It's ALL about green

{Christopher Guy showroom in Winnetka, IL}

Tasteful, classy, GREEN accents incorporated into an amazing showroom with THE most unique furnishings.

It's all about green, spring is in the air, and I want to share some of my favorite green and eco-friendly interiors and products~

        First, to spotlight some fabulously designed rooms which incorporate green into their interiors:

{Kelly Wearstler's Trelliage/Ivory Imperial Trellis fabric and wallpaper}

{Cole & Son Malachite wallpaper; room designed by Summer Thornton}

This room by Summer Thornton is amazing; I love it. And more...

{Photo courtesy of Clarke & Clarke's website}

The room above is subtle and understated, but nonetheless inspirational.

 More about green products, here are some of my favs:



 An exciting, BOLD, innovative, eco-friendly wall covering company, EDGE Wall coverings (wow, what more can you ask for??) offers these inspiring products and has the capability of custom scaling the designs to fit your wall size requirements. They can also print these kaleidoscope looking designs onto glass, aluminum and textiles among other materials. (On a green note: The wall coverings are also cadmium-free) You can view their entire line at www.EDGEwallcoverings.com


                  Take a look:

{Emerald Flowers, right, Leafy Way, left}

{ Fireclay Tile}

     Fireclay Tile is one of my favorite tile companies. This tile is from their Debris Series and is offered in over 112 lead-free glaze color options. It contains over 60% recycled materials.                                                                          

{Soft Spoken Aloe FLOR tile}

FLOR is a modular or tile carpet company that offers the versatility of creating your own size and patterned carpet tile options and they have beautiful tiles that can be intermixed. What I love about this company is their "Return and Recycle" program whereas their tiles never end up in our landfills. See more at www.FLOR.com

 Smith + Noble offer natural bamboo and matchstick shades that are renewable and sustainable and woven by artisans on hand-fed looms. They are a great compliment to almost any style room. They range from casual to more formal options. Their site is www.smithandnoble.com

See the full color spectrum at  www.sherwinwilliams.com

Sherwin Williams paint "200 zero VOC's" just came out last year and barely has a smell to it. The coverage is good, safer for us to breathe and for the environment! Shown here are some very springy colors ranging form the lightest color and very calming Camomile SW 6399 and graduating to the deepest tone Fervent Brass SW 6405. I love each and every one of these hues. (But then again, I'm partial to anything green)

~ Please check back next month for a special blog celebrating EARTH day.

            Until then, HAPPY ST. PAT'S DAY and anything else that you are         celebrating this month! 
                                           ~Stephanie

Stephanie's (mostly green) Design: Bohemian Design

Stephanie's (mostly green) Design: Bohemian Design

Bohemian Design

Bohemian   boho hippies  artsy  drifters  spiritual  nonconforming  vibrant colors pattern patchwork

{ photo courtesy of http://www.bohemiantwilight.blogspot.com/ }

  I've always loved the mix-matched, vibrant colors and patterns of Bohemian design. It's so non-conformist, carefree and exciting!!

{ Photo courtesy of Home Decoration }

{ Pillows from India, photo courtesy alibaba }

But what exactly is this style and where did it originate? It originated in France in the early 19th century when artists and creators began to concentrate in lower rent, lower class gyspy neighborhoods. It's actually the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, those who move from place to place, may not care about materialistic things, may be involved in music, arts or literary pursuits. They may be wanderers, adventurers, vagabonds. In the United States, it can be seen in the 1960's hippie counterculture. {I've always loved peace symbols and rainbows; I truly am a hippie at heart}

This beautiful rug is one that my clients picked up while on a recent trip to Turkey. Honestly, my photography does not do these rich, beautiful colors justice! Laying area rugs or a rug over carpeting invites a warm, cozy feel. I love layering an area rug over sisal.

Robert Kaufman's Bohemian Rhapsody line of fabrics shown below are eclectic, and filled with beautiful, rich, jewel toned colors. It definitely has this Boho vibe.

