Looking for home decorating ideas? You might not think to rummage through the trash. But that’s where Berlin-based WesternTrash finds 100 percent of the materials for designer glassware and light fixtures.

Spring is on the way, and before we know it, summer will be hanging around. If you’re looking for some eco-friendly furnishings to spruce up your kitchen or outdoor entertaining areas, a new start-up out of Berlin, Germany might be worth a peek.

WesternTrash is a designer lighting and glassware company operating under the motto “Something out of nothing.” Although the gorgeous glasses, carafes, vases, and pendant light fixtures they produce rival the wares of any boutique studio, there’s something that makes WesternTrash unique: the raw materials for their products come directly from the streets outside their door.

“Every WesternTrash item is handcrafted with care and precision, explain the designers. “We source recycled bottles from some best Berlin restaurants, carefully selecting our glass by size, color and quality.”

First, the discarded bottles are soaked to remove any labels, then cut to size with a diamond saw. The cut edge is ground until smooth and consistent. Each product is then triple-polished for a brilliant shine, then sandblasted with the company’s logo, the WesternTrash Star (symbolizing a broken window from one of Kreuzberg’s frequent riots). Finally the glass pieces are put through an industrial-grade dishwasher, so they’re ready to face the world–and your kitchen. The finished product is packaged by hand in unbranded, reusable boxes.

“Our handmade glasses pay homage to the defiant spirit of Berlin’s most vibrant district. Think differently and follow your own path – that’s the WesternTrash philosophy,” the designers said.

There’s something especially beguiling about the sleek simplicity of WesternTrash products. They’re unique, yet classic enough to fit in with many different home decorating ideas.

Here are some of our favorites. Use them to inspire your own upcycled home decorating ideas!

The Festi Carafe (pictured with glass) – Easy to hold and easy to pour, this is the ideal jug for casual parties or communal meals on a warm summer day.

Dahme Vase –  With a deep green tint to complement any flower or plant, this vase will impress your guests and add some serious wow-factor to your floral arrangements.

Burgundi Pendant Lamp – Burgundi lives in design studios, coworking offices and the homes of inspired people. Edgy and expressive, it’s the kind of lamp that illuminates creative spaces.

Bordo Pendant Lamp – Bordo’s neutral shape and soft curves will make friends with any interior design. Crafted from a reclaimed bottle, it’s equally at home in a city apartment, bohemian cafe, or rustic old house in the countryside.

Related on Ecosalon

Upcycled Fashion Explores Designer Imagination

Glass Not Dismissed!

Freitag: Creating Sustainable & Upcycled Bags That RIP

Images via WesternTrash

The post Berlin’s WesternTrash Finds Home Decorating Ideas In The Garbage Can appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Sorapot is a transparently beautiful way to serve tea – as long as it’s not made with unsightly bags.

Over the past few years, tea has gone from a drink best known as beloved by the English in the afternoon, and the Japanese and Chinese at ceremonies, to a dizzying array of healthy, invigorating/relaxing/detoxifying infusions: green, yellow, rooibos, jasmine, chai, mint, camomile, ginseng.

And teapots have gone from simple ceramic structures to pieces of contemporary design in themselves. The Sorapot is an architectural shape made of stainless steel and pyrex, a simple form which allows you to watch the age-old brewing process. As the designer, Joey Roth, puts it: “It articulates the ritual of tea making in a thoroughly modern way.”

The Sorapot makes enough tea for two cups, and comes in two versions: brushed and mirrored. The stainless steel used is made by the same process as jet turbine blades and space shuttle components. Its packaging, however, is less high-tech, contrasting with the hard grey metallic object contained inside: the pot comes encased in post-consumer recycled cardboard and moulded pulp, fastened with natural jute rope.

Version II of the Sorapot  is currently being developed, and is sure to be as popular as the original, which is priced at $200 for brushed and $250 for polished – if you’re lucky enough to get a hold of one, as they’re hard to come by. Keep your eyes peeled, and start thinking about the most visually-impressed dried ingredients to showcase in this mesmerizing window.

The post The Sorapot: A Transparent Way to Brew Tea appeared first on EcoSalon.

Time to make room for healthier options. 

You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle, buying more fresh produce and switching to organic foods. In the rush to give your diet an eco-makeover, don’t neglect the portion of your kitchen often kept behind closed doors: the pantry. These five simple tips to greening this space will reduce waste, cut clutter, and replace foods harmful to your body—and the planet—with healthier options.

