CasaSugar

Casa Verde: How Brad Pitt Is Helping "Green" New Orleans

CasaSugar — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 05:29:36 -0700

Hurricane Katrina may have faded from the headlines, but there are still plenty of people without housing in New Orleans. Enter the Holy Cross Project, an affordable and sustainable housing development now under construction. (Thanks to Shelterrific for the tip.) Holy Cross is a partnership between environmental nonprofit Global Green and needs-no-introduction Brad Pitt (pictured below with Global Green's Matt Petersen).

The actor and the organization got together in 2006, sponsoring a design competition to develop a zero-energy housing development in the devastated Lower 9th Ward. The winning design, created by Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop/APD in New York, includes five single family homes and a multi-unit apartment complex that will run on solar power. The first home is currently under construction in New Orleans, with the Home Depot Foundation footing part of the bill and Pitt still playing a hands on role. I think this sounds like a great green solution; how about you?

Casa Quiz: Globally Green

CasaSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:00:17 -0800

Last week I clued you in on some green ideas that have been implemented globally, which I learned about through Metropolitan Home. Take this quiz to see how well your memory serves you.

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Nice and New: Rubie Green Bedding

CasaSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Eco-chic upholstery fabric designer Michelle Adams of Rubie Green has ventured into the bedroom. With a new bedding line, that is. Now her downtown preppy patterns can be yours even if you're not up for reupholstering a sad chair or having custom curtains made. The current offerings include duvet covers, sheet sets, shams, and bed skirts. Take your pick of four designs, including a black and white graph-like Habibi, the pretty-in-pink zig zag East Village, the summery yellow lattice Tillinghast, and simple Classic bedding with black piping. All of the bedding comes from a factory that is certified eco-friendly by the Global Organic Textile Standard in every step of production, from the weaving of the fabric down to the final packaging, and is made from the softest 300 thread-count organic cotton percale. Who ever said you can't look good and be good (to the environment) in bed, too?

Casa Verde: Listed Green

CasaSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:45:51 -0700

Interested in buying a green home? Then try searching through Listed Green, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exclusively for green, energy-efficient, sustainable homes and housing developments for sale worldwide. Committed to reducing global warming by promoting sustainable, energy-efficient, healthy-building design, the service helps to elevate the market value of new green homes and eco-friendly residential developments. Like a traditional MLS, Listed Green accommodates sellers of all types, averaging over 20,000 visitors per month, but each listing is personally reviewed before it is listed to ascertain that it is actually green, energy efficient and/or sustainable; this prevents a sort of real estate greenwashing. The process also holds bigger homes to higher standards, requiring that they have an "extensive" list of green components, such as solar power, solar-thermal hot water, water-saving devices throughout, recycled materials, and LEED certification. It also offers a platform for green builders and developers to advertise their current or up-and-coming green, energy-efficient, sustainable housing projects to like-minded buyers, and helps to educate potential home buyers about the importance of and technicalities surrounding living green. If you're on the house hunt, consider one of these green listings, or at least educate yourself about them. If not, Listed Green has a new website called Listed Green Getaways, featuring green, eco-friendly resorts and spas worldwide; go green on your next vacation!

Brad Pitt's Got Architectural Digest Covered

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:27 -0800

Brad Pitt's been spotted on many a magazine cover for his latest movies and tabloid-famous family, but now the star graces the cover of the January issue of Architectural Digest. The star with a passion for architecture who's contributed eco designs for Dubai and worked with Global Green on affordable housing is making the leap to the shelter magazine world. Pitt shares the cover with one of the 150 eco-friendly homes in New Orleans that he is helping to sponsor and build through his Make It Right Foundation.

To find out more about Make It Right, as well as to see images of some of the homes that have been constructed, read more.

86 of 150 affordable environmentally sound houses have been sponsored and/or built since last December, and the rest of the homes will be finished over the next year. Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to the project, as did Steve Bing, the philanthropist, and nine architecture firms have donated their services to the cause.

The houses are being built using Cradle to Cradle Certification, which means that every building material and component in the house can either be biodegraded or recycled. Some products used in the homes include EcoWorx Performance Broadloom carpet, which, unlike most carpet, can be collected and recycled. Homes also use TimberSIL wood treatment, which replaces the hazardous copper, chromium, and arsenic-based preservatives, as well as Earthtex fabric, which is a no-VOC product that is 100-percent recyclable.