{ Robert Kaufman's Bohemian Rhapsody line of fabrics }

Moroccan furnishings, when jux-tapositioned with Bohemian style interiors are a great combination. These light fixtures' intricate designs throw shadows on the walls, creating pattern and interest, especially when it's dark outside or all other lights are out.

~  I hope that 2012 brings you all much happiness and inspiration!! Whatever you endeavor, try adding a little bit of fun and boldness to your life! 

         Looking forward,

                        ~ Stephanie

     

One Of A Kind Show At The Chicago Merchandise Mart

earth; without art, life is just "eh"... I'm not sure where I got this quote from, but I love it.

Last week, I had the priviledge of attending Chicago's One Of A Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart. Although pressed for time, I got to see some of the best crafters that I have ever seen. I'm spotlighting some of them here. I only wish that I could have spent a few days there to see all 600 exhibitor's creations. I'll link to each website for more info on each artist. Kudos to etsy, an unbelievable online marketplace showcasing artists from all over the world. On their site, you can read their blog, see thousands of artists work, sell your own stuff, buy from others, or just get inspired! As they say, there is something unique for everyone.

me at the etsy booth

I can't say enough about etsy, so please check them out at www.etsy.com They had a make-your-own paper ornament table that was so creative and fun.



Goods are made from recycled bottle glass



Bentbottle's owner, Bryan Northup, is based out of Oak Park, IL. His company fabricates beautiful home furnishings such as lighting and bowls made of colored recycled glass bottles. www.bentbottle.etsy.com



Michael Szabo's beautiful metal vases

Michael Szabo, based out of San francisco, is an incredibly creative sculptor. The medium he works with inludes stainless steel and bronze metals. His work ranges from these beautiful vases to large commissioned works, such as a large fountain design at the California Avenue Caltrain Station in Palo Alto, CA.

http://www.szaboworks.com/

waterfall metal sculpture by Michael Szabo

Kristen Kruchowski's tree stump furniture

Kristen Kruchowski creates tree stump furniture that she sands down giving the stumps a smooth finish and coats the tops with a metallic silver paint. I love the eco-glam combo! (She's also based in Chicago, another fact that I love; local) Her products can be seen and purchased at www.TheElizabethElement.etsy.com

Tom Sourlis is the creator of beautiful glass pieces that are one-of-a-kind with an organic vibe. He designs a plethora of products; from lamps to architectural tiles to jewelry bits. Very stunning pieces! To view more, go to www.sourlisglassstudio.com

Sourlis Glass Studio



 You just can't get any greener than this! Great gifts for the holidays or any other time, just because.          

May the holidays bring you close to your family and friends. Wishing you all peace and happiness. Until next time,  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!                                                                

                                                                                     ~ Stephanie

So Very Thankful for Family, Friends, Colleagues and Readers

I'm so thankful for so many reasons. Too many to list, in fact. I'm working on some exciting projects! So when my friends at Hooker Furniture asked if I would share this holiday blog by Wanda Horton as my guest blogger with my readers, I was more than happy to. I'll take a break from blogging myself and resume in December. Until then, a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving to you all.
                                    ~ Stephanie

To view the full blog, go to:   http://blog.hookerfurniture.com/2011/11/delicious-thanksgiving-dining

How To Cheer Up A Sad (or Boring Room) With Patterns

With the holidays coming up so soon, take a look around the rooms in your house. Are you bored with them or do they need some cheering up? Maybe it's time to add some excitement to the mix. You can achieve this by adding PATTERN to your walls, ceilings, fabrics, art, etc. to bring some life into your space! Patterns are everywhere and they're HOT... Here's some tips on finding them and how to incorporate them into your interior:


{ Graham & Brown's Diva/Beige } 



{ MDC Wallcovering's Kimora/Beige }

I Love these wallcovering by MDC, Graham & Brown and Schumacher 




Many wallcovering companies are offering exciting patterns that you can install on one accent wall or all of them if you are so inclined to do so.

