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.