Times have changed and bar stools are the new dining room chair.

Let’s face it, times have changed and that includes where we sit to eat our meals. Formal dining rooms are out and bar stools or counter stools are in. Many people are choosing to live in more urban and denser settings, where space is at a premium and the formal dining is just not practical. That’s not to mention that dining has become more relaxed — with the focus on the food more than the formality.

If you have a smaller home, you may just have a counter end that’s a natural fit for some bar stools. Or you may have a space for a table, in which case consider a high table at which you can place bar stools. It’s a much more informal way to not only eat your morning oatmeal but also to entertain. In addition, bar stools can be a handy space saving device. Some styles can stack, but most at least are easy enough to tuck under to create more space.

And the bar stools of today are not like the bar stools of days past–like from a 1985 wood-paneled basement. Nowadays, style choices run the gamut from mid-century modern to Scandinavian modern and everything in between. Of course, if you find yourself nostalgic for those mid-1980s bar stools, we are sure that you can find them at a flea market!

9 Stools to Deck Out Your Space

1. Langley Street Wright Modern Stool via AllModern

Show off your modern style with a row of these steel and wood swivel bar stools.

2. Vintage French Schoolhouse Stool via Chairish

Add these vintage French schoolhouse stools to your craft space, dining table, or bar for some retro style. Bonus points because they are stackable!

3. Wood Pallet Stool via Palletso

This stool is made from recycled wood from pallets. It’s eco-friendly, rustic, handmade, and sturdier than mass-produced options.

4. Recycled Wood Stool via At West End

Here’s another eco-friendly option. The rich honey-colored stain softens the industrial design of this rustic stool.  It’s made from recycled wood and features an adjustable seat for added functionality!

5. Cliff Counter Stool via Loll Designs

These stools are made from 100% recycled plastics and can work for both inside and outside! They are also available in eleven different colorways.

6. Reclaimed Industrial Stool via barnxo

These modern stools feature black metal frames and reclaimed barn wood for the seats.The wood top is reclaimed, old Growth Douglas Fir that was salvaged from a building that was more than  170-years-old, giving the wood beautiful character.

7. Pipe Industrial Stool via Hisbrand

Another industrial option, these stools are made from steel pipes and feature a thick durable wood top has been finished without harmful chemicals.

Related on EcoSalon

Stylish Stools for Your Breakfast Bar
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Cheers! 9 Bar Carts For Your Eco-Friendly Home

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Don’t be a vinyl philistine–get with the program, and treat your vinyl right by adding a record table to your space.

With the resurgence of vinyl comes one of those good kinds of problems to have–where to store your turntable and vinyl? The modern living room space doesn’t necessarily have the readymade solution. In the days of yesteryear, televisions and turntables were built into one glorious console that took center stage in the living room, den, or family room. While going back in time isn’t an option, neither is storing your record player on the coffee table. The solution is simple–to source a record table that serves both form and function.

Whether you are a serious vinyl aficionado or a weekend enthusiast, your record deck deserves the best–and so does your living space. There is absolutely no need to sacrifice style for function with the popularity of vinyl. The field is wide open no matter your taste and style preference. And that’s not to mention the opportunities for going vintage or repurposing a piece of furniture intended for another use into a record table, which could be a wonderfully DIY adventure!

Put a Spin on It With a Record Table

1. Changes Console via CB2

Believe it or not, this console table was designed exclusively for CB2 in collaboration with Kravitz Design by Lenny Kravitz. The piece is inspired by Lenny’s eclectic global lifestyle and the furnishings from his homes in Paris, Brazil, and the Bahamas. While it’s a little pricey, why not splurge a little?

2. Hamilton Console via Urban Outfitters

We love this Mid-century modern media console, which features plenty of storage for not only vinyl, but media players, books, and more. The sliding doors are a nice touch when you need to hide your clutter!

3. Arcuri Console via All Modern

Looking for something a little less expensive and a piece that is a little more unobtrusive, give this beauty a chance. Not only does it have a deco feel, but it’s also sleek and elegant. It does not have record storage, but it serves the purpose of holding up your record player.

4. Hudson Record Player Table via WillCarlsonDesign

This piece is handmade from walnut, steel, and cherry and is made to store your turntable and records. It can hold up to 100 records, and the modern styling will help elevate your living space.

5. Lumi Wood Media Console via Lumi Wood

Handmade from oak and with hairpin legs, this compact console is designed with storing and using your record player in mind. It would be a great solution for a smaller space.

