Given my obsession with things that are green (not just the color), I couldn’t help but be fascinated with the idea of something I found called “Bio Urn”. Personally, it terrifies me, thinking about growing size of not just the population, but also of cemeteries, and the acceleration of technology for preserving bodies. What are we going to do with all of the bodies we will inevitably have to deal with in the coming decades? And how do we maintain things like cemetaries? Are we constantly going to run over them with lawn mowers, to preserve them? Does this mean one day we’ll be clear cutting forests for cemeteries?

Luckily, it is not a reality in the case of Bio Urns. In fact, this product is quite the opposite. These attractive cannisters are made of biodegradable plant materials, and are designed for a loved one’s ashes, along with a seed, to be planted… transforming ashes (and presumably tears and heart ache) into gorgeous, vibrant and energetic forests; circle of life much?

I for one, have never really preferred the thought of either being buried or cremated. Both seem crude, and I don’t enjoy the thought of loved ones carrying my ashes around in tins, to display on a shelf somewhere. But the thought of providing the nourishment for plant matter satisfies me beyond all other options, and makes me feel far more comfortable about being cremated (though this is a whole other issue in terms of emissions). Not to mention, it makes me feel good to think I’ll be giving back to humanity – in the form of oxygen and all the rest, after I pass.

I also think I prefer the mental image of protected forests, over manicured cemeteries, in my childrens’ future. I can bet people would be more willing to fight for a forest if their loved ones had been planted in it. Maybe future generations would be more grateful and appreciative of such life; or life in general.

Check out Bio Urns

I saw one of these chairs when I was at the Vancouver Yoga Conference and Show in November, and was instantly amazed. The longer I sit in uncomfortable chairs, the more I so. badly. want one. Check this out and tell me this doesn’t look glorious:

Completely adjustable and customizable. And look – it’s made for people like me, who like to tuck legs in under ourselves while we’re sitting! Yes, I’m an interior design student and I am subjected to chairs worth thousands of dollars, and yes they are beyond comfortable compared to the hard wooden dining chair I’m sitting in today. But the fact is, they’re designed for “the optimal sitter”. The person who sits face forward, hands on a desk, and their legs are out in front of them, both feet on the floor, knees together. Well that’s great. For people who sit that way. My beautiful Herman Miller chair at work, while undoubtedly more comfortable by comparison, still is not optimal for the positions I crave when I’m stuck in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day.

Needless to say, I desperately want one of these! I’m going to have to save my pennies. It might not happen until I can bite a good chunk out of my student loans after graduation. Really though, compared to the high-end chairs I’m familiar with in designing commercial office spaces, $1,800 isn’t that bad. Maybe I could opt for their four-payment payment plan of $450 and make it happen sooner? Not likely, but I can dream… about doing the two things I love most simultaneously: design AND yoga!

Check out Sukhasana Chairs and “Sit Consciously”.

Above is the “Japanese Ufuro” tub by designer Matteo Thun of the Italian based company Rapsel It is made entirely of larch wood. I am continuously awed by how versatile and beautiful wood is, and I find this tub to be no exception.

I found the following on ArchiExpo, and it’s made of Canadian Cedar (I bet it smells divine when you start filling it with warm water). It’s completely natural, contains no colorants or varnishes and is sealed with vegetable oil.

And then there’s my favorite; the “fallen tree” bathtubs used in the Mio Buenos Aires luxury hotel. I just can’t help myself from falling head over heels for reclaimed wood. Each one of the tubs is carved out by artist Mario Dasso. They look like petrified wood, and these ones by far, look the most comfortable to cuddle into:

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Art piece? Functional product? Room feature? Practical use of natural materials? Gorgeous? All of the above!! Not to mention the hotel itself is unbelievable. They have live walls. If they didn’t steal my heart with reclaimed wood, they definitely stole it with live/plant walls. (Okay, and those stairs… what are those, like… brushed, solid stainless steel stairs?! Oh my goodness.)

For those of you further interested, I found a video on YouTube about how these tubs are created. They are literally HAND crafted. I can’t imagine how expensive they are. The video is here

As for the interior design of the hotel, it was done by Beasley & Henley Interior Design

I have to share this with you. I saw it on Treehugger a few days ago and was amazed. So this is kind of a re-share.

An exhibition of sorts, this stunning installation was designed to capture the concept of rainfall in a desert. I think it’s utterly brilliant, and I desperately wish I could visit it. Unfortunately for me, it’s in England at The Holburne Museum

Created by artist Bruce Munro, the display consists of 5,220 acrylic stems that reach up into a frosted globes, lit via colored fibre optic cables.

I simply adore the idea of biomimicry, and while this maybe doesn’t have much going for it in terms of functionality ( one of the things I appreciate about biomimicry in design), I love where the inspiration came from, and I can’t help but adore the magic this installation exudes.

Field of Light… is an alien installation in the midst of nature. And like dry desert seeds lying in wait for the rain, the sculpture’s fibre optic stems lie dormant until darkness falls, and then under a blazing blanket of stars they flower with gentle rhythms of light.

- Bruce Munro

Unbelievable. Things like this, make me believe. Happy holidays to all!

(Photos are copyright Mark Pickthall.)

