By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Nancy, LuxEco founder and garden guru recommended that I try the Topsy Turvy. Excited about the success of her flourishing tomato plants at The Green Home Under the H she showed me pictures of them on her Blackberry one day while we were chatting. This eco-friendly planter would be perfect for my busy schedule she said, no weeding necessary! Aside from the initial planting, all that Topsy Turvy requires is watering once daily.
By Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series
I found a black leather unisex blazer from the Gap: $20.00 at Goodwill in Van Nuys. Someone recently told me he owns the identical blazer. He paid $300.00 for it. by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Orchids can be orchidellic Santa Barbara International Orchid Show And if you just watched the video clip above you”ll know why Huel Howser is so popular amongst the ladies here. They named this series of cymbidiums in his honor. [...]
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Seeing Citizen Kane at The Hearst Castle was The Screening on Steroids.” “Let’s do it!” replied Steve Hearst the great grandson of William Randolph Hearst when Wendy Eidson, director of the San [...]
By Lorri Ballance Laird, Writer and LuxEcoLiving Advocate Since 1978, lead paint has been banned in the United States. But even today, in 2012, the dangers of lead poisoning remain a reality for many children, especially for those living in older housing. Now, for the first time in twenty years, a federal panel has recommended [...]
By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief and of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World How many of you have seen the Alfred Hitchcock’s movie about the crows? You’ve heard the expression, “It’s for the birds.” Well in this case crows happen to be as intelligent as chimpanzee’s. In fact, they are [...]
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World You don’t want to miss the breakfast or the bed at The Old St. Angela Inn. Please Dianne, will you share your recipe? The sound of the gulls and salty smell of the sea awakens the [...]
By Trish Holder Courtesy of Greenspiration Home Are you a blissfully ignorant homeowner? Do you eat, drink, shower, sleep, wash dishes, etc. in your home, never giving any thought to how any of its systems work, until one day…. they don’t? That’s a bad day, isn’t it? It’s a bad day because you know that looming [...]
By Trish Holder Courtesy of Greenspiration Home One of two solar tube in kids’ bonus room. “Is that a solar tube light or have tiny flying saucers landed on your house?”I’m sure our neighbors have wondered this – at least if they get a view of the backside of our roof after dark. We have [...]
By Trish Holder Courtesy of Greenspiration Home “We’re going to die,” I pronounced. We were in the third hour of our drive to Folly Beach, SC for our family summer vacation and going through a brief but intense thunderstorm. The lightening strikes were so close I swear I could feel their heat. Until that point [...]
By Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer, Healthy Child Healthy World Expert Opinion courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World When my husband and I toured schools to find the one we wanted to enroll our daughter in, I’m sure I was silently voted one of the strangest parents ever. Why do I feel I was secretly [...]
6 Ways to Make a More Sustainable “Green” Home By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Many homes weren’t build with Green in mind and home improvement has the connotation of spending a lot of time Here money, and let’s face it: not everyone always has a lot of either. Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House, [...]
By Stephanie Nickolson, Healthy Green Interior Designer and LuxEco Advocate
Originally published at Natural Home & Garden
Air pollution abounds in our homes and businesses, but many air purification systems are not safe to use. A Key to Healthy Green Design in your home starts with purifying indoor air quality with plants.
Have you ever walked into a store, restaurant or other environment and couldn’t stand the heavily scented aroma that someone used to try and cover up another (worse) scent? Well, I have. It’s one of my favorite stores that I frequent and whenever I enter the washroom, I cannot wait to get out of there as the air is so heavily perfumed it makes me feel ill. This is not an effective remedy, nor is it healthy. Anything that exudes that much fragrance is certainly loaded with phthalates. Most commercial air fresheners mask odors but do nothing to remediate them.
Get rid of hazardous substances in your home and clean house with these great green cleaning products.
