Budget Decor – Fabulously Green

Category archives: Budget Decor

DIY DESIGN | How to Make a Modern, Multi-functional Coffee Table

09Apr08

Courtesy of Blueprint Magazine

Here’s a fast and fabulous furniture idea from Blueprint Magazine, one of my favorite but sadly discontinued design sources. Closet storage cubes come together to create a coffee table and storage unit.

How-to instructions and sources are still available on the Blueprint website, but it’s easy to figure out how it’s done — and design your own variation.

TRY THIS

Sure this storage sectional makes a handsome coffee table, but why not try turning it into a display shelf, wall partition, end tables or additional seating?

ADD YOUR OWN FAB GREEN TWIST

Create your own two-tone masterpiece using eco-friendly, healthier low or non-voc paints by Yolo Colorhouse, Benjamin Moore, or Fine Paints of Europe.

Prefer prints or patterns? Try these:

recycled newspaper (see our post about newspaper as wallpaper
gift wrap (see our post about Fish Lips Press and their oh-so-beautiful, oh-so-earth friendly wrapping papers)
vintage wallpaper (see our post on Second Hand Rose)
vintage fabric (see our post on Refab Cushions for some hot sources)

Filed under Budget Decor, Furniture, Interior Design, Multifunctional Design| Tagged Changeable Style, Eco-friendly | No Comments

DIY DESIGN | Fast Facelift for a Dresser

28Mar08

Shabby chic less the shabby. This weekend project works great on cast-off dressers, sideboards, desks, and tabletops. If you don’t already have a piece in your own pad to experiment with, try hunting down a gem on Craigslist, a local flea market, Goodwill or garage sale.

A Green Twist
Finish it off with a hip, healthier paint option like Yolo’s Sprout Collection (for modern, spring-inspired colors), Benjamin Moore’s Aura, or Fine Paints of Europe (for rich, historically-derived colors). Other companies like Pantone have started offering non-VOC or low-VOC paints and primers as well so it’s much easier to go high style and fume free. The few extra dollars per gallon is worth it for the health and environmental benefits.

Video Podcast Instructions
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIJ-DDOtH6k&hl=en]

Prefer written instructions? Check out the complete post by Chris Gardner on Curbly.

Check out our full list of DIY Design ideas here.

Filed under Budget Decor, Furniture, Materials+Finishes, Paints+Techniques, Refashion+Refurb, Videos| Tagged DIY furniture, eco friendly paint, Eco-friendly, how to refurbish furniture, modern DIY, Non-toxic, podcast | No Comments

DESIGN BY RESCUE | Newsworthy Wallpaper

28Feb08

This fabulous DIY wallpaper treatment came from a high-end Italian furniture catalog of all places. A $6,000 plus Italian-crafted bed set against a wallpaper of newspaper that costs–if recycled, almost nothing.

How to Fab Your Walls

It’s all about experimenting with what you’ve got. Look around your space, or a friend’s. You can use almost anything:

Pages from an old book: I couldn’t sell back my outdated Norton Anthologies, so I’m prepping those wafer thin pages to cover a column in 17th century poetry. There’s like, 2000 pages in all.
Postcards from the edge: If you’re someone whose friends and family travel to ooh-la-la places and send good pics, use them.
Greeting cards: Sort them by dominant color, (cut them up if you’re not sentimental) and create your own David Hockney-esque masterpiece
CDs/DVDs: You don’t really need that outdated Windows Install CD do you? Declutter as you design by taking those cast-off CDs from home and the office and paint them to create a geometric border or wall treatment. It will look like, totally groovy.
Sheet music: So lyrical and artsy
Office swag: If you’re the type to bring work home, why not do something cathartic with those oh-so-colorful TPS reports? Or try the Business Card Art Wall idea we posted earlier.

How to Make it Removable

If you’re a renter or a design chameleon it’s easy to make this treatment lease-friendly by using double-sided tape. Elmer’s Glue mixed with water is earth-friendly to boot because it’s non-toxic, removable with sponge and water and biodegradable.

Show Off Your Inner Warhol

Weekend warriors: e-mail us your photos of your fabulous wall makeover. If we like it, we’ll make you famous. Or at least give you kudos!

Filed under Budget Decor, Interior Design, Refashion+Refurb, Small Space Style, Wallcoverings| Tagged creative wallpaper ideas, newspaper wallpaper | 16 Comments

Snip the Light Fantastic

19Feb08

Since when does something low wattage look this hot? Designer Monica Singer invites you to cut and create a one-of-a-kind pendant sculpture. The Cut Light arrives in raw form: a clear canister filled with lightweight, laser cut polyester ribbons and a complementary pair of shears. At an affordable price of $69US, anyone can snip the light fantastic.

Cut Lamp by Monica Singer

What Makes It Fabulous:
This winged wonder puts the sexy in compact fluorescent lighting (hot incandescent bulbs will melt these babies). Energy-efficient, sculptural, cool.

Available at generate

Filed under Budget Decor, Interior Design, Lighting| Tagged cut light, Energy Savers, Generate, gnr8, Monica Singer | 4 Comments

Ask Fab Green: Hot Shops in D.C.?

09Aug07

Dear Fab Green,
I live in Washington DC and recently bought a new condo which I’m interested in furnishing with green furniture and accessories (most of what I have now is of the college junk variety, so in a lot of ways I’m starting over). Do you have any suggestions (besides “Come to LA, and bring a truck”)?
Thanks very much, Jenny

Hi Jenny,
I’ve enlisted the help of DC-based gal pal and fellow designer Nicole Foley for suggestions. For home furnishings she recommends two spots:

For style mongers, D.C.’s Craiglist is a treasure trove for mid-century modern finds, and Domino-inspired revival pieces. In fact, Nicole says it’s often easier to snag a deal on modern furniture in D.C. over L.A. since the demand for and knowledge of mid-century design is less developed. Maybe I should rent a truck and swing out your way!

