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As an Inhabitat editor, I’m asked all kinds of questions about green architecture and sustainable interior design, but the one I probably hear the most is, “How’d you get your job?” Based on those inquiries as well as the input I receive from my friends and family, it’s plain to see that many professionals in non-creative roles spend their days pretending to do work behind cubicle walls while secretly pursuing their true passions on Pinterest (I’m not judging because I totally do it too). If that sounds like you, you may have daydreamed about going back to school for interior design, but decided that it just wasn’t financially feasible to quit your current job or put in the time commitment. Luckily, it turns out that nowadays you can start steering yourself towards the creative career you want without giving up your day job. By studying at New York City’s premier home-study interior design school, The Sheffield School, you can start courses whenever you like and move at your own pace towards a certificate of completion. You’ll learn the basic principles you need to get started, and the best part is that it’s not nearly as risky or costly as quitting your job cold turkey and matriculating into a college design program.

Read the rest of Unlock an Interior Design Career with The Sheffield School’s Convenient Home Study Programs

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Post tags: adult education, creative courses, feng shui, how to be a wedding planner, how to become an interior designer, interior decorating, interior design, interior design courses, jewelry design, learn to be a wedding planner, sheffield, sheffield school, sheffield.edu, The Sheffield School, Wedding and Event Planning, wedding planner, wedding planning

The average person sleeps around eight hours a night — which amounts to a third of your life spent in bed. But despite the amount of time that we find ourselves tucked under our covers, most of us don’t give much thought to the place we plant our bodies when night falls (or when a nap calls). While it’s well-known that getting enough sleep is vital to our health and our ability to function effectively, many of us don’t consider the fact that the quality of sleep we get also plays an important role. One way to improve your night’s sleep is to invest in a high-quality 100% natural mattress. One of our favorites here at Inhabitat is by Coco-Mat, a family-owned, eco-minded company producing sustainable beds designed for the deepest of slumbers. Each of their beds is made from multiple layers of natural materials that provide optimal, elastic support to the human body, without the use of metal springs. The eco-friendly company only utilizes natural materials from renewable sources, such as coco fiber, natural rubber, wool, cotton, sea weed, horsehair, silk, linen, wood and goose down (read: no toxic chemicals or retardants). Established in 1989, Coco-Mat has developed a global following – and they recently set up shop right in the heart of New York City!

Read the rest of Coco-Mat Mattress – The Most Eco Friendly, Safe And Comfortable Mattress On Earth

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Post tags: all natural bed, all natural bedding, all natural layered mattress, all natural mattress, coc0-mat nyc, coco matt, coco mattress, coco-mat, coco-mat new york, coco-mat soho, cocomat, coconut fiber mattress, eco bedding, eco linen, eco mattress, eco mattress topper, eco-bed, green bed, green mattress, layered mattress, natural fiber mattress, natural mattress, natural sleep products, sustainable bed, sustainable bedding, sustainable linen, sustainable mattress, sustainable mattress topper

If you dream about designing your own home but want to experiment with some baby steps before committing to a huge project, you’ll want to check out My Eco Home by LG Electronics (LG). This fun, interactive digital interface allows Facebook users to design a virtual home online and then share it with their friends. You can experiment with several different combinations of earth-friendly appliances, furnishings and even green walls as often as you like.

Read the rest of My Eco Home by LG Allows Green Facebook Users to Design a Virtual Dream Home

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Post tags: digital design, eco design, Green Appliances, green design, green lighting, green materials, lg, LG Core Technologies, LG Electronics, My Eco Home, sustainable appliances, sustainable design, sustainable furnishings, virtual design, virtual eco-home

Offshore wind turbines sometimes get a bad rap: they’re heavy, require too much maintenance and they’re expensive, but Siemens has overcome these obstacles with Turbina Sapiens, a brand new 6.0 MW wind turbine that uses 50% less parts than their rivals. Featuring Siemens’ proven direct drive technology, fewer parts, smart technology that effortlessly manages energy flow, and a towerhead mass of less than 350 tons, this giant slashes construction, installation and maintenance costs and increases the project’s overall energy output.

Read the rest of Siemens’ Lean New 6.0 MW Turbina Sapiens Wind Turbine Uses 50% Less Parts Than Competitors

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", 6.0MW wind turbine, clean tech, Design, grid compliance, lighter wind turbines by Siemens, renewable energy, siemens, sustainable design, Turbina Sapiens, wind energy, wind turbines

We know, we know… you’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately, dreaming and pinning your ultimate kitchen makeover. Whether you’re actually thinking about a real-life kitchen renovation to jazz up your current home, or designing a kitchen from scratch for a new apartment or house, budget is usually the biggest stumbling block. Beyond the pricey appliances, the materials that contribute to the look and feel of your kitchen décor – namely the countertops – can cost a small fortune, especially if you’re thinking of going with granite. Before you give up on your makeover plans or go into debt, however, check out Wilsonart® HD® countertops, which offer a laminate alternative to granite and other pricey options.

