath. In the two layer latex mattress you can expect to find a thin layer of foam laid atop a much thicker layer of latex foam. The three layer latex mattress follows the same layer recipe as the two layer – and then adds an even thicker layer at the bottom which will provide a nice and firm sleeping surface.

The best method to determine which layered latex mattress best suits your sleeping needs is to try them out.  A mattress is a major expenditure and many mattress and bedding companies allow “sleep trial” periods.

Best,
Carmen Natschke
Editor, The Decorating Diva LLC

5 Eco Friendly Chairs: Green Design Takes A Fashionable Seat

When I set out to write about eco friendly chairs, I first thought about spotlighting pieces that were new and crafted from sustainable materials like cork and bamboo. There were plenty to choose from, some were beautiful while others, well, as they say only their creator could find them attractive but none seemed to tug at my heart strings. Then I remembered how excited I was when I spoke to Huda Bari of Bokja Designs.  Bokja Designs crafts beautiful, environmentally friendly contemporary furniture from vintage textiles-creating the new from that with a history.

I’ve also been an outspoken proponent of using what you have interior styling since my early decorating days  so it was only natural for me to embrace flea market, garage sale  and estate auction finds. I would relish in the knowledge, that an ugly, beat up chair with multiple holes and the stuffing poking out  like a discarded stuffed animal could be transformed over a  few weekends into a stately beauty with a few coats of paint, fresh stuffing/cushion foam and new upholstery.Back in those days,  I was a cash strapped teenager with  time and creativity as my only resources, and unbeknown to me,  I was designing and creating eco-chic decor – thanks to my economic status.And decoration  inspiration In these economically trying times with so many bantering about phrases like  “ credit crunch chic” and “recessionista style”  seems to be just what we all need.

With that in mind, I think you will be clearly inspired with these beautiful and stylish chairs that have a history, are eco-friendly and from a design perspective – have the inherent ability to inspire.

1. Bokja chair I spotted at Design Miami/. It captured my design soul.  This contemporary styled eco-friendly chair is more than a pretty face  – it has a spirit deeply rooted in tradition. You see, all Bokja designed furniture is crafted from opulent, embroidered vintage textiles rich with the color, patterns and history of Central Asian culture.The creative design team of Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri of Bokja Designs love their craft and each one-of-a-kind  eco-friendly piece (crafted by local artisans) shows their deep love for historically inspired contemporary design – perhaps that’s why the designing duo behind Bokja designs have a loyal following among design aficionados and Hollywood stars including Salma Hayek,  Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock.

2.  Jeffry by Chair Couture – One-of-a-Kind 1940s vintage armchair painted in an ivory lacquer and eco-dressed in a refreshing aqua material.

3.   Floribunda Chair by BluGirl Art (photo credit: Dan Minicucci). The Floribunda is a wicker armchair that has been given a second life with a bold, red lacquer finish and dressed up in an eco-savvy  floral printed cotton twill  fabric splashed with a a color palette that embodies the natural beauty of Florida – from her turquoise waters to her citrus groves and her unforgettable pink tinted sunsets.The chair also comes with an environmentally friendly stain protection courtesy of VECTRA, the eco-safe alternative to Scotchguard. 4.  Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen available through Bond & Bowery.  This iconic Mid Century Modern chair and the number five pick below illustrate why buying vintage furniture and antiques with a defined sense of history and timeless beauty  is the pinnacle of  stylish eco decorating. 5. Barrel Chair from 1stdibs.  This 1950s era beauty fits nicely into the Hollywood Regency style – currently a hot trend now.

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Green Christmas Gift Guide 2009

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Meyda Venice Collection of Cut Wine Bottle Pendants – Eco Chic Lights

Meyda’s Cut Wine Bottle Pendants breath new life into old wine bottles. The Wine Bottle Pendant lights are created by cutting off the bottle necks and refitting the remaining portion of the wine bottle to function as a light.

The cylindrical shape gives these unique, and eco-friendly lights a modern feel. We like the blue (on far right) and the clear pendant lights (on far left) and think they would be well suited for over a counter, bar or a dining room table (several of the pendant lights).

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Home Decor Buyer Resource: Meyda

Malaika Orange Naniwa Bedding Collection

Malaika Naniwa Bedding Collection provides the true Green Enthusiast an organic experience coupled with societal responsibility. The Malaika linens are created from cotton that is grown, spun, woven, sewn and embroidered in Egypt by underprivileged women who are taught how to embroider. The founder’s of Malaika believe that “that social responsibility and the manufacturing of luxury goods must go hand in hand. We care for our product as well as for the individual that participates in its creation.”

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Home Decor Buyer Resource: Malaika

Vera Wang Mattress: Something Blue

Vera Wang brings her signature high design style to Serta with the introduction of the “Something Blue Plush  Mattress Set”. What makes this Vera Wang bedding option worthwhile (in our opinion) is that it is eco-friendly and luxurious. The Vera Wang Something Blue mattress is created from environmentally safe natural latex foam combined with technologically advanced Visco memory foam for a perfect night’s sleep.

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Home Decor Buyer Resource: Vera Wang

Latex and Soy Cloud Mattress – Eco Friendly Bedding

Cloud Mattress from Natura World made of an eco-balanced combination of natural latex and natural soy foam encased in an eco-friendly and hypoallergenic wool lining covered in a soft cotton blend.

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Home Decor Buyer Resource: Natura World