{  Schumacher fabric and wallpaper, Imperial Trellis by Kelly Wearstler }

The Stark carpet can be bound and made into an area rug or installed wall to wall. A bound rug looks great if it's going over a nice wood or tile floor.


Patterns can be tone on tone or more neutral with a pattern; they don't have to be colorful, as the pattern makes a statement in itself and creates visual interest.

{ Stark patterned carpet, Hadera White/Bay Sand }

Shown below is a custom wallpaper that I designed to go along with the curves in the custom carpet installed on the client's stairs. The soft pastel pattern on the walls mirrored the more intense colored curves in the carpet. They're actually two separate photos; one to spotlight the wallcovering, the other to zoom in on the carpet. This is an example of a more permanent design statement {and a bold one at that! I design for my clients and work with their taste}









{ Custom wallpaper designed by Stephanie and hand painted by Designs By Michael  (Now Transitions Studio) Custom carpet designed by Stephanie and fabricated by Custom Carpet Artistry }

I'll have to showcase art in a future blog as it is so integral to a room and can be the "icing on the cake"; the artwork here is fabulous with the decor. And, of course, art is all about pattern. (In most cases)









{ Custom rug designed by Stephanie and fabricated by Custom Carpet Artistry }

{ An array of pillows; design and photo by Stephanie Nickolson }

{ An eclectic mix of pillows by Duralee }

I love mixing different fabrics in the way of pillows strewn across a chair or sofa. It's a creative way of making a statement and not following the norm of two matching pillows on either end of a sofa. It can tie a variety of colors into the room and highlight a piece of art or other focal point in the room.

Pattern  includes, but isn't limited to: stripes, damasks, florals, geometrics, flamestitch, herringbone, trellis, animal prints and much more. Be creative!

* FYGI { For your green information } : I can provide a list of wallpaper and paint companies who manufacturer eco-friendly products that do not outgas in the air, use vegetable dyes and no formaldehyde in their composition. I can also suggest no VOC adhesives for wallpapers and non-PVC (vinyl) alternatives for the walls.

Create An Oasis In Your Residential Bathroom Spa

outdoor bath

It wasn't that long ago that the meaning of the word "spa" conjured up an image of traveling a distance, to escape to a destination, a resort or spa or other place away from home to enjoy relaxation or spa-like treatments. Today, you can create your own respite or spa retreat in the convenience of your own home. It can be done in many varying degrees; from the fully-loaded spa, equipped with the latest technology to simply wrapping your body in the softest bamboo or 100% organic cotton towel or bath robe to be comforted. For the sake of this blog being technology-free, I'll save the tech part for another blog, another day. (For example, the mirror that turns into a TV when turned on...ok, no more) This blog is more about relaxing, connecting yourself to nature, using water and energy-saving products; eliminating technology and just clearing your mind from clutter and stresses of the day.


What exactly is the meaning of an "eco-friendly" bathroom spa? There are many factors that contribute to this meaning, but a few examples are: environmental codes are dictating that brass fixtures are now lead-free. Plumbing companies are manufacturing toilets that are as low as 1.2 gallons a flush, down from 5 gallons. Basically, it means using water and energy saving fixtures, incorporating green products that don't harm your health or the environment, while relaxing, enjoying silence and being connected with yourself and nature. I'll break it down here:

                                ~ Water and energy-saving: 
 WaterSense label: Established in 2006, this is an unbiased, 3rd party certification developed by the EPA for fixtures, toilets and shower heads that save water by 20%, thus saving money. Bathrooms, by far, use the most water in the house. So if you're interested in saving water and money, look for this label. Water is elemental and essential and has the power to soothe, heal and rejuvenate our bodies. Ancient cultures in Greece, China and Japan were among the first to develop hydrotherapy, which is the practice of submerging your body in water for medicinal purposes. The natural minerals in water help to detoxify the body, and in general,  help relieve pain and sore muscles. Some companies offer bathtubs with everything from massaging air jets to hydrotherapy and LED chromotherapy. Chromotherapy is a method of treatment that uses the visible spectrum of colors' electromagnetic waves to heal the body. The hues include blue for serenity and calming, white for clarifying and green for balancing. One of the leaders in eco-friendly bathroom fixtures is the company TOTO,  http://www.totousa.com/ which manufactures baths with air jets that provide massages with different settings from a gentle massage to a more vigorous one. It has an integrated silencer on the motor so that you can enjoy a quiet bath.

