I’ve been watching Man Shops Globe screeners all week and all I can say is I wish I had this guy’s job. Or I at least wish I were his sister-in-law/travel partner. Or had his frequent flier miles. Keith Johnson travels the world buying furniture for Anthropologie stores. I now understand why their one-of-a-kind pieces are so expensive, though he didn’t really seem to be much of a negotiator. I imagine having cameras follow you puts a cramp in one’s negotiating style.

I was afraid this would screen like one long Anthropolgie commercial, which, let’s face it, it is, but it’s a damn good commercial. It’s totally entertaining, and I’ll take it over Pepsi or Ford product placement any day of the week. The most heartwarming part is are the great stories of how collaborators came together, and how an order from Johnson can change someone’s livelihood and life. I think my favorite episode is when he visits a design school exhibition in Holland and then heads over to Axel Vervoordt’s Complex.

I recommend watching this on a DVR, as some of the camera work is a little jumbled, and you’re going to want to hit pause when they are scanning around the flea markets and shops in order to check out the goods. The show premieres tonight on The Sundance Channel at 10 p.m. I was able to catch the first episode a little early on On Demand; this may vary depending on your cable service but if you can’t wait until tonight, give it a shot.

All images from sundancechannel.com

Modern Bamboo Becca Stool

Don’t forget to tune into The Lazy Environmentalist’s new show tonight on Sundance. For more info, click here. In speaking with Josh, I was able to find out about some new ways to be greener without breaking the bank or my back. Here’s a list of tips and links. A lot of these will be a big fat duh for most of you, but I realized I hadn’t thought about all of these things all at once in quite some time, and that new websites and ideas pop up everyday, so I thought I’d share. Please share any of your favorite resources in the comments section.

Brave Space Design Light Block

1) Save Water! Road Runner Showerheads. I told you about this last week. It’s the shower head that starts to drip once it warms up. To keep water from getting lost down the drain, put a bucket in your shower for that cold water you don’t want to use on your tender skin. You can use it for dishes, plants, flushing the toilet, whatever. We’ve been using this trick during the Atlanta drought for the past few years.

2) Solar Energy Can Be Yours! Unless you’re Ed Begley Jr., you probably can’t spend tens of thousands of dollars on solar panels to go completely off the grid. Solar City allows you to lease the panels long term, and to lock in an energy rate.

3) Use the Internet to Find Green Solutions! You can find carpooling buddies on Zimrides. You can get rid of stuff and find free stuff at freecycle.  You can swap games at Goozex & kid stuff at Zwaggle. You can get rid of electronics with free shipping and even receive cash back from Gazelle. In some towns, you can get paid to recycle. To find out more, check out RecycleBank and then hound your elected officials to participate. I’d like to add e-decorating to the list. Keep your cost down and your decorator’s gas usage down by checking out e-decorators. I highly recommend Turquoise in Los Angeles. Speaking of interior design…

e-decorating by Vanessa De Vargas of Turquoise

4) IF YOU DECORATE GREEN, EVERYONE WILL THINK THAT YOU ARE A BETTER PERSON! it turns out that 2/3 of people who own a Prius buy it for the “hey, the car I drive tells the world that I’m an awesome person” positive feeling. You can show off your awesomeness through your home too. You can find plenty of eco-friendly products at places from here at Design Public to Wal-Mart (click here to see all of the sustainable products we carry). Google makes it a cinch these days, just add “sustainable,” “eco-friendly,” or “green” to your product searches. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite sustainable products here at Design Public on a weekly basis just to show you what’s out there. In fact, I’ll pepper a few throughout this post just to show you how hot green design can be.

k studio Dog Pillow – Even Fido can be green. Hemp material isn’t just for Woody Harrelson’s suits anymore…

A few other green decorating moves you can make: When you are getting rid of stuff, donate it or use freecycle. When you are painting, if you are in Portland Oregon you can use Metropaint to get rid of your leftovers and to buy a range of recycled paint. Not in a place with Metropaint? Treehugger has a great list of low VOC paint brands here. Participate in FLOR’s return and recycle program for carpet. Check out Plyboo for beautiful bamboo flooring. Find resources in your area who offer non-toxic finishes, fabrics, and materials like stuffing for upholstery. By the way, these are much better for your health as well. Paul Urban of Baron in NYC is dedicated to finding green solutions to high end design questions.

As for the show, I saw the first three episodes and I loved them. Tonight features a skeptical dad who needs to cut down on trash at his barbeques, and a pet groomer who learns about everything from saving water to blueberry dog facials. My favorite part so far is the hip hop stylist in episode two. He’s a trip, and it’s fun to see him outfit a new artist in eco-friendly clothing and make fun of Josh’s style.

Speaking of The Sundance Channel, is there anyone who has not caught the bizarre Isabella Rossellini’s short film series? I can’t use the title here or else I’ll get spammed by every gross website in the adult industry for using the p–no word, but they are seriously the wierdest thing I’ve ever seen. Check them out here.

