Най-еколкогичните подови покрития

Дървесина:
Паркетът, независимо от каква дървесина е направен, е едно от популярните покрития за под - той може да ви служи добре дълги години, приятен е на допир и е добра изолация. А когато се повреди, може лесно да се възстанови.


Плочки:

Студио TemZaDesign

направени от керамика, стъкло или камък, но с голям процент рециклирани материали.
Снимката вляво е мой проект на кухня, в която почти всички материали са екологични: плочките на пода, мозайката от стъклени плочки на стената, плотовете от синтетичен камък (направен е от естествени материали, споени с безвредни смоли), тапетите от естествени влакна, шкафовете, направени от качествен ламинат, който има сертификат за безвредност.

Линолеум:

прави се от ленено масло, пигменти и борови смоли; изобретен преди повече от 150 години, линолеумът остава един от най-'зелените' продукти за пода, защото се изработва от възстановими природни ресурси, няма вредни токсични излъчвания, не позволява развитие на бактерии и се поддържа много лесно.

Корк:

произвежда се от кората на коркови дървета, а много често и от други коркови продукти; еластичен, шумопоглъщащ материал, подходящ за повечето помещения, включително и за бани (където инсталираните плочки се покриват с полиуретан или силикон).

Студио TemZaDesign

В кухнята вляво, която направих за едно младо семейство, също всички материали са екологични - подът е от корк, залепен направо върху старото покритие от теракотни плочки. Така подът бързо и лесно бе обновен и освен това стана малко по-мек и уютен. Плотовете и гърба на стената между шкафовете са от гранит, а шкафовете - от качествен ламинат.

Get ready to grow your favorite herbs and spices in your kitchen effortlessly!

 With the Click & Grow Computerized Smartpot anyone can experience the beauty of growing fresh herbs and vegetables indoors with zero effort. It’s so simple. Just click the plant cartridge in the Smart Herb Garden, add water and watch it grow! 

Green plastics and a lamp that you can eat

 BITE ME Desk Lamp is an algae-based plastic, created by American designer Victor Vetterlein from vegetable glycerin and agar, a gelatin that comes from sea algae. If the lamp becomes damaged, simply wipe off any dust or fingerprint residue and submerge the Bite Me in purified water for an hour to soften up. “The consistency after soaking the lamp in water for an hour is like wet Gummy Bears,” says Vetterlein. source

The exterior shell of Patricia Urquiola’s Husk chair for B&B Italia is made from HIREK® - a plastic made from recycled industrial waste.

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 the Broom chair by Philippe Starck for American company Emeco is made from 75% waste polypropylene and 15% reclaimed wood fibre.

Now you can grow your vertical garden in your bathroom

- it is true and obviously not difficult to implement! These MOSStiles are like a new texture or finish for your walls. The stabilized lichen lives off the moisture in the air.

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The beauty of recycled glass

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Crush is the name of Fireclay’s new 100% recycled glass tile made of raw waste glass sourced from within 20 miles, crushed and processed locally.  Crush is made-to-order within two weeks from Fireclay Tile’s San Jose, CA factory. Customers can choose from 40 different colors, available in both gloss and matte finishes, and an array of 17 sizes with complementary borders. 

Eco-Kitchen

Kitchen is one of the spaces at home where we show our attitude to the requirements for sustainable and eco-friendly way of life. From the products we use, to the way we dispose of waste food and beverage and packages. But are our kitchens designed and produced with thought about nature? Not all of them. Here is one good example - Valcucine :

In our job each day technology, product functionality and innovative solutions,
advanced design and research are alive and as important as imagination and
care
over detail, passion for natural materials and handicraft
workmanship,
attention
to safety and respect for the environment.

The environmental-friendly kitchen - the Riciclantica door is the utmost expression of a design based on dematerialisation and is made of an extremely resistant structural aluminium frame together with a sophisticated decor panel that is only 2mm thick. The use of special materials such as carbon, aluminium, steel or layered laminate, the very accurate planning of construction details – for example, the inside of the new frame appears aesthetically pure because of the total absence of screws and hole caps – and the absolute resistance of all door versions to water, steam and heat, contribute to making the Riciclantica door unique in the furniture sector. Riciclantica is a kitchen designed to have a low impact on the environment and represents the most advanced technology to express the shape of lightness. Thanks to research into and application of special innovative technologies, this door respects the four basic principles of environmental-friendliness: minimum consumption of raw materials and energy, durability, recyclability and non-toxic finishes.

"With showrooms all over the United States, Valcucine prides itself on building the most functionally stylish, energy-conscious products around.
From cabinet doors made from recycled materials to bookshelves that boast an aluminum core, a Valcucine kitchen is a green builder’s dream project. The company’s sensitivity to all things eco is apparent from its elimination of formaldehyde and synthetic finishes to its earth-friendly production. "( ecofabulous: That's One Handsome Italian )

But what I like very much is their design - elegant and well-thought.

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Recommended for 'XXI Compasso d'Oro' prize.




















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Technorati Tags:trends, design, furniture, interior design, news, home furnishings

Wally, the living wall planter

allows anyone to easily create a lush garden indoor or outdoor—on walls, rails and fences. They're perfect for growing edibles, annuals, and perennials. Wally Three - Woolly Pocket

For creating an instantly lush vertical garden you can use one or several of Wally One - Woolly Pocket - made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles, Pockets are soft-sided, breathable, modular and fun to work with! Military-grade moisture barrier ensures that your walls stay dry.