Limit Processed and Packaged Foods
If you grew up eating packaged convenience foods, it may be hard to let them go. But processed foods often contain unhealthy ingredients such as trans fats, which can damage heart health, according to theAmerican Heart Association. Try replacing one type of packaged food at a time, such as chips or cookies, with nourishing whole foods. If you want to ease yourself into it, look for products with no more than five ingredients. As Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food andFood Rules, recommends, “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”

Swap Plastic for Glass
Plastic food containers are often petroleum-based, says the USDA, and can contain chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA) or phthalates that have questionable effects on our bodies. Instead, try using glass canisters or large mason jars. These materials aren’t costly—you can pick them up for around $1 each—and they put all of your food on display at a glance so you can see what’s on hand and what needs replenishing.

Buy in Bulk
Beans, grains, and pulses are some nonperishable foods that can stock your kitchen. Together, they provide a highly nutritious source of vegetarian protein. Avoid refined grains like white rice, which are processed to remove the bran or hull, resulting in less fiber and fewer nutrients. Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, amaranth, and oats can help reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease, the AHA says. Buying whole grains in bulk can make them less expensive and cuts down on overall packaging.

Read the rest in our guest post on Audubon Magazine…

Image: modern relics

The post How to Green Your Pantry appeared first on EcoSalon.

Twig Terrariums is forcing us to consider our lives in miniature.

Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow, two old friends, create itty bitty, mini moments in time. Mini moss terrariums, to be specific, and “other small worlds” stuffed into antique, vintage and apothecary jars, occasionally science glass and kitchenware, and other odd glass objects they come across.

Their Brooklyn-based company, Twig Terrariums, specializes in miniaturizing scenes, be it a walk through a pastoral highland or punk rockers tagging a Lower East Side tenement.

They “go mossing” and “terraring” on the weekend (Twig-speak for moss and glass hunting), and can create just about any city or landscape request thrown at them. A grandmother recently came the pair and asked them to immortalize her granddaughter in a terrarium doing her two favorite things: playing the violin and hula-hooping, at the same time.

Most of their other clientele are urbanites with nary a piece of grass to their name, craving, as Michelle puts it, “their own little green world.”

“Our terrarium’s give urban dwellers some much needed nature,” she adds, “and space without having to drive.”

Michelle and Katy work with a dozen varieties of moss, plants and succulents, all easy to maintain greenery. Under a powerful magnifying glass, they style each inch-tall figurine to look like their life-sized subjects in various states of rustication, hiking, mountain climbing, hula-hooping – even mugging.

“They want to see themselves in their little worlds,” Katy explains. If only to retrace what went wrong in Central Park that one fine morning.”

Twig Terrariums pride themselves on being a green company, using vintage glass and upcycling whenever possible or working with a local glassblower for custom projects. Katy and Michelle have a book coming out in 2012, which will contain a glossary of all the terms a DIY terrarist should know, a how-to, and photos.

“When we first started making terrariums, they took over our homes,” Michelle warns of the addictive hobby turned career. “Basically, we want everyone to bring our worlds into theirs.”

And why not? They’re lovelier than a snapshot and sustainable enough for the brownest thumbs among us.

Prices start around $25 and can go up into the hundreds.

The post A Sustainable Wonderland For the Mini-You appeared first on EcoSalon.

The evolution of windows toward sustainability.

It’s something you probably don’t think about very often – windows. They tell us a lot about a building, from its age and style to how energy efficient it is. An average home may lose 30% of its heat or air-conditioning energy through its windows, which is inexcusable considering how technology has improved since the first windows.

It wasn’t until the late 17th century that glass windows became common in homes. They were strategically placed and sized depending on geography and the sun (south-facing windows let in more light) to keep the home a comfortable temperature year round. Windows were small because glass was expensive and small meant less chance for heat to escape.

The current technology can be overwhelming and there are entire courses offered on the intricacies of the energy-efficient window. But suffice it to say that preventing air leakage, reducing condensation and increasing insulation are part of the package. Glass is stronger and thicker allowing for the use of larger slabs – entire walls can be windows. The Farnsworth House is a prime example.

Over time, windows have evolved from a mere hole in the wall to crucial components of a building’s energy efficiency rating. Here are a few of the ways that windows have changed for the better:

1. Stronger glass allows for larger windows. More natural sunlight helps regulate a building’s temperature, as in the new Virgin America’s new eco-luxe terminal at SFO.