Case in point: $299 chair by Brocade Home (left). A set of four selling for $100 total in Arlington (right)

For new, eco-friendly furnishings Nicole recommends:
Eco-Green Living.
1469 Church Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Mon – Sat, 11am – 7pm
Tel: 202.234.7110

What you’ll find: an organic coffee/tea bar, corn-silk carpet tiles, low-odor and no-odor paints (many of them milk-based), organic tees, and solar-powered radios.

Thanks for writing Jenny!

Filed under Budget Decor, Furniture, Interior Design, Refashion+Refurb, Small Space Style, Vintage| Tagged Eco-friendly, Furniture, shopping, Vintage, washington dc | No Comments

Ask Fab Green: Decorative Bowls

27Jul07

Hi Fab Green,
I’ve been looking for little baskets made of some kind of re-used plastic, have a weave-like look and available in lots of colors. Have you heard of anything like this? Please let me know where to find them if you have. Thanks, Liane

Dear Liane,

Thanks for writing! Recycled plastic is becoming a more popular material for a host of things from baskets and bowls to handbags. I personally lean towards contemporary style pieces by designers like Yaron Elyasi. Made from melted strings of plastic and recycled plastic, these Kacoon bowls are swirled in to existence–in the expressionist spirit of say, a Jackson Pollack.
I can’t say that melting plastic doesn’t pose its own environmental pollutants–any chemists out there know?

No two Kacoon bowls are the same. They are available in seven colors at an affordable price ($42). You can find the Kacoon here.

Filed under Budget Decor, Furnishings, Handmade, Indie, Interior Design, Refashion+Refurb| Tagged bowls, chic, design+architecture, Eco-friendly, Handmade, Indie, Interior Design, modern style, Recycled, shopping, sustainable style, Tabletop | No Comments

Fish Lips Designs | Under Wraps

11Jul07

I’m enraptured by these gift papers by Fish Lips Designs. Bold graphics printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Oh, and the dyes are soy-based and chemical-free. As a former graphic designer I will say that going green in printing and paper is no easy feat. And the prices for papers are pretty reasonable.

DIY tip: Having seen these papers in person (owner/designer Kimi Rutkin dropped by some samples), they are handsome enough to frame as wall art. Buy a large sheet and create your own tryptic, or cluster a few patterns together of varying shapes and sizes to create a composition.

Other Fab DIY Possibilities:
* Book Covers
* Drawer Liners
* Scrapbooking
* Placements
* Handmade greeting cards
* Lampshades
* Switchplates – if you know how to decoupage

See the whole collection at the Fish Lips website. Go ahead, get wrapping!

Filed under Budget Decor, Gifts+Gifting, Lifestyle Tips, Recycled, Stationery+Cards| Tagged Eco-friendly, Fish Lips Designs, gift wrap, Kimi Rutkin, Non-toxic, Recycled, recycled wrapping paper, retro gift wrap, Stationery+Cards | 1 Comment

DIY Style File | Billy Gets a Makeover

30May07

Here’s a clever way to update this nondescript IKEA classic. All you need is a little planet-friendly paint like Benjamin Moore’s Aura or Yolo Colorhouse to give your Billy new life.

If a graphic look if more your thing, try lining the back wall with wallpaper. Some fabulously green options include: Baroque-gone-modern prints by Mod Green Pod made from organic cotton, vintage papers from Second Hand Rose, or retro vintage papers from 5qm.

Photo via Domino Magazine

Filed under Budget Decor, Furniture, Refashion+Refurb, Small Space Style| Tagged Eco-friendly, Reusable | No Comments

Small Space | Big Style

12May07

Less is more. Case in point: Apartment Therapy’s 3rd Annual Smallest Coolest Apartment 2007 contest. Over 100 entries showcased the art of living large in a small space. The votes have been tallied, but you can still catch the full gallery of designs, floor plans, and how-to descriptions. Great design inspiration for your cozy lil’ crib.

Filed under Budget Decor, Interior Design, Lifestyle Tips, Multifunctional Design| Tagged Competitions+Contests | No Comments

Sunday's "It" Store: Zanisa

06May07

Zanisa is an online boutique well-stocked with green and gorgeous gifts for him, her, baby–even for your pet. Founder Susan Lawrence launched Zanisa as “a labor of love” and it shows. A beautifully drawn symbol legend helps shoppers understand the degree of “green” characteristics in each product. There’s a broad range of green style gifts to suit economical and extravagant budgets.

Who: Zanisa, a derivative Shona word meaning “to restore harmony and be in balance”
What: Online, one-stop source for high style, socially conscious gifts presented in drop-dead-gorgeous packages.
Best Bets:
Luxurious, handmade, organic soaps and spa kits
Restyled wallets, bags, totes
Organic, fair trade chocolates
Green gifts under $25

Extra: Catch the stories of artists/designers behind the goods in the Profiles section.

Know Before You Go: If you want to search products by green category (i.e. see what is “fair trade” or “recyclable”) you need to rollover the “Show” button to pop up the menu. Zanisa also stocks some “handmade only” items so not everything on the site is considered “green.”

FAB GREEN PICKS

Bottlecap Bracelet by Laura Beamer, $159
Made from recycled Oopp juice bottle caps

Chocolate Wafers, Kathy Moskai, $15
Organic, fair trade chocolate from sustainably grown and harvested beans in the Ecuadoran rainforest. Topped with crushed espresso, pink peppercorns, or chipotle-roasted organic pumpkin seeds. A daring delight!