paige anderson appel is so talented! she runs bash eco events, an event production company, specializing in stunning eco weddings. she even donates part of her event fees to A MILLION TREES LA! i just love her solution to a fun and eco-friendly christmas tree. just paint one on the wall (with low or no VOC paint of course) and voila! it looks so amazing!

paige hosted a lovely evening with delicious food cooked by her talented husband kevin appel who is an accomplished artist and art teacher. paige and kevin are not only an adorable couple but truly an amazing, dynamic and inspirational duo! in addition to the lovely hosts and guests, clever decoration and scrumptous food, were beautiful gifts available for sale from TRUNKSHOW luxury organic goods organized by the talented designer heather heron. shown above are organic bedding found at the TRUNKSHOW and totes from heather heron's new home furnishings line with environment.

happy holidays!

sunset view from current project

can you guess where this stunning sunset photo is taken? it's a current project and the install is january so you will see comleted photos soon. happy holidays!

holiday giving through decoration donation

amazing things are happening in our community! almost all of the 18 newly constructed rooms at upward bound in culver city have designers or individuals committed to decorating them in time for the first families to move in on Feb 1!

i am one of them and already have the following companies donating to 'my' room:
Restoration Hardware (this company features beautiful handmade pieces by various artisans)
Liz's Antique Hardware (amazing antique, vintage and new hardware and lighting)
Healthier Choice (carpet pads and floor underlayment)
GreenLife Coatings (eco-friendly invisible protection for all surfaces in your home & business)
Haefele Design (architect specializing in kitchen design)
Amber Trueblood (contemporary artist)
The Savvy Traveler (award-winning travel concierge)

please contact me regarding your donated item(s) and forward this info to anyone you know who may have an item or items to donate. whether it's something decorative, non-perishable food or skincare!

look for eTTa on facebook and become a fan and get progress updates on this project. type in "eTTa" in the upper right hand corner of your facebook page and you should see "eTTa designs - eco-luxury interior design" pop up.

did you know your tap water may be toxic?

recently, i attended a wonderful lecture by the extremely knowledgeable mary cordaro at bausman & company. she gave us tips on water quality safety and conservation which also helps save money, minimize pollution and extend the life of plumbing.

as i prepared to write this lecture recap, i did some research which revealed startling findings on the safety of our tap water included in # 16 below from the ny times. also, some additional information came from eartheasy.

1. GREY WATER

re-use wash water for irrigation

2. RAIN WATER

supplemental irrigation from a catchment system

3. USE AS LITTLE WATER AS POSSIBLE/TURN IT OFF

while scrubbing dishes, brushing teeth, shorter showers, etc

4. EFFICIENT HOT WATER SYSTEM

hot water is the largest percentage of residential end use of total energy. consider the location of the hot water heater in relation to location of where water is dispensed and tankless water heaters. typically 20% of water in a household is wasted just waiting for the hot water to come out. consider tankless hot water heaters. flush system regularly to avoid sediment buildup.

5. MOLD PREVENTION AND WATER RETENTION

use non-toxic materials

6. PROTECT AGAINST LEAKS/FLOODS

get 1" lip sheet metal pan and leak detector with alarm and caulk cabinet

7. CHECK FOR TOILTE LEAKS

8. CHECK WATER METER FOR HIDDEN LEAKS

9. DON'T USE TOILET AS AN ASHTRAY OR WASTEBASKET

10. LOW FLOW PLUMBING

11. TANK BANK OR FLOATER BOOSTER

be sure to leave room for 3 gallons of water in the toilet tank

12. INSULATE PIPES

13. USE DISHWASHER AND WASHING MACHINE FOR FULL LOADS ONLY

14. COMPOST INSTEAD OF USING DISPOSAL

disposals require a lot of water and impact septic system

15. USE A BROOM NOT A HOSE (OR THE HIGHLY POLLUTING BLOWER) TO CLEAN SIDEWALK

16. WATER FILTRATION

mary says that for bathing, a filter is fine but for drinking, purifying is also necessary since there are already many questionable toxic elements in tap water and our water supplies are getting more and more polluted. in fact, according to a NY times article this year, violations of the 'clean water act' has risen steadily! Also in the article, Lisa P Jackson, the new EPA administrator, said "today the nation's water does not meet public health goals, and enforcment of water pollution laws is unacceptably low." It also mentions that according to some Times research, "an estimated 1 in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways."

however, mary doesn't recommend switching to bottled water, since that industry's not required to be any better than tap water, and some argue it's worse than tap water. her recommendation is filtration which also protects plumbing with regular maintenance (removing pipe scale is very important). one solution is a product mary sells, the effective and efficient performax system which even meets future ecological guidelines!

17. SAFE WATER BOTTLES

replace your plastic bottles made of PET which are hazardous to our health with safe bottles.

Williams Sonoma Home Design

Williams Sonoma Home hosted a lovely evening last week at their West Hollywood store for designers. It was such a treat to hear from VPs of design Monelle Totah and Kirsty Williams and get a sneak peek at how and where products are sourced, designed and produced to create the casual and classic elegance that so clearly defines Williams Sonoma Home. This design duo shared their inspirations from antiques found in London, Istanbul and Paris. They also highlighted some eco and sustainable aspects of the business like antique textiles used on pillows and small furniture, the full Hickory furniture line which is 90% US made, selecting items that are manufactured with fair labor, sustainable wood and earth-friendly finishes (see ottoman pictured), US made fabric, reclaimed wood, recycled glass, and artisinal accessories. They also mentioned that they are about to start planning for Spring 2011 which reminds me of the timeframe from my days in fashion merchandising.