2. Sealed window frames prevent condensation and air leakage.

3. Non-toxic gases (i.e. argon) used as filler between pieces of glass prevent loss of hot or cold air.

4. Double or triple glaze windows (storm windows) drastically improve insulation and temperature regulation.

5. Low-e glass coatings let in just the right amount of sun – because in warm climates we want the sunlight but not the heat, while in colder areas we welcome the sun’s heat and want to capture and keep it.

All of these factors improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and add credits toward LEED certification. And you thought windows were just for pretty views.

Image: dorena wm

The post Windows and Sustainable Design appeared first on EcoSalon.

As it turns out, throwing certain items into the recycling that you are utterly convinced can be recycled is actually worse for the environment. Oftentimes, bad items can taint an entire bin, resulting in the whole load going into a landfill. This largely depends on how well a city’s recycling facilities can sort. But it’s enough to throw a person into high anxiety with every trip to the waste bin.

Not to worry. Here’s a quick list of 10 surprising things on the “Do we or don’t we?” list. And always, if you’re in doubt about an item, check Earth911.com for a facility near you that may take your questionable trash bit.

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Pizza Boxes I know, I KNOW. It seems like these cardboard boxes are made for the recycling bins. But pizza boxes are often tainted with food and grease. Many items are recycled using a heat and water process, which is not problem for plastic and glass. But throw some cardboard soaked in oil into the process, and you’ve got a messy muck. Terry Gellenbeck is a solid waste administrative analyst for the City of Phoenix. As he told Earth911, “The oil causes great problems for the quality of the paper, especially the binding of the fibers. It puts in contaminants, so when they do squeeze the water out, it has spots and holes.”

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Wet Paper Paper fibers that have been soaked are shorter. This makes them less valuable to paper recyclers, who won’t collect and mill them.

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Plastic Bottle Caps Plastic bottle caps are considered less valuable on the market, so most recyclers won’t take them. Make sure you separate them from your plastic bottles. Also, you can check Earth911 to find a facility near you that does accept plastic bottle caps.

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Juice Boxes Check to see if your juice box is specially-processed for recycling. If it isn’t, you have to throw it in the trash. The plastic coating on much of the cardboard renders them unsuitable for recycling.

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Plastic Bags When recycling bins are sorted manually, workers cannot open plastic bags to see what is inside. It isn’t cost-effective and could be dangerous. So they get trashed. (Note: don’t put your plastic bottles and more in plastic bags.) You can often take your plastic bags back to the store for recycling – and consult Earth 911 again for places that will take them.

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Styrofoam Another one that kills me, because how many times do we get handed Styrofoam containers we don’t want? But Styrofoam is a petroleum product and, more importantly, highly flammable. It’s considered a danger to most recycling centers. Again, Earth 911 may provide locations that will take it from you.

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Wire Hangers Most recycling centers are not set up to handle wire. However, experts agree that your local dry cleaner may take them. Often, they reuse them or send them to a scrap metal dealer. Sure, they get the cash, but you get the knowledge you’re not sending wire hangers into the great abyss. Joan Crawford would be proud.

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Paper Napkins or Towels Again, food contamination often takes these paper products out of the running. Try to use wash clothes or handkerchiefs instead.

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Ceramics You would think that your old coffee mug would find a home in your recycling bin. Alas, they are not accepted at most recycling centers. Consider giving them a second life with a houseplant or in your garden.

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Heavily-Dyed Paper When paper is recycled, it is heat-treated. So if something is heavily dyed, it has the same outcome as a blue sock or red t-shirt thrown in with your whites in the washing machine. Consequently, a lot of paper mills won’t take the results. (Pastels are okay.) Life can still be colorful, just a bit toned down!

Images: mukluk, crabchick, kaz k, cogdogblog,stevendepolo,Urban Woodswalker,
eatatree, Michael_Lehet, noego, raphernalia_vintage, minor9th

The post 10 Surprising Things You Can’t Recycle appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sometimes we envision the perfect wall sconce, chair, or bookshelf that will tie a room together just so, but actually finding it can be an uphill battle. Custom Made, an online marketplace for artisans of handmade furniture and home goods, is a great place to look for someone to bring your decorating ideas to life.

Search the site by geographical location or type of furniture you’re looking for (custom cabinetry, handmade lamps, hand-carved signs, and more). Then check out the galleries of various artisans and contact them directly to discuss your individual needs.

