Read the rest of HomeAway’s LEED Gold Headquarters in Austin Makes Work Feel Like a Vacation

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Post tags: austin, Brian Sharples, green interiors, green offices, homeaway inc, interior design, LEED gold, office design, reclaimed wood, Recycled Materials, texas

Few things more annoying than trying to work in an environment where you can’t hear what your colleagues are saying. The Acoustic Factory has put a green twist on solving acoustic problems, producing soundproofing designs from natural materials. The products are either living plants, natural products, or recycled materials. The company collects corks that are thrown away in the Netherlands and turns them into interior products, and it even uses damaged incontinence pads to make soundproofing material. And the company’s award-winning Greenwalls are made of moss, which, because of its structure and density, has excellent soundproofing characteristics.

+ Acoustic Factory

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Post tags: acoustic design, Acoustic Factory, Green Walls, greenwalls, interior design, Living Walls, MoSS, moss wall, recycled cork, Recycled Materials, soundproofing, sustainable businesses

Mozilla, the nonprofit tech company behind the ubiquitous Firefox web browser, recently announced that it will branch out and open a new office in downtown San Francisco later this summer. To reflect an atmosphere of transparency, the new workspace, designed by San Francisco-based architecture firm MKThink, is a wide open space with no private offices. The new 15,000-square-foot office is located in the Hills Plaza complex in San Francisco’s South of Market district, and it will provide work area for 125 staff members.

Read the rest of Mozilla’s New Corporate Offices in San Francisco Create a Collaborative Atmosphere

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Post tags: bay area, California, Firefox, interior design, MK Think, Moxilla, office design, office space, real estate, San Francisco, tech, tech companies

Read the rest of Google’s London Campus Features Ultra Flexible Shipping Container Working Spaces

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Cargotecture, eco design, flexible office, flexible work space, Google, google campus, google uk, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green interiors, interior design, jump studios, London, Reclaimed Materials, shipping containers, silicon roundabout, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Marcia Patmos, the brains behind the much-loved M Patmos eco fashion line, applies her eco-conscious mindset to everything she does. When we saw the designer during fashion week, she mentioned her newly-upgraded Brooklyn apartment, which she sustainably revamped with the help of architect and designer Robert Farrell. She recently invited us to tour the beautiful space, which is a warm and light-filled home, outfitted with a carefully-curated selection of vintage and handmade home decor plus energy-efficient appliances. Hit the jump to see her pretty pad for yourself and learn more about her design inspiration!

READ MORE >

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Post tags: "energy star", Brooklyn, eco design, eco-friendly, ethical design, Ethical Fashion, fashion designer, green design, green furnishings, green interiors, green living, green rennovation, interior design, M. Patmos, Marcia Patmos, Recycled Materials, Robert Farrell, sustainable design, sustainable living, upcycled furniture, vintage furnishings, vintage furniture

If you’re sick of your Ikea furniture because everyone in the world has the same thing, don’t kick it to the curb just yet. A few cool companies like Swedish PrettyPegs and Bemz offer accessories like add-on legs and custom covers that allow you to upgrade those ubiquitous sofas and chairs and make them look more unique. Of course, customization might not be cheap, but then again, it’s cheaper than a new couch!

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Post tags: "green furniture", bemz, custom ikea covers, custom ikea legs, green design, green interiors, ikea, ikea hack, ikea hackers, interior design, prettypegs, Swedish design

We’ve featured design student Natalie Sampson‘s cool and quirky lamps before and she recently sent us another to add to the list – this spiky fixture made of 100 toilet brushes! Sampson creates these lamps to demonstrate how everyday materials can be transformed into extraordinary decor and we think that if she can accomplish this with something as mundane as toilet brushes, she’s accomplished her goal. To see more of Natalie’s creations, visit her website here.

+ Natalie Sampson

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Post tags: eco design, eco lighting, green lighting, interior design, lamp made of toilet brushes, lamps, natalie sampson, recycled design, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, toilet brush lamp

Transform a dull and drab office space by injecting some life back into it with this cool, new ‘Green Divider‘ by Swedish designers Louise Hederström and OFFECCT. This living sectioning device looks brilliant with any sized plant, and works especially well with leafy and vine-like vegetation to create a private, green space.