Read the rest of How To Give Your Kitchen a Budget-Friendly Makeover!

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Post tags: alternatives to granite counters, beautiful laminate counters, budget friendly counter options, changing your countertops on a budget, counters for a budget, eco counters, inexpensive counters, inexpensive kitchen upgrades, kitchen makeover on a budget, kitchen redesign on a budget, laminate counters, laminated couters, quality laminate counters, quality laminates, upgrading your counters, wilson art, wilson art counters, wilsonart, wilsonart kitchens, wilsonart laminates

Chevrolet Volt. Electric when you want it, gas when you need it.

Note: The 2012 Chevy Volt offers an EPA-estimated 35 miles on a full charge based on 94 MPGe [electric] and an additional 340 miles with a full tank based on 35 city, 40 MPG highway [gas]. Actual range varies with conditions.

The Chevy Volt is unique among electric cars because it runs on two sources of energy. You have an electric source – a battery – that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA-estimated 35 miles. And there’s also an onboard gas generator that produces electricity so you can go farther. So if you want to drive using only electricity, you can. If you want to drive using electricity and gas, you can do that, too. Feeling all charged up? Check out what this current Chevy Volt driver has to say about his unique driving lifestyle…

Read the rest of Driven To Make the World a Bit Greener

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Post tags: a Chevy Volt owner shares his story, Adam Meltzer, battery electric car, chevrolet, chevy, chevy volt, chevy volt owner, eco-friendly car, electric car, extended range electric vehicle, hybrid car, hybrid electric car, hybrid electric vehicle, sustainable car, sustainable transportation, volt

The Chevy Volt* is unique among electric cars because it runs on two sources of energy. You have an electric source – a battery – that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA–estimated 35 miles. And there’s also an on-board gas generator that produces electricity so you can go farther. So if you want to drive using only electricity, you can. If you want to drive using electricity and gas, you can do that, too. Hear what one proud Volt owner had to say about how the electric car has reinvented her driving experience.

Read the rest of A New Driving Perspective

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Post tags: chevrolet, chevrolet volt, chevy, chevy owner, chevy volt, chevy volt owner, electric car, electric car owner, electric vehicle, electric vehicle owner, energy efficient vehicle, ev, EV owner, extended range electric vehicle, gas electric hybrid, GM electric car, green car, green transportation, green vehicle, hybrid car, hybrid vehicle, inhabitat, laura winger, volt, volt owner, volt owner story, zero emissions car, zero emissions vehicle

Read the rest of A Contest is Brewing: Win a Trip To Brazil!

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Post tags: Brazil, brazil giveaway, brazilian coffee, coffee contest, eco coffee, free trip to brazil, monte alegre, peet's coffee, peets brazilian coffee, peets sweepstake, sustainable coffee

Head’s up design fans and photographers – our Captured Photo Contest closes tomorrow, which makes this your last chance to score $500 to start off the new year! We’re accepting submissions until December 24th, and the lucky winner will receive a $500 gift card to Best Buy (that’s like a free iPad, people). We want to see your most inspiring, thought-provoking and eye-catching photos that illustrate how has design impacted you. Your image could feature an exotic place you visited, or it could be a photo of something right next to you in your own home – whatever the case, we want to see what gets YOU inspired. Entering is easy – all that you have to do is upload your image to Flickr and leave us a link by commenting in this post: > Submit Your Photo to Our Captured Photo Contest To Win a $500 Best Buy Gift Card.

To get you started we’re featuring our favorite submissions so far below the break – but that doesn’t mean the competition’s over. Anyone could still clinch the competition with a winning photo and be $500 richer – but you have to act fast! So check out these photos and send us your goods – we can’t wait to see what you come up with.

ENTER HERE >

Read the rest of LAST CHANCE to Enter Our Captured Photo Contest and Win a $500 Gift Card!

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Post tags: architecture photo contest, art photo contest, Best Buy, best buy photo contest, Design, design contest, design memories, green design, inhabitat photo contest, photo competition, photo contest, Submit Your Photo to the Design Memory Photo Contest, sustainable design

As the new era of gas-free vehicle travel dawns in America, the new Ford Focus Electric well represents the goodness this era will bring: 100% electric-power and zero CO2 emissions.* Plus, it comes fully loaded and packed with a host of cool technology features that enhance performance and make Focus Electric a lot of fun to drive. Focus Electric gets all of its power from an advanced high-voltage lithium-ion battery system, which means you’ll never need a drop of gas or an oil change. A full charge can be achieved in approximately 3 – 4 hours with the available 240-volt home charging station. Tech tools, like SYNC® with MyFord Touch® featuring unique EV content, help you maximize efficiency and range by displaying battery charge status, energy surplus status and more.