By Brooke Rewa, Lux Eco Editorial Assistant
Household cleaning products are full of hazardous substances that put our loved ones at risk. A clean house can be especially dangerous to children and pets. Toxic chemicals from conventional household products can be found on your floors, counters, carpets and transferred directly into the mouth of your pet or child. Many everyday cleaning products contain petroleum based pesticides and denatured ethanol, a type of ethanol that has one or more substances added to it making it poisonous. While we know little about the long-term health affects and environmental damage these hazardous substances can cause, it is safe to say the outcome cannot be good.
Sustainable Design: Green Cabinetry
By: Lisa Adams, Designer and CEO of LA Closet Design and LuxEco Advocate
So much is said about going green, but what exactly defines green? In short, green design (also referred to as “sustainable design” or “eco-design”) is the art of designing and building environments that comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. The goal of designing green is to produce places, products and services that significantly reduce or eliminate negative impact on the natural environment, while creating healthy places to live and work. When it comes to your home, educate yourself and make conscious choices about the materials living with you. Do they meet these goals?
By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEco Living and Beauty Expert
In 2006, James and Nancy Chuda completed their labor of love: their Green Home under the “H” of the iconic Hollywood sign. Drawing from the couple’s environmental activism and Jame’s prolific career as a nationally board-certified architect specializing in the creation of non-toxic living and working environments, the Green Home is a culmination of many years of the Chuda’s dedication to learning, living and advocating for a natural, environmentally-safe and sustainable lifestyle.
However, going green didn’t mean that their classic good taste would be sacrificed; their modern design would meet green architecture.
“The sound of water is so relaxing,” says Peter Logan of Peter Logan Designs in Tujunga California. “And the water garden is a low maintenance, ecologically balanced system requiring no toxic chemicals. It let’s Mother Nature do the work.” Working with nature, in all her innate balance and glory, was the spirit in which Peter [...]
by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series
As if those of us who are concerned about toxic chemicals in our environment didn’t have enough things to worry about, we must now add methamphetamine lab sites, either currently operating or long closed down, to the list. The inconvenient truth is that you could be living in one right now. Or parked next to one. — Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEcoLiving Editorial Assistant
By Lorri Ballance Laird, Luxeco Advocate
The holidays are over, and for many people in many parts of the U.S., winter has set in with a vengeance. One way to beat the winter blahs might be to try adding some houseplants to your indoor landscape. According to a plantsforlife.org report, not only can plants help boost your mood, reduce stress, and speed recovery from illness, they can also help improve indoor air quality.
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
As I wind down for the year I find myself thinking about a book called The Home Within Us and how much that says about my design philosophy. Everything I approach as a designer lies first and foremost in the feeling of comfort, well being, creating a place of safety and sanctuary. Problem solving, space planning, furniture and color selection comes later but it is driven by these things.
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
Lori Dennis’ desire to be part of the solution to waste and pollution in the interior design and construction fields led her to write “Green Interior Design” which came out last month. Along with beautiful images of her work, it is a manual of resources for anyone wishing to create green interiors.
By: Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant for Resplendent Repurposing series
If you have seniors on your gift list, you may be struggling with what to buy them. The best, and greenest answer may be: Nothing, as in no-thing.
It’s the old story: What to get the person who has everything? Most older people have more junk than they’ll ever need – and are trying to get rid of it. Very often they’re downscaling, going from a multi-bedroom house to a smaller one, an apartment or into assisted living. The last thing they want is one more dust-catcher. So don’t buy them any, unless they’ve specifically requested it. (Ever wonder what percentage of landfill contents are made up of unwanted gifts? I’ll bet the number is staggering.)
by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
A future gift, recycled in a thrift store, made from recycled materials. Now that’s a LuxEco Resplendent Repurposing triple header! by Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEcoLiving Editorial Assistant
The Christmas season is upon us, and people everywhere are gearing up for the holiday. In her book, I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas; Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes That Use Less and Mean More, author and LuxEco Advocate, Anna Getty shares with us her ideas on how to create memorable traditions while taking small steps to reduce our carbon footprints, minimize waste, and creatively use what we already have.
By Lorri Ballance Laird, LuxEco Advocate
Laurie David is on a quest. But it may not be the one you are most familiar with. David, who was a producer of “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore’s famous movie warning us of the impending perils of global warming, has taken her activist mentality and brought it to the family dinner table.
