It's the color of Elizabeth Taylor's eyes, the fragrant bundled plant used for soothing pillows, and the heart awarded for acts of bravery in battle. No wonder shades of purple - from lavender walls to orchid bedding - are making a splash in the prettiest eco-friendly bedrooms this fall.

I have accessed subtle shades of lavender for several clients in recent months. One husband requested the somewhat soft choice for his bedroom, admitting it is his favorite color. He's a tall and husky Scotsman who might don a kilt but could never be thought of as feminine. His wife complied and they are now thrilled with the calming effect of purple power.

Here are a few berry sweet choices for you:

The Wisteria bedding from Willow Natural Home is organic jacquard cotton woven sheeting available in separates or in sets ($246 for a queen; $300 for the King).

The sensuous and soft Honeycomb Throw from LoooLo Textiles is pricey at $500, but what divine luxury to cuddle with on a wintery day. It's organic and from Switzerland and the shade is divine.

For walls, try the Cardinal color milkpaint from Bioshield Paint, which uses only non-toxic ingredients in this ultra-natural wall coverage. You will find your walls glow in daylight and appear romantic in the soft light of evening.

For a sweet and sophisticated eco wallpaper in the purple family, the ...Read More

Former Sunset Magazine Staff writer Bridget Bradley has written enough home improvement books to know where to go to greenify an environment from top to bottom. Tapping the best resources at her fingertips, she and her husband, Kirk, have opened Reclaim, a green home boutique store in the Bay Area suburb ...Read More

When a client said she wanted to do Swedish fabrics in the bedrooms of her remodeled vacation house in Tahoe, I went searching for sources other than IKEA for textiles that could translate into gorgeous bedding. While I think some of IKEA's ready-made bedding is cheerful in that whimsical Scandinavian fashion, the texture is too rough for my ...Read More

1. Start with an eco-friendly bed and mattress. The most earth-friendly option is to go without a frame, or refresh the frame you've already got with a little TLC (vintage and antiques are smart choices). If you are in the market for a new bed, look for a frame made from sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood or recycled ...Read More

We're shelling out the big bucks again for summer camps. It's the price we have to pay to keep our city slickers off the sofa and away from the hypnotic plasma. Among many other attributes, camps can instill a deeper appreciation of the great outdoors. But as a wise person once said, wherever you go, there you are. To mold our children into ...Read More

I thought it was god-given or at least somewhere in the First Amendment, but it seems that the right to use a clothesline might soon be stripped away. Yes, you heard me. Your eco-friendly clothesline (the one you just ordered this weekend!) is in jeopardy. Your laundry is literally on the line.

Has a neighbor told you ...Read More

There's little I find more frustrating than walking away from an evening meal in my favourite Italian restaurant, looking down and finding I've spilled olive oil on the front of one of my best shirts.

Here come the gallons of caustic, paint-stripping eco-hostile chemicals, futile trips to the cleaners, and cycling through umpteen ...Read More

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Have you ever wondered where you may have lived in a past life, or felt that you ended up somewhere almost without your control? That is how I feel about San Francisco.

As a transplant to the Haight/Ashbury District in San Francisco at 22, I felt right at home. I liked to imagine that maybe I had always been here and that I was ...Read More

With April's unfolding warmth, I'm dreaming about a lighter, more whimsical wardrobe. Linen pants are a season staple and I just love these grass green gauchos from Undesigned.

Unrestrictive and über-chic, they're made of linen, which is both comfortable and breathable, and ...Read More