Related on EcoSalon

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Turn your bedroom into a creative oasis by making your own

Once you move past the Craigslist and Ikea college years of decorating, you pretty much realize that a good headboard can pull the whole room together. It’s like a good rug in that way–about which the “Dude” can tell you. And you can buy, or you can make a DIY headboard, instead.

But just because you now can decorate with purpose, as opposed to with whatever the old roommate left behind, doesn’t mean that you need to spend a ton of money or jump on the consumer bandwagon. Consider DIY instead when it comes to adding or replacing your headboard in your bedroom. Doing-it-yourself allows you to create a one-of-kind piece unique to only your space. It just might also be possible to repurpose some of those old college-era furniture pieces and keep them out of the landfill.

The necessary components for any DIY project are inspiration and precipitation, and making your own DIY headboard is no exception. We can provide the inspiration, but you will have to come up with the materials and the manual labor. But it will all be worth it when you have the perfect bedroom space, and you did it all yourself!

DIY Headboard Projects

1. Mantle DIY Headboard – Make a statement by using a mantle as a headboard. We love this idea from Vintage Revival. Not only do you get a new head for your bed, but a place to store some knicks knacks too!

2. Faux Bois Fabric Headboard – Want the look of wood without actually using wood? How about this fabric headboard project from Craft Hunter that uses a pretty fake wood fabric. What a smart and simple project.

3. Pegboard Headboard – This project from Sugar and Cloth is the ultimate intersection of form and function. And it looks super easy to execute. Love it.

4. Tufted DIY Headboard – And if you are going for something a little more elegant, give this project from Little Green Notebook a try. The finished project looks super fancy too. It’s fancy pants.

5. Faux Tile DIY Headboard – Like the idea of DIY, but aren’t into the time commitment? This project from Sweet C’s Designs claims to come together in 20 minutes for $12, and it looks freaking amazing. Can’t beat that at all.

6. Cedar Shingle Headboard – East Coast Creative had the great idea to make a DIY headboard out of cedar shingles. Not only does the finished product look super cool, but it’s ridiculously inexpensive to complete too.

7. Repurposed DIY Headboard – Turn old louvered shutters or closet doors into a headboard. Here’s a how-to from Marty’s Musings.

Related on EcoSalon

4 DIY Headboard Ideas to Revamp Your Bedroom (Easy and Cheap!)|
7 Quirky Ideas for Repurposing Vintage Home Decor Goods
Bedroom Decorating Ideas to Create Your Own Private Oasis

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Sit back and take a load off with these stunning handmade lounge chairs that combine both comfort and design. 

While lounge chairs may make you think of super bad Barcaloungers from the seventies and eighties, anyone who watched “Mad Men” knows lounge chairs are super cool. More importantly, though, they are super comfortable. By definition, lounge chairs are for lounging. They are meant to be comfortable and meant for reclining or lounging back, as opposed to an upright style chair like a wing chair. But the ultimate in lounge chairs is to blend both form and function, or design and comfort.  The Eames lounge chair of the 1950s is the perfect example. It combined style, elegance, and timelessness, but with an easy comfort that makes it still desirable after all these years.

While the Eames chair may be the perfect specimen, there are plenty of other chairs that can live up to the demands of both form and function. In fact, a quick trip to Etsy shows that there are some worthy examples of handmade craftsmanship out there, just ready to add to your space.

Don’t settle for mainstream furniture pieces! Instead, get inspired with these handmade lounge chairs to add easy comfort and style to your living space.

Handmade Lounge Chairs

1. Tufted Mid-Century Lounge

We love the easy elegance of this handmade piece from Circa60. It is inspired by the designs of modern furniture designer Adrian Pearsall and features high resilient cushions and teak wood. It also has a corresponding ottoman, which is important for any serious lounger.

2. Hand Woven Lounger

This stunning hand woven arm chair lounger from Masaya Trading Company is made with a sustainable-sourced Nanciton wood (tropical hardwood) frame. The seat and back feature a striking linear pattern in red, blue and natural. All of the wood used is either reclaimed from hurricane damaged areas or sustainably harvested. It’s a stylish and casual statement piece that is great for any room, and looks to be quite comfortable.

3. Leentu Lounge Chai

The handcrafted Leentu lounge from Lunar Lounge Design is made from formaldehyde-free Canadian Maple ply that comes from renewable, sustainable sources. It has a uniquely shaped wood frame and “slung style” woven jute web-seating that looks super comfy, but it’s also unique enough to add design to your space. It just might be the perfect furniture solution for your mid-century, ecologically-conscious home.