Custom Made is filled with portfolios from people who make everything from standard fare like chairs and mirrors, to exotic humidors and custom clocks. You’ll find plenty of furniture made from bamboo and eco-friendly FSC-certified wood. For example, check out this nightstand from Denver-based Tilde Design Studio. Made of Cherry wood and coated in a non-toxic finish, it sports two handled drawers and a secret compartment behind the front-facing apron. Elegant and discreet at the same time? Love it!

If you’re an artisan, you might want to look into having your work featured on Custom Made. There’s a small monthly fee to join, but then you can post pictures of your work and let customers find you. Although Custom Made is a lot like the popular online marketplace Etsy, its main focus is connecting customers and artisans for customized pieces, not selling pre-made work in a retail environment.

Custom Made is a real gem of a website. The next time you see a home furnishing you can’t live without but know it hasn’t been created in an ecologically-responsible manner, hit up an artisan on the site and see if she can whip up something similar for you.

The post Find an Artisan to Customize Your Dream Furniture appeared first on EcoSalon.

Here at EcoSalon we love glass – and we’ve spent years celebrating its use in milk bottles and gorgeously translucent tableware, its almost magical ability to be renewed and reshaped by the elements into something truly sublime. We want glass to shove past plastic and regain the well-deserved status it’s enjoyed for the last thousand years. Frankly, we can’t wait.

But nothing has prepared us for this.

A German company called Nanopool has secured the patent for a new type of glass – in spray form. It’s being called liquid glass, and it’s laid down in an unbelievably shallow coating (less than 30 molecules thick) that acts like no other surface we’ve ever heard of. Yes, it’s glass, and therefore water-resistant and easy to wipe down – but it’s also thin enough to be flexible and breathable. (Yes – air-permeable glass). If that weren’t enough, it blocks UV, resists heat and forms a surface bond that’s difficult to break, making it potentially as hard-wearing as its large-scale counterpart.

Where could it be used? Answer: absolutely everywhere. It will revolutionize decor. It could be used on any surface (being glass, it is chemically inert) including clothing, and the manufacturers are claiming that it will virtually eliminate the need for scrubbing because most stains will be prevented from forming in the first place. It will make household surfaces much more resistant to bacteria and grime, and keep medical equipment squeaky-clean. It can even be used to protect wood against termites and vines against fungal diseases.

So far, so world-changing. (Seriously so). But there’s one big question mark. Let’s not forget this is airborne silicon dioxide, and there’s a very ugly medical complaint associated with it – Silicosis, also known by the grotesque name of Potter’s Rot. When crystalline silica dust is in regular contact with our lungs (say, if we worked in a mine), it lodges inside them. Hard-wearing, water-resistant and so on? These marvels now become curses – and silicosis is currently untreatable and therefore irreversible.

Liquid glass is an incredible breakthrough – but let’s hope it’s applied to our products before they reach our hands. If not, the consequences could be quite literally breathtaking.

Image: amagill

The post Hold Your Breath: Liquid Glass Changes Everything appeared first on EcoSalon.

Every time you leave the water running while brushing your teeth, you vow you will break the habit soon because you care deeply about the planet’s resources. Eating meat makes you feel sad, knowing we are no longer hunters who cannot survive without animal protein, yet those subliminal burger ads are bringing out the Edward in you. And every time you leave the TV on all night, you wake up without the proper REM sleep and a higher power bill.

Be compassionate with yourself. Baby steps, dude. Baby steps.

At EcoSalon, we are proud to hold your hand and walk you through those first steps to becoming the conscious citizen of the world you envision. Here are 10 resolutions to get you from A (affluenza) to Z (zooplankton).

1. Phantom Energy

The no-brainer action you can take right now in your home to eliminate daily waste is to pull the plugs on appliances, machines and lights not in use. You will discover the savings and rewards by checking out this post.

2. Downer Meat

If you are what you eat, do you really aspire to be a sickly cow, pig or chicken? That’s exactly what you are pumping into your bloodstream and your family’s diet every time you buy and serve meat that has been treated with growth hormones and antibiotics and raised in inhumane, filthy conditions. Review how to avoid this putrid protein which is not only harming your body but the natural resources we treasure. Eat this up.

3. Over Dependence on Electric Appliances

Hanging your laundry out to dry will not bring down the hood! Give it a go and see how much it cuts down your power bill. Also, switch to Energy Star appliances to reduce the waste. Other steps include buying rechargable solar batteries, watching commercial-free television (meaning less TV) and yes, finding a mate more satisfying than your computer and other electric gadgets. Turn on here.

