The Vertical Garden Kit is your own personally-designed green installation. Trimming optional.

We’re all fans of vertical gardens, but as living art, mounted on a wall inside your house? This green square allows you to create your own piece of live contemporary interior styling. It’s very calming, having shaggy, wall-mounted foliage to gaze at in lieu of a TV. And clipping those stems to keep them neat can be satisfying, too.

The set up is clever: a panel fixed to the wall with screws holding small, removable pots; these are kept moist via a built-in irrigation system whose tank will keep the plants watered for six weeks. The panel is water-tight, preventing moisture from reaching the wall. Just add the leafy stuff of your choice and watch the tendrils descend.

The Vertical Garden Kit contains one 42cm x 40cm wall panel, 16 removable pots, 2 screws and 2 wall-plus (frame shown not included) and costs £49.95 ($78.85). You can also get larger plant pots, for a more dramatic display.

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I’ll get my mind out of the gutter and onto the green, where it belongs, and tell you about my latest obsession – plants in pockets.

I’d heard of hanging plants and plants that are potted, but the idea of putting a plant in a cloth-like pocket wasn’t in my repertoire. That is, until I came across the Woolly Pocket Garden Company.

It’s genius, really – a breathable container that can be hung vertically to cover an unsightly wall or spruce up a small space. Create yourself a lush little garden just about anywhere.

Woolly Pockets are made from recycled plastic bottles and are safe for indoors and out. They come in vertical or horizontal versions; small and large sizes. Try the Wally One, Three or Five; the Knoll, Wee Woolly or Meadow. Combine them to create an atmosphere like no other (see top image).

Best of all, you can leave your green (or brown) thumb in your pocket because you won’t need it with a Woolly. These pockets were made for planting.

Learn how easy it is to pot a pocket on the website at Pockets 101. And check out the blog (aptly named What’s growing in your Pocket?) for ideas and inspiration. As seen at Apartment Therapy.

The post Is That a Woolly Pocket on Your Wall, or Are You Just…? appeared first on EcoSalon.

It seems logical to me – coconuts and good design. I’ve heard of stranger things, so when I heard that Bahia coconut shells were being used to produce an interior design surface material, I didn’t even flinch.

In fact, I thought it’s about time. Okay, not exactly, but it is innovative and ultra exotic.

EKOBE is the Brazilian company responsible for these 100% natural, chemical-free, environmentally-sustainable tiles. The range of colors, textures and patterns must be witnessed first hand – words can’t quite do them justice. View the three lines – Aoba, Aoba Elements and Membira – to see for yourself.

From powder rooms to conference rooms, EKOBE tiles can be used for walls, furniture and flooring. Recommended for indoor use in low traffic areas, the number of potentially stunning style statements is endless. And the finished look is all kinds of sexy.

Detailed instructions for installing, finishing and maintaining the tiles are available on the website, and should be followed carefully. Ekobe tiles are available at Nemo Tile Company in New York.

via Josh Spear

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Robert Frost once wrote, “So was I once myself a swinger of birches. And so I dream of going back to be.” These words strike a pang in all our hearts because comprehending the meaning behind this beautiful poem signifies that you have forever left your childhood behind.

But, that doesn’t mean you can’t capture the same wistful essence in your adult abode. Adorned with skillfully hand-carved silhouettes of this simply spectacular tree, the sustainable Birch Forest panels will take you back to that youthful winter afternoon when you first wandered alone through the leafless woods in silent awe of nature’s pristine splendor. (Available at sponsor VivaTerra for $649.)

The post Birches Revisited appeared first on EcoSalon.

I interrupt your web surfing for some breaking news. Fresh off the press, I bring you a fad so hot the ink’s hardly dried: decor crafted from recycled publications. You readers – and everyone else in the world of style – can’t seem to get enough. Print media may be in a world of hurt, but at least there’s a use for all those unused rags.

We love the Recycled Magazine Rectangle wall mirror from Modern Furniture. Pretty useful, don’t you think?

For the worldly-wise, discarded magazines from across the globe are transformed into the vibrantly unique Rolled Magazine storage crate from our green sponsor VivaTerra, perfect for stashing shoes, blankets or even new issues of the very publications it’s made from.

And when you sit down in the morning to read the daily paper over coffee, you can rest your mug on headlines of the past with the Twisted Recycled Newspaper table runner (not shown) from World Market.

The post Renewal Notice: Recycled Publications appeared first on EcoSalon.

