ANNOUNCING: The 2010 Inhabitat Spring Greening Contest Winners!

<h3><big>DRUMROLL PLEASE…</big></h3> <p> They came, they saw, they designed. The 2010 <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/">Spring Greening Design Competition</a> challenging designers and crafters to transform useless junk into new treasures yielded an amazing crop of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/category/finalists/">creative DIY designs</a>, but there could only be one grand prize winner, and you, our fabulous readers, have voiced your choice! Want to know if your favorite design won? Read on to find out!

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/drinks-bottle-lamps/">READER'S CHOICE GRAND PRIZE: Soda Bottle Lamps by Sarah Turner!!!</a></h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/drinks-bottle-lamps/">Sarah Turner's lamps</a> made from <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/drinks-bottle-lamps/">recycled soda bottles</a> received a whopping <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/drinks-bottle-lamps/">3674 votes</a> from our readers, wowing you guys with their dazzling intricacy and poppy modern looks. Sarah will be taking home a sweet $250 gift certificate to the <a href="http://www.inhabitatshop.com">Inhabitatshop</a> for her "enlightening" design! <a href="http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/author/susan">Metropolis Magazine editor</a> (and one of our <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/judges/">esteemed judges</a>) Susan Szenasy said this about Sarah's lamps: <em>"Sarah Turner has clearly thought about the versatility and beauty of her material. She treats it like a designer treats materials: experimenting with its various possibilities for form making and pattern making." </em>

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/elasticshelf/">EDITOR'S CHOICE GRAND PRIZE: Elasticshelf by SystemDesignStudio</a></h3> Our readers weren't the only ones who voted - we had an <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/judges/">illustrious panel of judges</a> from prominent design blogs and magazines, and the final tally of their votes gave the prize to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/elasticshelf/">Elasticshelf by SystemDesignStudio</a>. This <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/elasticshelf/">clever and elegant shelf</a> uses defunct bicycle tires stretched between two used furniture legs to provide fun and easy storage space for books and doodads. <a href="http://www.designboom.com">Designboom</a> editor <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/judges/">Birgit Lohmann</a> had this to say about the Elasticshelf: <em>"The Elasticshelf brings together an unexpected use of materials, to create a visually interesting shelving system. Its simple design is practical and adaptable and can be executed by just about anyone requiring minimal tooling - it is what a DIY project should be about." </em>

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/24/undiscovered-waste-2/">READER'S CHOICE SECOND PLACE: Film Roll Lamp by Nidhi Gupta</a></h3> Talk about turning "negatives" into a positive! Nidhi Gupta's clever <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/24/undiscovered-waste-2/">circular lamp made of old film rolls</a> captivated voters, sliding it into second place with 3,476 votes.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/recyclamp-series/">READER'S CHOICE THIRD PLACE: Light Bulb Spice Rack by Annisa Fardan Nabila and Aulia Amanda Santoso</a></h3> Annisa Fardan Nabila and Aulia Amanda Santoso hit a green design home run with their <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/recyclamp-series/">spice shakers made of used light bulbs</a>, which received 2,487 votes. Their cute shakers are the perfect shape and size to store spices in and are quite lovely to look at too!

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/03/chop-flops/">EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARDS 2nd PLACE: Chop Flops by Joseph Palmer</a></h3> Joseph Palmer's '<a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/03/chop-flops/">Chop Flops</a>' -- an adorable pair of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/03/chop-flops/">flip flops made of chopsticks</a> -- charmed our judges with their clever take on reuse and scored 2nd place in our Editor's Choice Awards. We think Joseph deserves the accolades - after all, he did have to gather and sew together lots of chopsticks with dental floss to make these ingeniously crafty shoes.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/02/pop-pendant-light/">EDITOR'S CHOICE 3rd PLACE: Pop Pendant Light by Mauricio Affonso</a></h3> Last but most certainly not least, Mauricio Affonso's incredible <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/02/pop-pendant-light/">Pop pendant lamp</a> took the 3rd place Editor's Choice Award with its mod styling and expert craftsmanship. Composed of hundreds of soda can tabs, this light fixture is a testament to how far from trashy recycled design can be, when it is well-executed.

What a fun idea for a rainy day! Chris Kaasmann's <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/us-cereal-box-map-wall-art/">cereal box map art</a> got 160 votes.

This spiky and wonderful <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/24/cone-light/">traffic cone lamp</a> by Loretta Haaker received 2476 votes.

Luis Teixeira's stunning <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/recycled-hanger-chandeliers/">translucent chandelier made of old hangers</a> came in with 577 votes.

Shaaban Bassem's stylish <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/04/28/wasteful-living/">Tusht chair</a> made out of a bucket came in with 119 votes.

Sean Miller's <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/23/1030-ne-125th-apt-12-seattle-wa-98112/">awesome shelf made of National Geographics</a> got a lot of attention with 162 votes.

These plastic <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/20/six-pack-pendant-lamps/">lamps made of six pack rings</a> by Bao Khang Luu received 1742 votes.

Last but not least, Natalie Hojman's adorable <a href="http://inhabitat.com/springgreening/2010/05/24/potus-pot-2/">Potus Pot upcycled from an old light bulb</a> got 436 votes!