Eliminating cooking odors naturally

Odours from last night’s dinner can continue to linger in the kitchen and throughout the house for hours on end. And if you, like me, are not the person who likes to use artificial air fresheners, probably have tried to find a natural way to get rid of them. We have already talked about the useof baking soda for eliminating bad smell from the trash bin, but cooking odors, especially from cooking fish, are some of the most stable and difficult to eliminate.

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There are several natural ways to try to solve this problem, like brewing some coffee, baking anything aromatic such as cake or leaving out a bowl of vinegar for several hours. People say also that scented candles, especially lemon scented candles work great. Or you can boil a pan of water with a few teaspoons of lemon juice, or a teaspoon of cinnamon.

An interesting way of creating a natural air freshener is to put some baking soda and water in a slow cooker and set it to LOW with the lid off in the room that needs freshening. You can add also several drops of essential oil or nice-smelling spices to the pot.

The same is the problem with garlic and onion – their strong smell is very stable. One way to eliminate it is to rub your cutting board with lemon and your hands, too. Lemon is a great natural deodorizer. I have tried that and know it works. Some people squeeze lemons into a spray bottle and add warm water and just spray this around the house.

I have heard that burning some sage as a deodorizer works pretty well. And I have read about an Odor Absorbing Splatter Screen, but have not tried it. 

For sure, a safe way to clean the air from unpleasant odors is just to use an air purifier with a good filter – in addition to catching other particles like dust and allergens it will absorb the smell, too.

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Green Designs From Salone Satellite 2013

Maija Puoskari of Finland -Terho and Tatti LED lamps, made from locally sourced Finnish alder and opal-white mouth blown glass.

Read more: The Best Green Designs From Salone Satellite at the 2013 Milan Furniture Fair A

Sugarcloud by Dingflux  is a made from 100% cotton, hand-crocheted, molded, and hardened using a water and sugar mixture. 

Danielle Trofe - Live Screen

Baking soda - the precious white powder

We have all heard of the wide use of baking soda not only for cooking, but also in our household for cleaning.  Sodium bicarbonate, i.e baking soda, appears to be so universal that almost every day someone somewhere invents its new application.  Yes, baking soda cleans, softens water, scours even deodorizes. You can remove odors from the flooring - just sprinkle your soiled carpets and mats with baking soda and let it work for about 15 minutes. Then clean the carpet with a vacuum cleaner. You can clean oily stains in the same way - dab the stain with a paper towel, sprinkle with baking soda, let it work for at least an hour to absorb the stain and then clear the debris with a vacuum cleaner.Did you know that it is possible to eliminate really bad smells with the help of baking soda? Like smelly shoes or stinky drains, for example. I have even witnessed its fast effect on stuffed drains – you just pore a little baking soda and then some vinegar in it. Thanks to its cool effervescent quality baking soda rapidly unplugs the drain.

But I am surprised to learn that we can use it for cleaning our face! Baking soda effectively removes blackheads and dead skin cells and unclogs pores. Its fine particles do this hard work. And its antiseptic action prevents inflammation and redness of the skin. What you need to do is to mix baking soda with water to make a thick paste. Apply it on your face in a circular motion for 2-3 minutes. Then rinse with warm water and finish with cold water. Finally, rub your face with a moisturizer.

Such use of baking soda is welcome for skin prone to acne. The action is rooted in the drying of the face, so it is important then to apply appropriate cream. 

However, there are a bunch of other wonderful applications that will allow you to create your personal cosmetic laboratory, including your own cheap Facial Exfoliator and also:

- no bags under the eyes! Again make a solution of baking soda and water, but this time let it be a little more diluted. Dip two cosmetic pads in the mixture and place them on your eyelids. Hold them for about 15-20 minutes. After about 2 hours you can repeat the procedure if you are not satisfied with the results;

- clean and tidy hair - for efficient washing hair add baking soda to your shampoo in a proportion of 1 to 4. Thus the "mane" will become softer, more elastic and simultaneously more susceptible to clearance. The effect comes from the fact that baking soda removes even the finest particles left from styling hair products.

And these are just small part of the possibile applcations of baking soda, but it is important to mention that it is inexpensive and environmentally friendly, even after it goes down the drain.

A lamp that grows food

Vicky Lamp is a Victorian style lamp, according to the description of its author - the Mexican born, Netherlands based designer José de la O,

Vicky Lamp is a limited production design piece." Interesting idea - even if not used for edible plants. It is a beautiful small accent in your interior :)

"which is using a special light that provides an increased radiation on the blue spectrum. Thanks to Vicky lamp you can enjoy planting small edibles or simply enjoy nature on places which lack natural light.

Can you Grow Your Medicine?

Yes, if you have the space and knowledge how to do it. And, if you, like me, believe in the power of natural medicines. I have been dreming of having my own garden where to grow everything I need and today I just came across a post dedicated to that. Crafty Little Gnome has posted a guide from one of their readers to 7 medicinal herbs you can grow at home or forage from the wild.  
Calendula is one of them and I remember my grandmother growing lots of it in her garden - in addition to glowing bright color it is also very good for your skin and for your veins, too.
Thyme, Peppermint, Elderflower, Chamomile and several others are included in the list.
togather with advices how to use them.