Graham and Brown Mode Enchant Wallpaper. For tree huggers in more ways than one…

What are some of your favorite sustainable products and websites? Please share with us!

all photos except e-decorating from designpublic.com. e-decorating copyright Vanessa De Vargas of Turquoise LA.

Don’t worry, this guy won’t get in your face.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a conference call with Josh Dorfman, a.k.a. The Lazy Environmentalist. His new show will premiere on The Sundance Channel on Tuesday. I was able to screen the first three episodes and they are really well done. I’ll explain later, as I have to run to a meeting for a bit, so in the spirit of being lazy, I’m going to give you the three laziest tips he gave me for going a bit greener at home. If you are suffering from green ennui, let me put it to you this way: THESE TIPS WILL SAVE YOU SOME CASH!

1) Install a low flow showerhead. His personal pick is the Road Runner, which goes to a drip after heating up so that you don’t waste water while you are waiting the heat. Here in Georgia where we are just coming out of a very long drought, this is an especially imperative move you should make at home.

2) Get an Energy Star rated digital thermostat for your HVAC system. The Energy Star rated models have pre-programmed settings, and often you can receive incentives for making this move.

3) Have a meatless Tuesday. Meat production and consumption has a major impact on the environment, from grazing land to waste effecting our water systems, from processing to excessive packaging. He’s not saying you have to go vegan, but taking just one day a week to avoid meat will lessen the impact you have on the environment.

Since Ali went there and admitted to watching The Real World yesterday, I figured I’d just go there and admit that I watch Whitney Port navigate The City on a weekly basis. The hilariously cold and snobbish “social” Olivia Palermo has a pretty sweet pad. I equate plopping a Hermes logo tray to wearing a T-shirt that says “J’adore Dior,” or me pinning my Ralph Lauren Polo tags to my bulletin board when I was eleven, but this room is pretty nice. I certainly would not let that cousin of hers put his dirty nasty self anywhere near the white John Robshaw pillows, but since those have been available on The Home Shopping Network she should probably pitch them anyway. What kind of trust fund princess with a fake job at DVF would be caught dead with goods that are readily available to the masses?

Also on The City, two random chicks no one cares about gossip about making out while perched in big Kelly Wearstler chairs at Bergdorf’s…

images are screen shots from mtv.com

In case you were completely seduced by the fabulolus wallpaper Andrea Schroeder used last night on Top Design, you can get it right here! It’s Graham and Brown’s “Drama Boheme.” We first saw this wallpaper on Swingtown, used to perfection, and it seems to be one of the hottest trends right now. I’d love to show you a picture of Andrea’s room, but bravotv.com doesn’t have last night’s rooms up yet. It’s so frustrating! Anyway, I thought Andrea did a great job of stretching her style under the duress of missing her family and having her self esteem torn down by the likes of Eddie and pure exhaustion. I’ll miss her on the show! Oh, and we’re chatting about the episode on decor8 today. So far the comments have made me fall off my chair laughing! Come join us right here and let us know what you thought!

Oh wait, I still have it on my DVR; I’ll try to take a picture of the TV screen…

We already knew that the set directors of AMC’s Mad Men are geniuses. On this week’s episode called “Jet Set,” we find Don Draper in California in an amazing modern house in Palm Springs. Does anyone know which house this is? It was decorated to perfection – a white background, warm wood accents, colorful glass bottles and lamps, red womb chairs, a Saarinen tulip table, red foo dogs, modern paintings, funky screen walls, striped glassware, perfectly styled bookshelves, wall sculptures and light fixtures, an amazing pool area and even a light blue telephone. Here I sit late on a Sunday night taking pictures of my television set because the AMC.com gallery does not have any good shots of the locations and sets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Good Afternoon! Ali and I are busy working on posts today, but while you wait, please join me in dishing Top Design over at decor8. The episode was about green design in some offices and had a ridiculous twist in the middle. It was also edited to make Eddie even more annoying and grating, if that’s even possible. The winner had covered the walls in cootie and mold invested used rug padding, which I don’t recommend! I think we’ll have to write an upcoming post about how to make your office greener ASAP. Stay tuned!

image from bravotv.com

I think Niecy Nash is hilarious. Thus, I find myself getting sucked into the show she hosts, Clean House, all the time. This week they featured a couple who wanted a green nursery for their baby. After some soul-searching, the mother-to-be finally gave in and sold the nursery furniture at the garage sale in exchange for green nursery furniture by Oeuf. In these days of green-washing, I wanted to let you know what makes Oeuf furniture green. I will use the Oeuf Classic Crib to show you the considerations a designer takes into account when manufacturing an eco-friendly piece of furniture:

First of all, the crib can be transformed into a toddler bed with an additional kit. It’s able to transform to meet lifestyle needs and changes, thus making it a product you can use longer and in different ways. Oeuf furniture is designed to be used after a nursery is no longer necessary:

Second, The birch used in the base is from certified sustainable forests.

Third, the sides, footboard and headboard are all cut from single sheets of wood panel which is eco-friendly MDF made of recovered wood fibers – to eliminate the hazard of loosening joints.

Fourth, the lacquer used on the finished products is, of course, lead-free, non-toxic, and completely inert.In addition to being eco-friendly, non-toxic lacquer is what you want to have if your youngster decides to try to chomp his/her way out of the crib bars!

