Hawaii's first and only Living Building!!!!!!

Its so nice to see that the Islands are ahead of the rest of the wold in our sustainability!

Go Hawaii!!!!!

Check out this school on the big Island ............ lots of great ideas to try to incorporate into your own reno's!!!!

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/category/6743/videoclipId=5890537&topVideoCatNo=91610&autoStart=true

Shoes, Shoes and more shoes!

Women have a soft spot for shoes ............ thats a given, but what if you could get new shoes and help the world while doing it .......... well that's just a given too!!!!!

Tom's shoes has a movement that for every pair of shoes you buy, they will donate a pair to children in developing countries.

Follow the link below and start your shopping ...........

http://www.toms.com/our-movement

Feel good about your new shoes and feel good about yourself at the same time!!!

Branching out .......

Ok!!! So normally when you think about using wood as a lamp, you have a 70's flash back to heavy dark wood and a giant seagrass lamp shade on top ......... well not anymore.

Branches, driftwood and old trees are being used in many contemporary designs and are not only sustainable by using reclaimed wood, but are eclectic and a fabulous focal point for any room.

Look at some of the great designs that are available and most are an easy DYI project.

Use branches in many different ways to create interest in a room, in a vase in the corner wrapped in lights,hanging from the ceiling, twined together to create a globe light or even as a table lamp with a contemporary shade.

Try it out ....... branch lights are not just for old dated homes anymore!!!!!!!!

Contact me with your projects and help for your DYI lamp .........

Why have a lawn when there are so many other options!!!!

Did you know that the mowing of lawns creates more than 5% of our worlds greenhouse gases?

Not to mention the water consumption and how much pesticide and fertilizer leach into our waterways and oceans. ...... Ugg, it sickens me to even think about it!!!!!!

Today there are so many other options to create a beautiful outdoor space, why settle for such a passe thing like lawn!!!

Here's a couple of options to think about when designing or redoing your garden .........

#1 Meadows

Most people have lawns because well ...... isn't that what your supposed to have? and besides that, it's what people know, have a green space surrounded by garden. What if we incorporated the green space as part of the garden by creating meadows? These can utilized just like a lawn and are much more interesting, environmentally friendly, lower maintenance and beautiful!

John Greenlee from California has a book out on how to create different types of meadows called the 'American Meadow'....... and I have to say, his work is breath taking.

#2 Ground covers

There are many plants that can be used instead of grass that tolerate foot traffic,are scented, flower, are drought tolerant and can live in all types of situations. Check out this web site for what would work in your garden!

http://www.stepables.com/

#3 Interesting gravel, sand and stone

Gravel, sand and stone can be used in so many ways and can turn mediocre garden into a stunning one ..........

replacing grass with sand is great for children and pets and requires virtually no maintenance, while using different types of stone and gravel can create multiple styles of gardens from Japanese to contemporary.

Pamela Burton Landscape Architects created this award winning garden with drought tolerant plants, native plants and natural sand pathways.

http://www.pamelaburton.com

And Andrea Cochran uses pea gravel and native california grasses as ground cover.

http://www.acochran.com/

There are so many ways to beautify our homes, no matter what your design style may be so have fun with it .... think outside the box ...... and lets see what you can create, all the while preserving our precious earth!!!

Post your designs on this blog or on my facebook page and show others how its done.