4. Relief Felt Lounge Chair

This chair from Mickus Projects blends both the mid-century with contemporary design. It features that timeless mid-century design, but its sculpted digital-fabrication is completely of this time. It’s made from renewable wool felt over an aluminum frame. It’s soft, sturdy, and while it may be totally out of your price range, it’s worth drooling over. It also happens to be in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.

5. Grant Featherston Lounge

Inspired by Grant Featherston, the great furniture designer of the 1960s, this chair from Macer Home Decor features mid-century design with boho chic styling. It’s sure to be a statement piece if you add it to your living space. We love it.

Related on EcoSalon

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Tan Leather Lounge Chair via Shutterstock

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Multipurpose furniture is beneficial in more ways than one, obviously. Utility, convenience, waste reduction, compactness, and originality are just a few of the reasons why we’re urging you to give these modular furniture ideas a try next time you’re in the market for new furniture.

According to municipal solid waste statistics from the EPA, 9,870 tons of furniture and furnishings were discarded in 2009. This figure accounts for not only primary use, but of secondary, or second hand use, as well.

It wouldn’t be fair for us to ask you to hang on to your beer-soaked sofa from your freshman year in college, but with a little planning, care, and conscious choices – you know, now that the keg parties are over – you could score some chic furniture with multiple uses that might be able to hang around for many years to come.

Not only is multi-use furniture better for the environment, you’re buying fewer new pieces and hopefully using them for far longer, but they’re also great for when you’re tight on space, or just don’t want to clutter your place with a lot of individual items. Plus, sometimes having a trick up your sleeve (think super cool desk that converts into a guest bed) will impress even the most indifferent irresistible of in-laws.

These modular furniture ideas are novel, but certainly not out of reach. In fact, if you’re extra handy, you can replicate some of these, or get really crafty and create your own multipurpose pieces using second hand finds and some DIY know-how.

Bedroom

Whether it’s breakfast in bed you’re after, or a great workspace for those days when you just don’t feel like getting out of your pajamas, then look no further than the elegant and sophisticated La Vela II pop-up night stand. With a built-in table that rises to lap height, there’ll be no reason to ever get out of bed.

Living Room

If your guests seem to be playing musical chairs instead of relaxing in your company, then it may be time for some extra seating. This Cosmos coffee table with storage ottomans has got you covered. Not only is it stylish, but you have four empty holes to fill with stuff!

Easy DIY alternative: score a trunk with a flat top at a thrift store and you’ll have instant storage, a unique coffee table, and a great conversation piece.

Dining Room

Okay, okay, so every now a then you still like to indulge in a keg party, or maybe it’s wine you prefer these days. Regardless of your beverage choice, I think we can all agree that one of the best ways to impress your grown-up guests is with this awesome dining table that also doubles as a pool table. After dinner, simply remove the top, rack your balls, and get ready to break. Designed by Fusion Tables, prices and retailers are available upon request.

Kitchen

Maybe your kitchen is too compact for a large island, or perhaps you just need some extra counter space during the holidays. Well this little cutie is sure to meet your cooking needs. The popular Origami kitchen cart with wood top comes in four colors and easily folds down to fit in slender spaces, like the pantry. Use this mini island and its shelves all the time, or only when you need it – it’s as simple as that.

Easy DIY alternative: snag a second dresser with drawers, freshen it up with paint, add locking casters, hang a paper or dish towel holder, and install some wine glass hanging hardware for a creative, custom multipurpose kitchen island like the one seen here.

Office

Always wanted a gorgeous desk that could double as a guest bed? Bam! Meet the Adam Tavolo queen size wall bed. This is everything you could want in a chic, modern office and then some. Prices are available upon request, but you’ll surely want a quote after scoping out the rest of their gorgeous pics on the Resource Furniture website.

Bathroom

Let’s face it, we can never have enough storage, which is why these multipurpose gems would be great mounted above the toilet. Not only will these floating shelves display useful and decorative items, but they’re also equipped with flip-down doors allowing you to store even more bathroom odds and ends. Get the Slice wall mounted storage shelf from CB2.

Now that you’ve taken a peek at some of our favorite modular furniture ideas, we want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite from our list? Do you already own modular furniture? What are some ways you try and keep furniture out of landfills? Sound off on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

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Image of Convertible Bed via Resource Furniture

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Got milk? You don’t have to just drink it. 

