Design Public

I was so excited to see that New Canaan Connecticut is making great strides in preserving its inventory of modern homes (think The Ice Storm, The Harvard Five, modernhousenotes). The New York Times reports today that “Modern Homes Survey: New Canaan Connecticut” is now available online. Lose yourself in this site for hours, and hope that it will help with the McMansionizing of this iconic NYC bedroom community will cease.

I’ve mentioned them before, but my blogging friends Tom Anderson and Gina Frederico do a great job of keeping us up to date on the modern preservation movement in New Canaan at their blog, modernhousenotes. I’ve even seen their stories cribbed in major newspapers. Also, there will be an exhibition of New Canaan Architects and their work in the Town House all summer, put on by The New Canaan Historical Society.

photo above is The Smallen House by Hugh Smallen, one of my favorites, and was swiped from modernhomesurvey.org.

Did you overplant your veggie garden in an overzealous micro-local food movement frenzy this year? Do you want to plant a vegetable garden but wonder what you’ll do with 25 cucumbers all at once? These are not problems. Check out Plant a Row for the Hungry at gardenwriters.org to find out where you can donate your excess harvest.

In a continuing attempt to find green products that are right under my nose, I’m concentrating on art this week. Here are a few of my favorite sustainable products for adorning your walls:

Columbia Forest Products Alexander Girard PLYprint® - Love Heart:

In collaboration with the estate of Alexander Girard, and Pfeiffer Lab, Columbia Forest Products reissues select artwork, by Alexander Girard, first used as part of the 1970’s Herman Miller® Environment Enrichment Panel program. For the first time since 1972, these graphics are now available as wall art.

Amenity Willow Large Wall Print - Cream & Cocoa:

Made of 100% pure organic cotton certified independently by third-party agency SKAL and printed with eco-friendly, non-toxic, water-based dyes. Made in the United States of imported fabric. I love the large scale of this piece.

Graham and Brown Taylor & Wood Frames Wallpaper

Approx 50% of this wallpaper is sourced from recycled material or from FSC-certified (Forestry Stewardship Council) managed forests. What’s so fun about it is that you can fill in your own artwork, and kids won’t get in trouble for scribbling on this wallpaper!

olli & lime Art Poster - Billie

Made on 100% recycled paper. I love the fun graphics and colors here.

k studio Heart on a Sleeve Wall Art

At Shelly and Mary Klein’s growing studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they manage each product from start to finish. They start with fabric made from some of the most sustainable materials available such as hemp, organic cotton, and recycled wool. This one in particular is hemp, so if you are looking for a gift for Woody Harrelson, I highly recommend this piece!

A friend of ours up in Maine told us where he was working on a house so we went and checked it out. At the edge of the forest where the dark, moss-covered spruce trees meet the cliffs of the rugged coastline, Marty’s house is perched on a bunch of footings. The house was built, I believe, in the sixties, and the renovation was more for safety than anything else. Most of the original feel appears to remain - it seems like a modern Scandanavian kit house, and it has such a perfect relationship with its sublime site. These were the best pictures I could get from outside on the deck of a place that’s private property, check them out:

I love this use of beautiful reclaimed wood. This is from Flickr member laurasmera. Wait, that name sounds familiar, I’m having serious deja blog right now, I think laurasmera has made it to favorites before. I just hope it wasn’t this image!

Back to the photo, I would never be able to tuck sheets and blankets in that neatly, I love that blanket. Pointing the lights up onto the wood is a great idea…

As you can tell from my lame writing today, I desperately need my morning coffee. Back with more Flickr faves later!

Is it just me, or is this peacock turning up a lot lately? This one is in the July/August Elle Decor:

While the peacock is beautiful, I’d rather have a LIVE peacock strolling the grounds of my estate than a dead stuffed one up on a ladder in my living room. Taxidermy reminds me too much of Norman Bates.

photograph by William Waldron for Elle Decor

In a continued effort to find environmentally friendly design right under my nose, I present the Netto Collection Moderne Dresser. I’ve been rather obsessed with all things David Netto since that iconic Ione Skye issue of Domino. It has influenced my personal style so much, from the doughnut phone to the striped rug, the rattan to the beautiful wood floors. Now I just need a hanging chair…

What makes it green? It is made from sustainably harvested wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. All composite materials meet the stringent European “E1″ toxicity standards. Finishes are non-toxic and non-VOC emitting. The is safety certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association (JPMA).

Netto is one of my favorite designers. He has such a range. He handles California Neutra houses, Park Avenue apartments, Hamptons showhouses, teenager rooms, exhibitions, nurseries and restaurants with aplomb. To see more of his design work, check out the portfolio on his website. Here’s a teaser for what you’ll find there:

I love the way he considers every object in the room, especially the way he can work a neutral palette to highlight texture and art. This makes each item, like that chair and even the firewood basket, a piece of sculpture. Brilliant!

Thank you for removing the paper towel roll and random dishtowels when styling this shot. They tend to ruin even the best of kitchen design images!

Ione Skye home from Domino, via flickr member xJavierx.

Bottom photos from David Netto Design