Since the event, I was pleasantly surprised to discovered Williams Sonoma Home taking even more sustainable actions as outlined by the Sustainable Furnishings Council.

What a great holiday gift idea! A $25 raffle ticket helps raise money for RugMark's GoodWeave certification and gets you a chance to win a luxurious 8x10 rug valued at $10,800 (pictured to the left)! GoodWeave is working to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and to offer eductional opportunities to children in South Asia.

Know where and how your new rug purchases are made so that you can make an informed decision. RugMark and GoodWeave certified ensure your rug is child-labor-free.

West Elm's Host at Home

West Elm hosted their first "Host & Home" event yesterday in their Santa Monica store! I was honored to be one of 3 celebrity designers who decorated a West Elm table and offered decorating tips to guests. My focus of course was sustainable entertaining and focused on mixing West Elm's natural, organic and recylced items with antique and vintage items as well as the benefits of selecting multifunctional pieces, especially important in these tough economic times.

The holidays are the perfect time to have fun and try new ways of decorating. Look at what you already have and think about how that/those could be used differently. Perhaps you have a piece of fabric/linen/scarf handed down from your grandmother that would be a stunning table runner. Perhaps you have a special piece of china that could show off some floating blossoms. Perhaps you like the warmth, charm and whimsy of antique items so go ahead and mix that with new West Elm items which would balance so well with their clean lines.

I'm grateful to West Elm for hosting the event, to Bausman & Company in West Hollywood who loaned the spectacular and whimsical early 19th c. chinese red horse and to Grow on Abbot Kinney who loaned the plants and flowers. In addition to those items, I used small square initialed vintage napkins from my grandmother as well as the embroidered scarf used as a runner. The West Elm items include small trays sold for the bath but make great liners for an appetizer course (or lined with a lemon leaf, could serve cheese). The small white plates are stone and again from the bath section but could be used on the table to hold a candle. The bench is a great way to add additional seating and either be stored under a table or double as a low console or coffee table. The linen on the bench is actually a runner and pillows and throws in the dining area provide added comfort for guests. Additionally, the flatware looks extra special displayed horizontally in one of the West Elm boxes on the end of the bench as an alternate to an upright container or individual place settings.

Happy holidays!

handmade himalayan wallpaper

maya romanoff's latest wallpaper collection, meditations, is made from lokta paper from the himalayan mountains. lokta was first used for tibetan buddhist texts and today is also used for japanese currency. the paper making process uses little energy since the plant is delivered by foot after harvesting. then it's soaked, softened, boiled and then put into a pulp beater which is powered by small-scale hydropower from a nearby stream. it is then placed in the sun to dry. while the pulp is still wet, local artisans use chopsticks to hand-form the circular patttern of Ohm shown here.

devine dimmers

check out the cool invisible lightswitch and dimmer from british forbes & lomax available in the states now. it's so invisible, you really need to look closely to see the brass toggle (also comes with a cool dimmer dial for your eco-friendly projects) which appears as a dot above the moulding in this image. other finishes are also available.

is leather green?

last night i attended the fabulous westweek party at the recenlty opened l.a. edelman leather showroom at the p.d.c. in west hollywood. the event was complete with glenlivet scotch and a glenlivet representative dressed in gorgeous native attire (his knee-high socks were my favorite!). the party was well attended including my friend and colleague kathy pryzgoda of light studio l.a. who designed the showroom's lighting (pictured with me to the left). the best part was meeting jon edelman, president and 2nd generation in the family tannery!

without changing a thing in their processing, this award-winning organization recently received certfication by greengaurd. along these lines, it's important to keep in mind that their full-grain luxury leathers are a by-product of the meat industry. not only great for upholstery but also floor tiles and tables so check out the huge array of colors, textures and patterns on their website.

I'm back and greener than ever!

Yay...the blog is back! The hiatus of postings on here was surely not due to a shortage of green happenings or products. In fact, there seem to be more fantastic sustainable stuff out there than ever. So, my excuse is that I was sidetracked by my lastest design project, the eco-luxury spa at Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. Stay tuned for photos but also please stop by any day 11-7 and see for yourself how elegant and luxurious green can be!

Last Tuesday I attended EcoStiletto's Green Girl's Night Out at Intuition. Guests brought gently worn shoes for Dress for Success (including a pair from my closet which I wore once over the last few years so thankfully someone else will enjoy them and they'll stop collecting dust!) and enjoyed music from a solar-powered DJ, organic food by Ciudad and Border Grill, drinks by O.N.E. (including Acai which was delicious over ice), cool green (of course!) bracelets promoting the Green Youth Movement, an interactive installation for Lips Against Lead by Teeens for Safe Cosmetics and canvas totes by Green Works (supported by the Sierra Club). One of my favorite parts of the evening were the adorable, stylish, vegan and fair-trade ballerina slippers by Do-Ni. Oh and 100% of retail profits goes to a participating non-profit of your choice. How cool! Pictured above with one of the shoes is Dana Luong from Do-Ni and her cute baby and the other image is me trying the shoes on at the event.