Read the rest of OFFECCT’s Adaptable Green Divider Will Infuse Life Into Any Office Space

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Post tags: green design, green divider, interior design, Louise Hederström, offecct, spatial indoor design, Swedish green design

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Post tags: 6 ton treehouse, dead tree, eco design, green design, interior design, Johannesburg, Missing Link, office design, Orchestrated Chaos, presentation, Recycled Materials, scrap yards, South Africa, sustainable design, treehouse, upcycled design

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", ambient light, backlit, Climate Change, climate control, curtain, display screen, e-ink, eco interior, eco lighting, eco-leaf, eco-shade, energy loss, energy recovery, flexible technology, green design, green infrastructure, harvest energy, interior design, LED, Lim Wan Xuan, Lite-on, liteon, natural light, OLED, passive cooling, pv, recycled energy, renewable energy, solar, Solar cells, solar screen, Tang Xueling Jane, window shade

Translating Yona Friedman’s ideas of participation, Lucie Dadakova designed these ‘Multilevel Vertical Urban Allotments’ as her final year project for an Interior Design degree course. Dadakova focused on garden allotments due to both their individual and communal nature. She notes, “Each plot bears the signature of its owner, and the shared enterprise of improvising a small-scale landscape is a source of endless originality.” Allotments offer a great alternative for those living in flats without gardens, particularly within urban areas. Dadakova’s project aims to bring an innovative solution by making use of derelict and underused buildings in cities.

+ Lucie Dadakova

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: garden allotments, interior design, landscape architecture london, landscape design, lucie Dadakova, Multilevel Vertical Urban Allotments, urban gardening, Yona Friedman

Tourism Malaysia in Paris has decided to sharpen their eco edge by appointing Bizarreka Design to transform their entire ground floor office into a mini-escape. The new interior environment captivates patrons’ attention by asserting Malaysia as the foremost eco-tourism destination in the world. Two concepts were developed and deployed by Bizarreka Design: nature and heritage. Movable and fixed furniture join together with reused wooden structure and elements, earth-toned tiles, arboreal walls, and layered stone underneath efficient in-wall shelving to reflect the natural splendor of the Malaysian rainforests. Other features such as tan and ecru stones on the wall, and earth tone sofas and rugs all allude to the serene landscapes of the Malaysian beaches and islands.

+ Bizarreka Design

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: "green furniture", Bizarreka Design, eco furniture, eco interiors, eco-tourism, green design, green interiors, interior design, Tourism Malaysia in Paris

Nowadays wherever one looks for fashionable, modern furnishings, they’re lost amongst pieces made in a factory. You won’t find any crumbly, soulless particleboard in the pieces featured here. Our woodsman friend, Jack, whittles his creations in his slow evening hours with a cup of chamomile tea. “Gosh,” he starts with a reluctant reflection when asked where he draws his inspiration for his craft, “I’m not sure. It’s just something I’ve always enjoyed doing. It helps me relax after a long day of working with my squirrel rescue organization.” He says he really likes knowing the fallen tree from which he sourced material, and that it can live on in another beautiful form. He likes knowing how it came together, from his imagination to his living room. He likes working with his hands. Jack relies largely on his faithful axe and his trusty pocketknife to do most of the work.

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Post tags: Decorative Objects, eco housewares, eco-friendly home, eco-sculptures, interior design, Recycled Materials, wooden carvings

This week marks the start of the Cevisama ceramic tile show in Spain, and Inhabitat is reporting live from Valencia on the world’s most cutting-edge ceramics. You heard that right – we’re in Spain to soak in the sights and check out ceramic tiles while we’re at it. This ancient material has received a 21st century upgrade as manufacturers are taking steps to reduce material use, cut carbon emissions, and optimize energy efficiency, and we’re looking forward to checking out an array of innovations ranging from tiles made from recycled materials to air-purifying ceramics and grassy green wall tiles. We’ll be hitting the show floor all week as part of the Reign in Spain tour hosted by Tile of Spain, so stay tuned for our coverage of the best and brightest innovations in Spanish ceramics.

