CasaSugar

Get the Look: That '70s Style of The Box

CasaSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:45 -0700

The Box, the new thriller from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly, tells the story of a financially troubled married couple who receive a box containing a button. The next morning, a creepy mysterious stranger tells them that they will receive $1 million if they push the button, but someone in the world will die. The movie, which is based on a short story by Richard Matheson, is set in Richmond, VA, in the year 1976, so there's plenty of fun, funky styling to the set. See my favorite ideas for getting the look.

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Cameron Diaz's Tip For Finding Eco-Friendly Furniture

CasaSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:00:42 -0700

In one of Gwyneth Paltrow's recent GOOP newsletters, Cameron Diaz shared her tip for finding eco-friendly furniture and a favorite resource for upholstery fabrics:

Flea markets, second-hand stores, and yard sales provide beautiful, well-made clothing and furniture, that can be reupholstered, tailored, or recycled into something completely different. I love hunting for treasures and finding beautiful things that seem to tell a whole story. Consider updating an old chair in one of these beautiful, sustainably produced fabrics.

Do you buy second-hand furniture like Cameron?

Casa Verde: Cameron and Cameron Talk (and Walk) Green

CasaSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:00:31 -0800

I have yet to catch an episode of Sundance's Iconoclasts series, which pairs celebrities or leading innovators from two different industries to chat about their passions and creative processes. But, after seeing some clips of season four, which couples long-time environmental advocate Cameron Diaz and Architecture for Humanity cofounder Cameron
Sinclair, I think I've been wooed. This season, the series follows the two to New Orleans and Biloxi, MS, to take in the environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina. While Diaz may be an eco-conscious gal, she's not exactly an expert, so Sinclair, whose global organization works to find sustainable architectural solutions to humanitarian crises, is really the force in this pairing. It's refreshing to see him getting some face time and interesting to hear his perspective on an environment which has been so monumentally devastated.

To see a clip of this show, read more.

I'm curious now if anyone over at Sundance has a personal connection to New Orleans and a strong interest in architecture. If you remember, the network also has a series called Architecture School, which follows a group of students from Tulane University's prestigious School of Architecture as they compete for the chance to design an affordable home in Katrina-devastated New Orleans. Regardless, I'm happy to see that both Sinclair and the city of New Orleans are receiving some attention.

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Casa Verde: Cameron Diaz on Going Green

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:50:46 -0700

Cameron Diaz has written the foreword for The Green Book (2007, Three Rivers Press), a new book on the importance of living an environmental lifestyle. I certainly agree that we should try to live as sustainably as possible, for our sake as well as that of our children. Let's see what Cameron has to say.

"I never got into the environmental movement [before] because I really didn't connect to what was being said and how it was being said. I'm a selfish American. I don't want to give it all up. But at the same time, I found that I was already practicing the basics, everything from recycling to composting to saving energy to hybrid cars. I had been pursuing those things myself without knowing that they were part of the movement. Then I started listening more closely to what was being said because I was looking for a way in. I wanted to do more than what I was doing just for myself. I wanted to help other people do more. ..."

To hear more from Cameron, just read more
"Look at how long it's taken us to create what we have today and all we've done efficiency-wise, product-wise, and quality-wise-all of the things that we as Americans gain comfort in and expect to have available to us. We're doing pretty well. We're in a good place. It's an exciting time to be alive. We can figure out how to maintain our lifestyles and the health of the planet if we do it right. And that's what I want. I don't want to be running around barefoot, pushing my car like Barney Rubble. I don't want to go back to the Stone Age. I just want to maintain what we have for a long period of time-forever. How nice would that be? I'm very selfish."

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Inspired: Cameron Diaz's Reverse Appliqué

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:15:56 -0700

Cameron Diaz's Oscar de la Renta dress, which she wore at the Women in Film Awards, reminded me of another beautiful lady who's fond of appliqué and reverse appliqué. In fact, this designer marks them as signature techniques in her fashion and home décor lines. I've featured her work a few times in the past, along with her inspiring book.

To find out who the designer is, read more.

Cameron's dress reminded me of designer Natalie Chanin, who's made appliqué and reverse appliqué two of her signature techniques. Reverse appliqué is a method creating a cut-out look in a piece, and often uses a contrasting color. In Cameron's dress, the top layer (the white layer) would be the part that would be cut out, while the orange fabric would be laid underneath and stitched over. Natalie's company, Alabama Chanin, has created pillows, dresses, T-shirts, and napkins that use reverse appliqué. This designer claims it's easy to learn (I've done it once or twice, and I'd have to agree), so if you love the look as much as I do, buy her book, which has patterns and directions for projects using appliqué.

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Casa Capsule: The Week That Was

CasaSugar — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:30:51 -0800

Protect yourself with nine steps for keeping your home safe during the holidays.
Be sure to take my quiz to enter to win a $1,000 perfect holiday table from west elm!
Make your shopping a cinch with my gift guides.
Check out the authentic look of HBO's True Blood.
Cameron Diaz and Cameron Sinclair are Iconoclasts who talk and walk green.
Leonardo DiCaprio is going green by trading his Malibu pad for this NYC one.
Top Design's Ondine Karady is my latest Designer Spotlight.

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