Love it or hate it, milk has a place not only in your diet but also in your tool box and cleaning closet as well as among your toiletries. Raw goat milk, in its unadulterated and probiotic-heavy state, is the best to use. But seeing that unpasteurized milk is outlawed for sale almost everywhere in the U.S., pasteurized goat milk is second best. While not all milks are created equally, you can use any animal milk to successfully benefit from these tips. From curing a hangover to tending to those stained linens, milk has got your back.

Appetite Suppressant

To prevent overeating at mealtime, drink a glass of milk 15 minutes beforehand. Milk fills you up and gives you enough protein – 1 cup of non-fat milk contains 8.26 grams of protein – to keep you feeling fuller and less inclined to go overboard when food is served.

Hair Conditioner and Mask

With its vitamin and mineral content, milk works great on smoothing and shining your hair. Rinse your hair with fresh milk and let it sit wet for a few minutes before rinsing with water. You could also mix powdered milk with water to form a paste and then comb through hair, letting it to sit for at least 5 minutes before washing out.

Hangover Cure

Milk helps to settle the stomach, rehydrate the system, and raise blood sugar levels. These make it a great morning-after hangover cure. Additionally, milk contains the amino acid cysteine, which is known to neutralize a lethal dose of acetaldehyde, which is an alcohol metabolite.

Fish Freshener

Place frozen fish in a milk bath and let sit until the fish thaws. The milk makes the fish taste fresher.

Make-Up Remover

Mix powdered milk with water until a paste forms. Apply the paste to skin to remove make up. Rinse thoroughly.

Crack Eliminator

Before you toss Grandma’s beloved china, enlist milk to the rescue! The protein in milk reacts with the mineral kaolin in china to close cracks. All you have to do is place china in a pan, cover it with milk, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer for up to an hour.

Silverware Polisher

For glistening silverware, take advantage of milk gone sour. Simply soak silverware in sour milk, cover it completely, and let it soak over night. The next day, wash the silverware as you normally would. If the milk isn’t sour already and you want to make your own, for every cup of milk, mix in one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for five minutes before use.

Bug Bite Soother

Mix milk powder with enough water until it resembles a paste. Apply the paste to the area affected by the insect bite to relieve pain. The enzymes in the milk will neutralize the venom.

Facial Cleanser and Mask

Milk is a natural cleanser. It contains vitamin A, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins B6 and B12. The alpha-hydroxy acids in milk exfoliate the skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and discoloration. Use a cotton ball to dab milk all across your face. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wash with water before moisturizing. For a mask, take 1/4 cup powdered milk and add enough water until it becomes a paste. Mix thoroughly and apply to the face. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before rinsing.

Ink Remover

To remove ink from clothing, take the affected garment and soak it in a milk bath overnight. The next day, wash the garment as usual. The stain should be gone. To boost the milk’s effectiveness, mix two parts milk with one part vinegar as the soaking solution.

Body Skin Moisturizer

The butterfat in milk moisturizes the skin. And because the pH of milk is close to the skin’s natural pH, the skin is more receptive to the moisturizing effects of the milk. Pour a few cups of fresh milk or 1/2 cup powdered milk into your bathtub, Cleopatra style.

Dry Hands Softener

To relieve dry and chafed hands, rinse them in milk a few times a day. Over the course of a week or two, your hands will begin to feel softer and less Winter rough.

Leather Cleaner

Dab worn or dirty leather with milk and buff until clean. The milk removes debris and leaves the leather shiny and looking brand new.

Corn on the Cob Flavor Booster

Boil corn with some milk in the water – about 1/2 cup – and the corn’s sweetness will heighten and its flavors will become more developed.

Shaving Cream Replacement

Run out of shaving cream? Nothing powdered milk and water can’t fix. Mix enough water with powdered sugar to produce a paste. Apply the paste to your face, underarms, and legs and shave. This simple concoction is smooth enough to resemble the real thing.

Poison Ivy Soother

To reduce the itch from an unintended stroll through a poison ivy bush, dab fresh milk or a powdered milk and water paste on the affected area. The milk will reduce the itchiness, redness, and irritation.

Sunburn Soother

Delicately pat sunburned skin with fresh milk. The milk cools the burn and the enzymes in the milk help to offset the pain.

Fertilizer

A tip from farmers and seasoned gardeners themselves – use milk as a fertilizer. Milk has been used as an organic fungicide and fertilizer without harming the plant.