MTI Whirlpools' Elena tub

According to the company MTI Whirlpools, http://www.mtiwhirlpools.com/, "simple is good", offering a freestanding tub called "Elena" from their Boutique Collection. According to MTI, the water of the bath relieves some of the gravity's stress on your body, and the heat helps create deep relaxation, slows internal organs and increases circulation in the body.

Native Trails copper tub

Offering artisan-crafted, earth friendly, freestanding tubs made of recycled copper melted down from electrical wiring, pipes, etc is the company Native Trails. This company suggests that copper has anti-bacterial properties. (I didn't know that!) The copper products often show nicks and other imperfections since they are made by hand by these skilled workers.You can learn more at http://www.nativetrails.net/

More on water: Also certified by WaterSense, the company Jaclo http://www.jaclo.com/ offers the true spa experience with their Quadrato showerhead which has 350 jets that stream a rain shower from the 16" metal plate mounted from the ceiling. You have the option of going from one color to the changing color mode of all 12 LED lights; once again, incorporating the chromotherapy treatment into the total shower experience.

                                                   Chromotherapy rain shower offered by Jaclo

                                   ~ Bathroom Vanities:
Replacing the wall to wall counter tops with single or double sinks are the furniture style vanities. Some have elaborate carved legs while others are simpler styles; they range from rustic to glamorous and everything in between, but the bottom line is that freestanding bathroom vanities are in. Exciting combinations of wood, bamboo and metal bases support these glass and stone vessel sinks as well as solid tops. Again, Native Trails offers great products in this category. Their 36" wide Chardonnay Vanity is made in the U.S.A. of reclaimed white wine-stained oaking staves, used for flavoring wine during the fermenting process. The result is, it infuses tannins and aroma, giving it a grape-colored, natural stain.

 An example of a glamorous style spotlighting MTI's mirrored vanity

MTI's 36" transitional vanity with antique mirrored door panels




Native Trails Chardonnay Vanity



Xylem's bambu vanity is part of a collection with an eco-renewable bamboo veneer over solid poplar wood that can be wall-mounted or floor-standing. It comes equipped with two large drawers. Xylem uses a finishing process that reduces waste in manufacturing and eliminates harmful chemicals from the staining and coating process.

Xylem's bambu vanity


~ Faucets:
Delta Faucet offers Touch2O technology (this is the only time I'll mention technology here) You can touch it to make it go on or off, and after seconds of removing your hands, automatically shuts off. It senses your presence within 4" and helps conserve water. If your hands are messy, you simply tap it with the back
of your hand. Great for kids!


~ Materials:
Walls and floors: stone, glass, porcelain or slate are other natural materials that look beautiful and are durable and offer practicality for bathrooms which inevitably get a lot of water. Mosaics are very popular now and natural scenes using mosaic tile designs such as flowers, leaves and birds can be installed to help bring the outdoors in. Mixing glass and stone enhances a room with color and natural beauty. A great company for no-VOC paints, formaldehyde-free caulks and adhesives for your spa retreat is http://www.afmsafecoat.com/

~ Other suggestions:
Bamboo or 100% organic cotton towels and bath robes
Radiant heat flooring (easier to have installed prior to tile flooring installation or best during new construction or renovation)
Candles, candles and more candles
Towel warmer racks; freestanding or wall mountable.
Shower sprays
Steam Room and Sauna Room additions

~ Enjoy your peaceful, sensory spa experience!