+ Cevisama

+ Tile of Spain

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Post tags: ceramic tile, ceramic tile show, cevisama, Green Building, green design, interior design, sustainable design, sustainable interior design, Sustainable Materials

We’re big fans of this rather clever lime green lamp and we think you can see why. Conant Lighting, known for its ability to take defunct objects and transform them into extraordinary eco lighting, repurposed the deceiving lamp from an old fan, giving it a new lease on life. As always, we do wish that they would include a fluorescent or LED bulb with the lamp, but from the looks of it, it shouldn’t be difficult to just buy one yourself and screw it in.

+ Conant Lighting

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Post tags: conant, conant lighting, eco-materials, fan lamp, green design, green lamp, green lighting, green materials, green products, interior design, recycled design, Recycled Materials, upcycled design

We originally wrote about Philip’s new LED replacement for the common incandescent light bulb back in May, but we’re happy to report that this illuminating low-energy alternative bulb is now finally lining the shelves at a store near you! Designed to replace the over 425 million 60 watt incandescent bulbs sold annually that fill the lighting fixtures in our rooms, hallways, offices, and beyond, the A19 AmbientLED delivers the same illumination as a 60 watt white light incandescent, at a mere 12 watts. The new LED bulb also boasts a life of 25,000 hours, and most remarkably, a single bulb can save you hundreds of dollars per year off of your electricity bill. Even more appealing? With a life of 15 years per bulb, you won’t need to be buying new lightbulbs every year.

Read the rest of Philips’ Super Efficient AmbientLED Bulb Now Available in Stores!

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Post tags: 12 watt led bulb, eco light bulbs, energy efficient lighting, green design, green light bulbs, green products, interior design, light emitting diode, Philips AmbientLED bulb, sustainable design, sustainable lighting

Inspired by the penny tile floors at the Standard Hotel in New York City, this unique home in Seattle was tiled with thousands of nickels – 13,650 to be exact! Apartment Therapy has the scoop, complete with step-by-step instructions on how to install your own nickel floor using packing tape, cardboard, glue, and a solid investment of time. If you’re looking for something to do with all of that spare change, read on and transform your own flooring into a work of modern art.

+ Nickel Flooring

Via Notcot

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Post tags: green design, green renovation, interior design, nickel tiles, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, Sustainable Interiors

If you enjoy playing Scrabble (and by “playing” we mean “feverishly plotting to destroy all other players with consecutive triple word scores while laughing maniacally”) we’re pretty sure you’ll fall in love with these cushions that resemble letter tiles from the game. The covers (which come in either black or cream) are made from 100% recycled bottle felt and stitched together with 100% cotton thread – and even the filling is made from recycled plastic bottles. Since each pillow is sold separately, you can purchase whatever combination of letters or symbols you like. So for instance, you could give your favorite Scrabble opponent a set that spells out “I TOLD U QI IS A WORD. IN UR FACE,” though they’d need to have a really long couch…

+ Bespoke Eco Recycled Felt Cushions

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Post tags: cushions, eco design, ecofi, green design, green home decor, interior design, recycled bottle felt, recycled bottles, recycled felt, Recycled Plastic, scrabble piece, scrabble tile cushion, throw pillows

Read the rest of Inhabitat Tours the Incredible Healthy Home 2010!

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Post tags: 2010, Air quality, Architecture, chicago, Eco, green, healthyhome, home, house designer, illinois, interior design, low VOC, natural, Organic, Palatine Village, ShowHouse, Sustainable, tour

Each year thousands of people take up residence in New York City and many settle down to start families, so it seems like this cutting edge metropolis would be the ideal place to weigh every available birthing option. But contrary to what your intuition may tell you, the Big Apple actually ranks as the worst city in the U.S. in terms of maternal mortality rates. To address this pressing issue afflicting countless numbers of would-be parents, designer Kristi Bernick designed a Brooklyn facility for natural childbirth called Deserved Deliveries. The innovative design project explores various methods of birthing, placing emphasis on combining midwifery and obstetrics into one cohesive and comfortable environment.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", birthing center, Brooklyn, deserved deliveries, eco design, gowanus canal, green design, interior design, kristi bernick, Pratt Institute, prenatal care pregnancy