With her new book, The Family Dinner (Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal At A Time) (recipes by Kirsten Uhrenholdt), David is out to share her formula for creating great family memories one healthy dinner at a time.
By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
I recently moved into a new apartment, and with that came a massive scrub down of both old digs and new. My roommates and I spent hours cleaning the old place after moving everything out, but the products we used were hardly eco or health-friendly. When scrubbing the Comet-filled bathroom tub, the smell was so overwhelming that I nearly passed out. While cleaning bathrooms isn’t normally an enjoyable task, it doesn’t have to be one that puts people’s health and safety at risk.
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
Lori Weitzner’s products have been seen on movie sets, an Olympic Village, the Wynn resorts, prestigious stores such as Tiffanys’ and even museum walls. Important design museums have been exhibiting and acquiring Lori’s work for their permanent collections including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and Montreal’s Musee Decoratifs. In 2006 she was the subject of her first solo exhibition at the Institute of Arts in Minneapolis. Lori is also the recipient of more than 20 awards and honors, including the esteemed Best of Neocon.
By: Lorri Laird, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
“Healthy Child Healthy World has gone above and beyond in creating a real-life example of how to create a healthier home,” said Victoria Di Iorio, Project Director for the Healthy Child Healthy World Healthy Home 2010 Designer Showcase and Tour. Di Iorio, who also serves as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the non-profit charity Healthy Child Healthy World, recently spoke with LuxEco Living regarding the Healthy Home 2010 project and also shared her passion for green and healthy living.
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate.
Jill Salisbury, founder of Chicago based el: Environmental Language, formally educated and trained as an Interior Designer, has found her true calling and passion in the design and manufacturing of furniture. Ten plus years ago, while working as an interior designer, she began learning about the benefits of sustainability but wasn’t able to find furnishings that were stylish and had any kind of environmental initiative. “There wasn’t anything available and I felt the Interior Design community needed to have what I call the Eco-Chic Alternative where you can have style with environmental integrity and promote a healthy indoor air quality for your clients.”
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
With as much time as we spend in our homes these days, we want to create a home that is a retreat, that is what we speak to, but we want our retreat to be safe so this is definitely going to be an option. Certainly they don’t have to take it all the way to major extremes, but they can do little things that will make a huge difference in their health, their design and in the environment.
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Lotusland practices sustainable horticulture in the care of their gardens. This episode of the Lotusland series explores these practices in Madame’s rose garden. Also learn how to make your own tea compost!
By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Among Madame Gana Walska’s collection in the theatre garden are grotesque figures, which she hid in the ground to protect during the world war. She also had a garden clock with the different star signs. Her actual birthday is unknown but Lotusland believes that she was born in June, making her a Cancer. Join Nancy Chuda and Gwen Stauffer as they journey through these two lovely gardens.
By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate.
I know there is a lot of talk about the value of buying goods that are grown or made locally but for me there are reasons that far outweigh the use of fuels that travel such long distances to get to our shores and that is helping out our fellow human. Artecnica, a Los Angeles based design and manufacturing company, is committed to considering issues of environmental sustainability and responsible manufacturing. Design w/Conscience is a program, begun in 2002, that works with artisan communities in developing countries to produce unique handcrafted objects that reflect indigenous skills to be in accordance with humanitarian and environmentally sensitive principles.
By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
When I jumped on the gardening bandwagon, the first things I started to grow were herbs. I had really started getting into adventurous cooking, and it only made sense to grow my own herbs. If you go to the grocery store, you’re going to wind up spending a few bucks on a couple leaves of basil. Well, I don’t have a few bucks; but I do have a minute to snip off as much basil as I want from my garden, for free. And that’s really what it’s all about: saving time and money while bringing your food to a whole fresh, new level.
When I was a little girl, I remember my mother saying to me, “Nighty, night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Fortunately for me, I had no idea what she was talking about, as I had never encountered a bed bug.
But that may not be the case for millions of people the world over, as more and more bed bug infestations are currently being reported