Read the rest of The 100% Electric-Powered, Zero CO2 Emissions Ford Focus Electric Is One Beautifully Designed Car

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Post tags: electric cars, ev, focus electric, ford, ford focus, ford focus electric, gas free vehicles, my ford mobile app, my ford touch, sync ford

The Chevy Volt electric vehicle is getting a lot of attention these days – and if you’re one of the lucky people driving one then there’s a good chance that you are too. That’s why we’re asking Chevy Volt owners to share your stories about how owning an electric vehicle has changed your life – and we’ll be showcasing our favorite stories in an upcoming feature article! Whether it’s a story about what it’s like to charge regularly and fill up rarely, an account of how many times you’ve been stopped at a grocery store or cornered in a parking lot by curious onlookers, or a tale about the furthest you’ve driven on an electric charge, we want to know! Submit your amazing stories here and you could be profiled for a feature on Inhabitat!

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Post tags: are you a chevy volt owner, are you a volt owner, chevrolet, chevy, chevy owner, chevy volt, chevy volt owner, electric car, electric car owner, electric vehicle, electric vehicle owner, ev, EV owner, extended range electric vehicle, gas electric hybrid, GM electric car, green car, hybrid car, inhabitat, volt, volt owner, zero emissions car, zero emissions vehicle

Back in the day, a plane trip would simply mean bringing along a book or two, but since we are unwilling to unplug, we need to pick our favorite toys to take with us. Need some help choosing the smartest, greenest electronics to take along for the ride? Click ahead to see our list of 6 must-haves geared towards the eco-minded jet-setter.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: Bedol Water-Powered Alarm Clock, Botl Personal Water Filters, e5 Mini L Solar-Powered iPad Bag, green gadgets, green jet-setter, ipad solar charger, lifebooker, my life scoop, personal water filters, usb battery charger, USBCell Rechargeable Batteries, water powered alarm clock

With 3.575 million people dying each year from water-related disease, our current water crisis is one of epic proportions. At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by those suffering from illness brought on by limited access to safe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation. Granted these harrowing realities plaguing our society, it’s imperative that designers, inventors, engineers and visionaries do what they can to find a solution. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of innovation on tap – read on for six water purifying designs for the developing world!

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Post tags: Dae Youl Lee, green design, Jung Uk Park, life sack, Myeong Hoon Lee, sustainable design, uv water purification system, water filters, water for the thrid world developing countries water issues, water issues, water purification, water purification systems

Ever feel like you and your significant other are speaking two completely different languages? Believe it or not, that phenomena is so common that there’s a name for it – Couple Speak. It’s when she says “Are you sure that’s going to work?” but really means “That’s not going to work” or when he says “That looks interesting…” but means “You’re doing it all wrong!” When it comes to home improvement projects where communication and teamwork are key, Couple Speak can make for some disastrous (and LOL-worthy) scenarios, which is why 3M is challenging you to show off your funniest videos of the sticky situations that occur when there is a miscommunication between partners. The two videos that make them laugh the hardest and best show Couple Speak in action will take home $5,000 each, so get your camcorder out and get crackin’!

Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by 3M Frameworks. To learn more and to give your friends a chance to win $5,000, spread the word on Couple Speak by sharing it on Facebook or Twitter.

Read the rest of Enter Your Hilarious Home Improvement Videos in the 3M Couple Speak Contest to Win $5,000!

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Post tags: 3m, 3m contest, 3M CoupleSpeak Contest, 3M CoupleSpeak Video Contest, 3m frameworks, 3m giveaway, couple speak, couplespeak, DIY, frameworks, green home improvement, home improvement, home improvement projects, three m, video contest

With sunny summer days upon us, the outdoors beckon adventurers to come out and play! Make the most of every picnic, hike, and barbecue with the fresh look of Tervis tumblers, which feature permanently sealed, double-walled insulation to keep your cold drinks refreshingly cold. Kick those wasteful disposable cups to the curb and go green with these colorful and fun offerings from Tervis, which the company guarantees won’t crack, shatter, melt, or chip, no matter how you use them.

This sponsored post is brought to you by Tervis; Meet the world’s first smart cup at tervis.com.