Furniture Polisher

Sour milk makes for a great furniture polisher. Apply sour milk to furniture surfaces through a disposable spray bottle and wipe clean. You can also make your own sour milk, outlined above.

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

No, we didn’t forget about offering you a way to re-use the milk carton! Here is a tutorial on how to turn the carton into a bird feeder.

Images: Muffet, Striatic, Sshreeves, Jenny Downing, Gagstreet, Markusram, Robert Benner, The Living Room

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The top stories of the week at EcoSalon.

This week, we’re fascinated by big, big furniture and the attraction of simple, hearty, unfussy one-pot meals. All we really want to be doing is warming our feet by the fire with a good book (maybe one of these). Oh, and reminding people that just because it’s cold it doesn’t mean global warming is nonsense. That, too.

We admired the beauty of the 11.6 million square miles of our planet called Africa, in 40 gorgeous photos.

We pondered some of history’s most famous quotes on living small.

Finally, since those posts probably kept you so busy that your Facebook Wall went to hell in a digital handbasket, our editor has a handy and completely sincere guide for turning your unacceptably messy real life into a cascade of Facebook likes. Tell your friends.

The post The Friday 5: Scaled-Up, Scaled-Down Version appeared first on EcoSalon.

The new antiquarian tends to live in a world of mystical, sometimes macabre, always evocative objects from times long past.

This year saw the continued proliferation of the new antiquarian, a special breed of inquisitive human characterized by intense nostalgia, an appreciation for simple pleasures, and a preference for taxidermied animals. The new antiquarian reads Victorian literature while sipping on cocktails with bitters. The new antiquarian would never click through a Timeline to recall memories when there are precious keepsake boxes on hand for that task.

From the coffers of 2011, a review of some of the coverage that best exemplifies this aesthetic.

Anatomically correct décor

The design world’s love affair with sourcing inspiration from the mechanics of the human body was in full swing this year, as demonstrated by Scott Campbell’s upholstered armchair.

Strange taxidermy

Enrique Gomez de Molina is reinventing taxidermy as a surrealist art, mashing up insects, birds, animals, and found objects into quirky one-of-a-kind pieces.

Keepsake Boxes

Mementos deserve homes as precious as the memories they preserve. WE-ARE-FAMILIA has engaged cross-disciplinary artists from around the world to contribute found mementos to one-of-a-kind Keepsake Boxes that sell for up to $10,000.

Animal Farm glasses

Some glassware is definitely more equal than others, like these Orwell-inspired tumblers hand-sketched on glass from recycled wine bottles.

Typewriters

There’s nothing like the clickety tap tap of a vintage typewriter to make one feel like a modern-day Hemingway. Donna Brady and Brandi Kowalski restore classic typewriters like the Remington, the Corona, and the Royal Standard at their Brooklyn studio.

Antique sitting chairs

This 19th-century French sitting chair, made entirely of tree branches, is just one of many lustable antique objects available at Obsolete in Venice, California.

The good china

This hand-painted collection of bone china from New Orleans artist Shelley Hesse for Anthropologie is fit for formal dinners. You could even get away with using them year-round.

The post 2011 In Review: The New Antiquarian appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sick street style, with a conscience.

Artist Jason Podlaski of deckstool sources shattered skateboards from skate shops and skate parks in the United States and Canada and turns them into functional pieces of furniture.

These benches are built to last, while nonetheless echoing the culture that busted up the material in the first place. Every dent and scar is preserved, as are the original graphics of the boards. Handcrafted and reinforced by skilled craftsmen in Pennsylvania, each stool is unique – with its own combination of colors and graffiti.

For just $199, available via the artist, you can straddle some serious deck without risking life and limb.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: Recycled Skateboard Bench appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Vidje lounge, created by Norwegian designer Iris Djupvik, is a study in contrasts.

The Vidje lounge chair is the work of Norwegian designer Iris Djupvik who was inspired by both the fine craft of crochet and the kind of dependable sturdiness only a simple wooden chair could provide. What the designer wanted to know was whether wood could be crocheted and to “investigate the contrasts that arise from the interaction” between the two.

She also sought to explore the contrasts between the feminine and the masculine, light and shade, positive and negative.

In essence, the Vidje (especially when illuminated), “interacts” with the room it is in. Djupvik constructed the chair, which was featured at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2011, out of locally sourced laminated wood.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: The Vidje Lounge appeared first on EcoSalon.