As one of my friends would say: adorbs! (Aka: adorable!) Her work is used for all kinds of packaging and marketing materials. But honestly, most of her stuff I would put up on my walls. In more way than one…

Holy moly I wish I could just cram all the images from her website into this blog post because it’s impressively difficult to pick and choose my favorites! I love the colors, I love the patterns, I love the brush quality and penmanship. I love it all! I can’t wait until the day when I can afford to hang beautiful art on my walls.

Please visit this marvelous woman’s website and admire her work on my behalf. I will resume my day dreaming (about how I can incorporate her wallpaper designs with some Ann Sacks tiles in my next project – yum!).

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Right?! I can’t tell you how often I think to myself about how disappointed I am that the level of craft involved in so many of our interior and architectural gestures is discounted these days. The lack of quality is severe. I see old buildings, and the care and attention that has been invested in the ornamentation of every single feature… it blows my mind. Sometimes I curse minimalism, because I often feel like it’s the reason for lost sincerity and detail. Then I find things like this.

Right down to the shadows cast on tables, and how perfectly the ceiling has been lit (with LEDs!)… you know this was so tactfully considered. Utterly brilliant. I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love!

The challenge was to break the preconceived ideas that make up the elements of an interior, by governing the space into “one coordinated element” through the creation of a seamless border.

– Architecture News

All I have to say in closing, is that I’m jealous they got to design a restaurant in a space with no supporting columns whatsoever. Goodness knows the ones in my current restaurant project are driving me mad.

This is the Beijing Noodle No. 9 restaurant in Las Vegas, designed by Design Spirits. I want to go.

My mom always called me her “wild child” as a kid. I was the barefoot wonder, running all through the neighborhood shoe-less. Even today, I’d prefer walking barefoot through grass or sand than in shoes or on concerte (ew). So I think we can both agree that I would die for one of these:

A bathroom “rug” made of moss! Delicious! You could water it with your toes every morning when you step out of the bath or shower. You’d never have to run it through the washing machine… it would just regenerate itself beneath you. I wonder if it would affect the air quality and act as a natural air freshener too? Freshener or not, I’m putting it on my Christmas wishlist. ;)

Moss Carpet

The website is Swedish. Which really is no big surprise, considering how innovative and genius those Swedes are. But from what I understand, they’re made from recycled wood chips and concrete, and I would bet they’re great for acoustics/sound insulation. Plus, they look brilliant and seem easy peasy to install.

I love these like I love tiles (which if you know me, is a lot). You could do so many neat things with this, creating different patterns and color schemes and all sorts of stuff! They’re even water resistant. Basically… I want some!

Traullit Dekor

Undeniably, winter has finally hit home (it’s surprisingly late this year). And with the snow and chill in the air (and eggnog in the stores), it has started to feel like Christmas!

I watched Elf today on TV, which has to be one of my favorite Christmas movies. It still makes me laugh! I saw Christmas trees being set up for sale in a parking lot a few weeks ago. I downloaded some silly Christmas Workshop game on my iPhone today, too. The radio stations have started to play Christmas music and the neighbors have put up their lights! There’s no doubt about it, Christmas is coming! And one of my favorite things about Christmas, is the decorations.  Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of bad decorations, but for the sake of this post, let’s be positive. :) Paper snowflakes have got to be one of the best ways to decorate. I have been fascinated by them all my life. When I worked with kids, every winter, we’d do a paper-snowflake-making workshop and the kids would go nuts! And while I don’t have time to make any myself right now, I thought maybe I could dress up my blog with a few!

These ones are made of tissue paper! I think that would make for a pretty neat effect, hanging in the window so the light could really come through them. And speaking of possible alternative materials… I have to say, while I don’t have the patience or eyeballs to make these, gosh I would really die for a set of beautiful crocheted snowflakes.

Just like real snowflakes, they’re so delicate and beautiful. I especially love the color of the one above.

I love knitting lace, but I don’t think I could crochet like this. I think I’ll just admire them from a far, for fear my eyes will fall out if I try. To be honest, I think I have more appreciation for crocheted and paper-cut snowflakes than I do for the real stuff. It always makes too much of a mess of the roads, if you know what I mean!

The red ones are from here - look they even wrap presents with them!

Today, we had Kevin Allison come in to give a presentation on the different 3Form products, lighting methods (which was fantastic), and to share some new things that 3Form is up to. Now, if you don’t already know who/what 3Form is – they’re wonderful. They’re essentially one of (if not the) largest manufacturers of resin products for mostly interior projects, but they also do exterior products. Resins are extraordinarily versatile, and when it comes down to it, much more reliable that glass in many situations. A lot of their products use post-consumer recycled plastics, and they also have a product that is 100% recycled content. Like I said, wonderful.

What you see above is a picture of the Revolution Lounge in Las Vegas. The countertop is made of 3Form’s “Chroma” product and is lit with LEDs. Brilliant, right? You can do so much with their products. Including pressing organics between them, like this:

Okay, but what stole the show for me today, was something new they’re doing called “HighRes Imagery”. Now, if you think of standard “for-print” resolution imagery… that’s typically set at 300 dpi. Well, 3Form has managed to get some photos set at something ridiculous like 30,000 dpi, to press between their products at a very large scale. And the effect is utterly brilliant:

Isn’t that stunning? Their gallery currently only consists of 14 photographs, but custom projects are available and I’m sure these are going to be popular enough that they will be expanding their library really soon. And since we established yesterday just how much I love succulents, I will leave you with this beauty (yes, they can even curve them!)…

3Form Website

3Form HighRes Imagery