4. Refusal to Compost and Recycle at Home and at Work

Seriously, this is the new way of keeping up with the Joneses. It’s not about the new car in the garage but the bins on the curb. Our landfills are rapidly filling up, and said to be the most telling time capsules of our history as a modern people. Reuse and composting is everything because when you are throwing something out, remember, there is no “out.” Get on board, January 1! Back peddle to find out more.

5. All Driving and No Biking

We’ve told you how to improve your gas mileage, but you should also do what you will be forced to do in the future: Drive less because gas is pricey and bad for the air. Bike when you can, walk or take public transportation and get more fit a the the same time. You’ll also save on dreaded parking tickets! Looks good!

6. Wasting Water

Turn off that tap, shorten that shower, switch to a low water flush toilet, use towels more than once, switch out your green lawn for succulents. It’s that easy to make a difference for a thirsty world – growing more thirsty every day. Extra reading here.

7. Using Plastic and Other Disposables

Buy reusable water bottles and challenge yourself at the market to avoid single use plastic bags and packaging of all sorts. Take reusable bags with you, and when you forget, keep reusing the paper ones the market issued until they are ready to be recycled. Carry a reusable lunch box to work. Use cloth napkins, biodegradable utensils and plates. Say NO to plastics no matter what you hear in The Graduate. Save paper, and save trees! More info here, here and here.

8. Being Too Rushed to Buy Fresh, Local and Organic

You love your body, right? Not loving it means not taking the time to shop and eat sustainably, whether frequenting the local farmer’s market to choosing organic from the shelves of your neighborhood market. It’s not just about shedding pounds in the new year, but taking stock in the crock, and slowing down on the cooking and consuming. You will find healthiest people love their bodies this way.

9. Not Shopping Eco Wear

Wear your green on your sleeves in the coming year by investing in eco wear. It’s a matter of putting quality above quantity and supporting emerging vendors of garments woven of healthy fibers sans the harsh chemicals and dyes. Shop the top online eco boutiques.

10. Consistently Exposing Yourself to Chemicals You Can Avoid

Our moms got their hair and nails done weekly, and used make-up laced with poison that seeped into the skin. We don’t have to expose ourselves to chemicals in our everyday beauty and household products, but it takes discipline. Beauty background here.

Image: Sally M

The post Give It Up for 2010! EcoSalon’s Round-Up for Creating a Greener Year appeared first on EcoSalon.

But step inside, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah. You want tinsel? We got tinsel. You want some banners and dreidels? Come in, come in, have a jelly donut, sit by the fire. We know from decorating for the holidays. We’re yuppie Jews who majored in art.

For me, getting in the spirit of the season isn’t limited to peeling potatoes for latkes and lighting the menorah. I like going that extra mile (oy, my back!) to hang ornaments, gather festive decor and make merry the Jewish way. Have a peek, darling:

Hang Blue and White Ornaments

Etsy Star of David Ornament

Large handmade six-sided star surrounded by copper band. Pattern created with clear and light blue faceted beads, highlighted with golden foil lined beads. Golden glitter on back. 4×3, $33.

Etsy Mosaic Peace Crane Origami

Beautifully handcrafted at Etsy, $6 each.

Recycled Blue Glass Balls from World of Good

Support fair trade and suspend these balls or collect in a pretty vintage mercury glass bowl. $9 each, handmade from glass bottles from restaurants and homes.

Put up a Banner That Screams “We’re Fun, Too!”

2009 Happy Hanukkah, $25 from eco-friendly Land of Nod

Spread the Wealth By Scattering Gold Coins

Fair Trade Chocolate Gold Coins, $5.25 from Global Exchange

The cocoa used in these chocolates is from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of 40,000 cocoa growers in Ghana. Spread them around the menorah or dining table to add to the festive motif. No snacking until you’ve finished that grassfed brisket and kugel!

Gather Menorahs Old and New, Borrowed and Blue

This mixed media Moving Lights Menorah was hand fabricated by British sculptor Richard Miller with a base made of Vermont green slate and nine movable stone candle holders. The earth-friendly conversation piece is $85 at Eco Atware. Assemble it on a table with other menorahs loved and cherished through the years.

Recycled Galvanized Steel Pipe Menorah. $185 from Two String Jane, at Etsy.

The post Oy to the World! Decorating Tips for an Eco Hanukkah appeared first on EcoSalon.