For those of us who haven’t succumbed to the Palm Pilot or Blackberry, it’s time to shop calendars and datebooks for 2009. I found some cool green options for your kitchen, home office or desk at work that contain images and information to raise eco awarness. Yes, you have a date with ecology. Take a look:

From Calendar Club, helpful reminders every month that our planet needs saving. The 101 Little Ways to Save the Planet is a pocket wall design, $21; The Living Green is a daily desk calendar, $14; the Deluxe Ecological calendar for the wall contains panels that put us in touch with the cycles of nature and the seasons, $15.

Soy-based inks on cotton paper are used to produce 12 gorgeous sheets of soft, seasonal illustrations in this delicate Letterpress Calendar (below) from See Jane Work, $35.

We’ve hooted plenty at EcoSalon about the artistry of the Night Owl Papergoods products, and it extends to the sustainably harvested wooden calendar (below), featuing the medallions and other illustrations of the company’s talented artists, $31.50 at Delight.

Downloaded onto your desktop, the wallpaper used as a monthly calendar enlightens little computer users about everything from Human Rights Day to what polar bears like to eat. You can find it at Eco Kids. (Shown at top.)

The post A Date with Ecology appeared first on EcoSalon.

For centuries in Eastern cultures, cherry blossoms have been known to signify the evanescent and fragile nature of life. With the Branch and Blossom wall hanging, this iconic symbol now stands for an enduring sense of classiness and elegance as well.

Designer Kevin O’Brien eternally captures their fleeting beauty with his use of deep, regal-toned appliqués that stand out boldly against a neutral linen backdrop. Real willow branches anchor the top and bottom of this stunning piece, perfectly complementing the nature-inspired image that it so grandly displays. If your living room could use a touch of artful tranquility, then look no further. (On sale at VivaTerra for $132.)

The post Redefining the Cherry Blossom appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’m the type of person who writes everything down, from daily schedules to shopping lists to reminders to chores. Since my scribbling hand could blow through a whole pad of post-it notes in a single day, an eco-friendly alternative is a must. Marker boards are too tacky (and rarely green), so I went classic.

Salvaged from an old school room and fitted with a recycled wood ledge, the Vintage Slate chalk board is a sustainably sound choice for avid organizers like myself. Plus, this modest piece is a lot more stylish than the bright little pieces of paper that once adorned my desk and fridge. (Available at VivaTerra for $159.)

The post Wipe Your Slate Clean (and be Green) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Some of the pieces are hauntingly beautiful. Some a bit otherworldly. Either way, the green concept of Britain’s Ghost Furniture is one I feel that more retailers should possess: Help Europe’s sweet vintage furniture come out of hiding.

After 30 years in the ad biz, Di Overton and Harvey Roll moved to the country (Northumberland) and set up shop, using artisans to create specialist paint effects to infuse new life into old relics unearthed from Paris and elsewhere. The company invites collectors to consign their treasures, offering to give them “the Ghost treatment.”

Each piece, such as the lamp, candelabra and tea assortment below, arrives with a tale of its history and Certificate of Authenticity. Ghost will ship its spirited goods to you. The accessories, which are fairly reasonable, are easier to ship to the U.S. than the furniture and right cheaper too, mates.

Have a look at the site and you will be delighted with the eco-chic retro revival. It’s flea market gone fabulous!

Blushing Butterfly Lamp      Green Tea         Candelabra Blanc

Shown at top: the artsy conversation piece “Dinner for One“

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Here’s something to try at home only if you meet two requirements.

1. Slightly reckless artistic genius.

2. See  requirement 1.

Oh, and a Sharpie, heavyweight of the permanent-marker world and beloved by Americans everywhere, despite an unfortunate patron or two. Sharpie packs sell for around 10 bucks each – and that’s how much it cost Lexmark associate general counsel Charlie Kratzer to decorate his basement. Preparation? A lick of cream paint, and nothing more. And the result, seen in 360-degree view at Kentucky.com…is astonishing.

Oh, it’s far from contemporary or chic. And I’m not sure that George Bernard Shaw ever belongs on the same stretch of wall as Bullwinkle and Rocky. But it’s an intriguingly thrifty concept (and my Inner Child is grinning broadly at the thought of drawing on the wall with marker-pen). Just imagine if a modern Michelangelo grabbed a handful of colored pens and got to work.

And translate it down – why not whitewash a small item badly in need of renovation, and try your hand? You never know what (slightly reckless) artistic genius lurks under the surface…

Image: steakpinball

The post Putting Pen To Wall: $10 Redecoration appeared first on EcoSalon.