In the Architectural Digest article Pitt is quoted as saying, "You have no idea what a high it is for me to see the delight on people's faces when they see how these homes work . . . This project is not mine anymore. It's so beyond me."

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Casa Interview: Emma Gardner

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:45:40 -0800

Designer Emma Gardner creates beautifully designed rugs and home accessories that feature nature-inspired patterns. A member of the RUGMARK Foundation, a global non-profit organization working to end child labor, Emma Gardner creates her vibrant rugs from her Litchfield, CT, studio. Emma recently took some time off from her busy schedule to answer some questions for us.

CasaSugar: You started your career as an illustrator. Is there a connection between your illustrations and your rug designs?

Emma Gardner: The style of illustration I do is very color-focused and tends to be quite graphic. I definitely think that sensibility manifests itself in the rug and textile designs I do.

CasaSugar: How did you get involved with RUGMARK?

Emma Gardner: I got involved with RUGMARK when I first thought of making rugs. I knew child labor was an issue where we'd be getting the rugs made, and had heard about the great work they do. I contacted them to find certified mills and from the large list they gave me I was able to find mills whose work quality is excellent and with whom we love to work.

To see some of Emma's rugs, and to hear more about her work, read more.

CasaSugar: What elements are currently inspiring your designs?

Emma Gardner: Lately I've been focusing on abstract elements in nature. A rug I just designed for next year is inspired by a shell I found this Summer, for example. I have also been playing with a palette of rich neutrals, gray blues, and light purples, and sometimes I get inspiration from the colors themselves.

CasaSugar: Your pillows and throws are very geometrically patterned, which seems a departure from some of your rug designs. How did you decide on these patterns?

Emma Gardner: You noticed! These designs were actually heavily influenced by the particularities of the material I wanted to work with, Sensuede. I loved the feel of the fabric, the colors they offered and the fact that it is made with a good percentage recycled material. I really enjoy the challenge of designing for a specific medium and manufacturing process. In this case, everything had to be quite simple and geometric because they were being sewn individually.

CasaSugar: What colors do you gravitate toward? What patterns?

Emma Gardner: I hate to narrow it down since I love so many colors and think they all have the potential to look beautiful in combination, but I do find myself unerringly turning to greens, even when I try not to. There are so many of them to love. Patterns could be anything, although I tend not to like things too regular or too small-scale, though I'm sure there are exceptions. I think I'm more influenced by color than pattern so if the color wows me I am not so fussy about whether the pattern is abstract, old-fashioned, or literal.

CasaSugar: What do you see on the horizon for your company? Any new mediums you’ll be working in?

Emma Gardner: I want to keep working on textiles of all types; upholstery, outdoor, whatever. I am continuing to do my illustration and hope that one day in the near future we'll be able to incorporate that into some interesting and different surfaces. We will also be announcing at least two licensing deals in the coming months.

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Casa Verde: Gorgeous Green Bedding

CasaSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:30:44 -0700

If you're looking for one easy way to green your bedroom, try starting with a bedding switch. A new duvet cover or set of pillows will make your whole bedroom look brand new. It's definitely a small change that will make a big difference, décor wise, in your home. Need more incentive? Consider the fact that conventional, nonorganic cotton uses more insecticides than any other single crop, and each year cotton producers use nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides, accounting for more than 10 percent of the world's pesticides and nearly 25 percent of the world's insecticides. All of those toxins don't make your nonorganic bedding seem that safe, or romantic, as you cuddle up in them at night, huh?

So, put your rebate check to a worthy cause, both personally and globally, and consider investing in some green bedding. I love this Tile Organic Duvet Cover and Sham Set ($29-$129) for its sleek, geometric look and clean lines (and of course its organic content). Check out the widget below for some of my other faves.