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Post tags: cold drinks, picnic cups, reusable cups, smart cup, tervis, tervis tumblers, tumblers

We brought you a series of tips and tricks for green cleaning your kitchen, bathroom, and closet as part of Method’s Get Clean! Sweepstakes – and now we are thrilled to announce the winner! Katherine Brennan of West Chester, Pennsylvania received a kitchen makeover by a Martha Stewart expert, plus a year’s supply of Method cleaning products to help keep her kitchen clean and green. With some simple reorganization and a few new accessories, expert Pamela A. Kenney of Dream House Enterprises made Brennan’s kitchen not only easier to use, but easier to clean.

Read the rest of ANNOUNCING: The Winner of Method’s Get Clean Sweepstakes!

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Post tags: cleaning sweepstakes, green cleaning, green cleaning supplies, green cleaning tips, method, method bathroom cleaning, method cleaning products, method cleaning sweepstakes, method get clean sweepstakes, method home, method kitchen cleaning, method kitchen cleaning supplies, method sweepstakes

Digital cameras may not save the world, but since most people keep their photo archives stored electronically, we’re at least consuming a lot less paper and film (much of which ends up decaying in attic storage boxes or outdated plastic-sleeved albums anyway). Still, your adventures in Belize are totally worth sharing and you can only do so much with a classic photo album, even if it’s eco-friendly. Give your friends and family a 360-degree view of your trip with music, video footage and every one of your amazing photos – compliments of the Visa Memory Mapper app. Your family and friends want to know exactly where you found that spectacular hand-woven basket you brought home? No problem. The Visa Memory Mapper takes travelogue-ing to the next level thanks to integrated Google Maps satellite technology. Want to share your memories with the new friends you met in Belize? Do it using Facebook, Twitter or email and then start planning your next exotic excursion: cardholders who use their Visa between now and October 31st are automatically entered to win $100,000 toward the trip of a lifetime. Be a part of the green revolution with the Memory Mapper.

Visit http://www.facebook.com/visa. NO PURCHASE OR OBLIGATION NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THE VISA 2011 TRIP OF A LIFETIME SWEEPSTAKES. Open to legal U.S. residents, 18 years or older as of 4/27/11. PIN-based and ATM transactions are not eligible. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends 10/31/11. For complete details on non-purchase entries, go to http://on.fb.me/jBn2PD.

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Post tags: digital photography, digital photos, Facebook, green photography, green photos, green technology, memory mapper, photo sharing, social media, trip of a lifetime sweepstakes, twitter photos, visa, visa memory mapper

426,000 cell phones are retired in the USA every single day — and many of them wind up in the trash, where they contribute to the environmentally and socially devastating e-waste epidemic. Fortunately, Sprint has launched several programs to ensure that old cell phones are properly recycled – and they’re offering participants a chance to win a gorgeous fuel-efficient Vespa LX50 scooter, AND an eco-friendly Samsung Replenish smartphone and in their Green on the Go Sweepstakes! All you have to do is submit your old phone to be recycled – so enter today!

ENTER THE GREEN ON THE GO SWEEPSTAKES >

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Post tags: cell phone recycling, e-waste, green cell phone, green design, green technology, mobile phone recycling, samsung replenish, sprint, sprint buyback program, sprint project connect, sustainable design, sustainable smartphone, sustainable technology, vespa, vespa LX50, Waste reduction, win a vespa

Bing & decide with your friends.

Most of us ask family and friends for their advice before we decide what movie to see or new restaurant to try, because getting feedback from others is part of the decision-making process. Bing is a big believer in getting opinions from people you know, too. That’s why they’ve chosen to show what your Facebook friends like in your Bing search results.

Here’s how it works: Say you go to Bing to look for a day spa or nightclub. The ones your Facebook friends like will show up with their names and photos next to the results. Wouldn’t it help to see that a dozen of your friends are fans of a place instead of wasting your time searching for a good spot, only to be disappointed in the end?

Thanks to social search on Bing, you don’t have to be.

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Post tags: bing, bing charity, bing rewards, surfer’s guilt

PopPressed, a website dedicated to showcasing the best in pop culture, is a must see for every pop culture addict on the web.  Not only do they regularly feature the best in green design from Inhabitat, but they also feature content from the best pop culture sites, covering everything from adventure and entertainment to art and fashion plus much more. Some of the stories by Inhabitat that have been presented on the site include cutting edge green architecture, international design coverage from  Milan design week, and out-of-the-box sustainable fashion like these heels made from legos.

Read the rest of Inhabitat Stories Featured on New Pop Culture Website PopPressed

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Post tags: lexus and inhabitat, lexus and popressed, Lexus CT Hybrid, Lexus new CT Hybrid, poppressed, poppressed and inhabitat, poppressed inhabitat, wordpress and federated media