To check out the entire Oeuf line, click here.

If you have completed an eco-friendly home project, please leave a comment and tell us about it!

top two photos from the style network

Thanks to Margot for my questions to Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt of Whatever Martha!. These email “interviews” are always a little awkward and lose the flow, but I think it’s still worth sharing. For example,I really wanted to ask them if they had been Beavis and Butthead fans, because a lot of the times their shows sound like “heh-heh, heh-heh, she said ‘balls…’” but I felt like that might come across as disrespectful, when really I had been a a huge B&B fan back in the day and meant it as sort of a compliment. But whatever, here’s the interview:

How did you two meet? When did you know that the kinds of conversations you have would be perfect for your Whatever radio show?

AS: We met in the hallway at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and soon started ordering lunch together. We knew the radio show would work when we couldn’t get people to stop listening to our conversations.

JKH: We met while I was working for my dad at MSLO and Alexis was filming The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. (As for the radio show) I still don’t know!

Alexis, at what point in your life did you find yourself able to laugh at some of your mother’s projects? She seems to be a good sport about it! Is she really laughing with you?

AS: I have always laughed (OK, sometimes cried) at some of my mother’s projects! She doesn’t mind!

How do each of you pronounce “herb” -  with a silent “h,” or do you  pronounce it like “Herb” Tarlick of “WKRP in Cincinnati?”

AS: I pronounce it with a silent “h”, although to my horror, I have found myself slipping and occasionally Jennifer has caught me saying herb with an audible H! Ugh!!

JKH: I pronounce it with a silent “h.”

Have you seen any photos of Peanut Butter lately? I wonder what he’s up to. I was also wondering if any of his face-painting victims sued, or still have nightmares.

AS: WWW.PEANUTBUTTERPEANUTBUTTER.COM

Ironically, I watched your show right after watching “The Rachel Zoe Project” and found myself wondering if Martha had a stylist during these early socks with loafers and shorts days. She wore more denim shirts than Said on “Oz.” Does she have a stylist today?

AS: No, of course she had no stylist – she definitely thought her outfits were beside the point. I don’t know what to say about the denim shirts, but lots of people copied her and they were in fashion at the time. Today, I think she has someone buy stuff for her TV show because she hates shopping for clothes.

Do you do any DIY projects at home now? What kinds of Martha-esque projects do you enjoy? Which ones will you never ever do?

AS: I don’t craft much, but occasionally I will try something, try to get it right and then give it up forever when I can’t! But I do clean my house myself and I cook a lot (check out our blogs at www.whateverradio.com).

Have you two picked out one Martha segment that stands out as the most hilarious one you’ve ever seen? Do you agree on which one that would be? Do tell!

AS: So many of them are funny and we did so many, that I really can’t remember which were the best.

JKH: Recently on her daytime show, Martha sampled hot dogs with Kevin Sharkey. It was FANTASTIC and really funny.

Thanks to Alexis and Jennifer for taking the time to answer my questions. You can catch Whatever Martha! on The Fine Living Network.

images from FLN.com

Thanks to Elements of Style for this post about how to live a Hollywood Regency dream by renting from Room Service.

Oh My God! THE LIZA ROOM TAKES THE CAKE! If you missed SF20, you can lament your loss by perusing these fabulous images Leah posted at More Ways to Waste Time.

Oh My God Part II: Oh Patricia Gray, thank you for this. At first I thought it was a Chelsea Lately sketch, but it really is Sarah Palin’s office

Home Rejuvenation’s posts blow my mind all the time. I’m giddy over the The Next Generation House by Sou Fujimoto Architects.

I’m just nuts about Mrs. Blandings. I don’t know how I missed this charming Kansas City-based blogger’s writing for so long.

I don’t know how it took me ten days to find fellow, the new online design magazine from decor fellow blogger James Saavedra. Thanks to Habitually Chic for the tipoff.

Check out the list of the most inspiring design books of all time from O At Home magazine. I’m such a dork; I circled the ones I already have, which added up to ten. I was really excited to see Luis Barragan, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown and J.B. Jackson included on the list, but was disappointed that landscape architecture was not represented more.

Bummer! The Farnsworth House, in spite of the plinth it sits on above the ground, is majorly flooded. To make a donation towards repairs, click here. (via AT: Chicago).

Design Bloggers in Print! The New York Times did a huge feature on design bloggers yesterday, and included some of my favorites, like Jennifer Dwyer from The Peak of Chic. Congratulations! Hey, you know what’s weird? Wordpress has the word “bloggers” underlined right now like it’s not a word. It has Wordpress underlined as well. What’s up with that?

• photo from Room Service via Elements of Style

• photo by Leah Hennen at More Ways to Waste Time

• photo from The Anchorage Daily News (Landov) via The New York Times, via Patricia Gray Interior Design

• photo by (I think) Sou Fujimoto Architects, via Home Rejuvenation

• image from Mrs. Blandings

• image from fellow by James Saavedra

• image from amazon.com

• image from landmarks.org