Organic Cotton Vintage Paisley Bedding - $69.00	Clodagh Deep Sea Duvet, 100% Organic Cotton Sateen - $89.99
Overlapping Leaves Organic Duvet Cover & Sham - $29.00	Area Organic Mist Charcoal Sheets - $100.00
Area Organic Details Sheets - $120.00	Organic Cotton Fiore Bedding - $169.00
Organic Cotton Serenity Bedding - $90.00	Organic Cotton Fleurette Pillowcases (set of 2) - $22.00
Organic Cotton Bangalore Bedding - $39.00	Organic Hemstitch Duvet Cover & Sham - Lime Green - $129.00
Amenity - Organic Sham Set - $65.00	Sunflower Organic Quilt & Sham - $249.00
Woodland Organic Duvet Cover & Sham - $29.00	Organic Cotton Vintage Stripe Reversible Shams - $59.00
Ikat Organic Duvet Cover & Sham - Green Apple/Pineapple Yellow - $129.00	Organic Safari Sheeting - $18.00
Organic Cotton Pillow - $50.00	Amenity Willow Organic Cotton Duvet Cover - Cream & Cocoa - $330.00
Amenity Bloom Organic Cotton Duvet Cover - Cream & Cocoa - $330.00	Unison Tatami Organic Ivory Duvet and Cases - $44.00
Amenity Cove Organic Cotton Duvet Cover - Cream & Moss - $330.00

Happy Earth Day!

CasaSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:43 -0700

To celebrate Earth Day when I was in grade school, my friends and I rewrote the lyrics to TLC's "Waterfalls" with verses like "Don't go littering the earth, Please stick to the recycling bins," and sang them to the tune of the song playing on my boombox. Even though that is an utterly awesome image, I think I'll save you the pain of hearing my voice this Earth Day. Instead, I thought I'd round up some of my favorite Casa Verde posts that I've written.

I hope that's enough for you to chew over on this special day. And, when you've finished reading, remember to unplug your computer from the wall.
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Casa Verde: Solara

CasaSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:45:45 -0800

Solara, a new apartment community in San Diego County, California, is the first apartment complex in the country that is completely powered by solar energy. But that's not all-these homes are also affordable, and are built for families that make only moderate incomes.

This project was made possible through a collaboration with the city of Poway, California, Community Housing Works, and Global Green USA. People who make 30 percent to 60 percent of the area's median income are eligible to live at Solara, which means that a family of four is eligible if their annual income is less than $41,100, or a single person is eligible if she makes less than $28,750 Residents pay between $388 and $1,075 per month, depending on their incomes and whether they are renting a one-, two- or three-bedroom apartment. Utilities are included in the rent.

The apartments are made even more affordable given that they include such energy-saving features as passive solar orientation, cool roofs, low-e windows, Energy Star appliances, and tankless boilers for hot water. The homes also feature low-flow restrictors, dual flush toilets, and native landscaping, which saves on water. The homes also feature recycled materials such as linoleum, green carpet (with carpet pad from recycled clothing), plastic-composite decking material, and fly ash in concrete. Healthy indoor environmental quality is provided by natural cross ventilation, low-VOC paints and finishes, formaldehyde-free insulation and cabinets, chlorine-free air conditioning, and ample mechanical ventilation.

To see how this project was funded, just read more
The project’s renewable energy systems, such as the solar panels, were financed almost entirely by energy rebates and tax credits, including rarely used state and federal financial incentives for multifamily housing. Funding for the $16.3 million project comes from Union Bank of California, the City of Poway, the County of San Diego, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and National Equity Fund.

SOLARA has the lowest carbon footprint of any apartment complex in California, a full 95 percent lower than a conventionally powered community! This means that Solara is able to avoid producing more than 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide each year, which is equivalent to planting 5,446 trees or taking 300 cars off the road annually.

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Designer Profile: Kelly LaPlante and Organic Interior Design

CasaSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:58:07 -0800

Los Angeles eco-designer Kelly LaPlante and her firm, Organic Interior Design, try to impress upon clients that good style and organic and sustainable furnishings can be synonymous. LaPlante has designed her own line of elegant, eco-friendly furnishings, including soy candles and organic sofas, which are available through her showroom in Venice Beach.

Kelly's work has recently been seen at the Sundance Style Lounge, the Global Green Oscar Party and the Ultimate Emmy Green Room. Her book, Eco-Luxe: Sustainable Spaces of Extraordinary Individuals is forthcoming.

To see a gallery of Kelly's design work, just read more

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