TREX = Bags to Boards

Forget trees. How many plastic grocery bags does it take to make a 500-square-foot deck?
About 140,000, according to the folks at Trex. Each year the company uses some 1.5 billion recycled plastic grocery bags plus wood scraps and sawdust to make composite decks and other outdoor products. The bottom line: Trex composite products are made with 98 percent recycled and reclaimed plastic and wood fibers.

Get ready for Summer... Contact Design Diva Interiors
for contractor references on someone who can build your Trex deck.

Learn more about Trex

discover your inner pocket gardener

Meet Woolly Pockets.

Woolly Pockets are soft-sided nests for growing plants. They love to hang on walls and bring life to any horizontal surface in your home. Because Pockets are modular, they look great on their own and in groups, indoors and out.

Get your Woolly Pockets today!

Loll's Recycled Cabrio Chair

Can you guess how many milk jugs went into the making of this chair? To you, that question may be infinitely more arbitrary than asking about jellybeans in a jar. But to the good folk at Minnesota’s Loll, it is a way of life. That’s because all of Loll’s waterproof, outdoor furniture is made of post-consumer HDPE (high-density polyethylene), which is a plastic resin used in things like milk jugs, detergent bottles, margarine tubs, and garbage containers. The material not only makes for highly durable products, it also allows Loll to recycle 90 percent of its production waste. Because of this highly-efficient process, it is estimated that every pound of chair can be made with just 8 milk jugs. That makes this double-wide, low-riding Cabrio lounge chair here the product of 320 such plastic containers. How close did you come with that guess?

Dish Drainer
By Ernest Perrera for Delica
delica.es

Doing dishes by hand may be tedious, but drying is an even more precarious affair, balancing sopping saucers on slippery platters and bowls. One false move and your game of culinary Jenga results in a trip out for more tableware. This space-saving drainer composed of a melamine resin makes for a sturdy, easy-to-clean place to set your stuff. Watching plates dry has never been more fascinating.

Highline Opens in New York

The opening of any park is a happy event. Imagine the hoopla around a park that is 30 feet up in the air and 10 years in the making. That park is New York City’s Highline – a wonder in urban development and an example of how to meet the changing needs of society. The Highline was 1.45 miles of suspended railroad track that was built in the mid-19th century and then discarded in 1980. In 1999, a community-organized non-profit formed to start plans on saving the tracks from demolition. Ten years after those initial plans, and three years after the groundbreaking, the Highline opened its first leg (between Gansevoort and West 20th streets) this month with much pomp and circumstance. The party continues with a slew of education programs, public art installations, walking tours, and street festivals throughout the summer.

Check thehighline.org for a complete listing of events.

Your 7-step Guide to Plastics Recycling

If you're confused by the numbers on the bottoms of your yogurt containers, or just want to know which plastic to put in which bin, check out this very helpful 7-step guide to recycling plastics. Find out what each of the numbers 1-7 indicate, and how the recycling process turns your old containers into another generation of reusable plastic.

Of course, this isn't the answer to environmental sustainability...
It is best to REDUCE, REUSE, and then RECYCLE!

EcoSmart Outdoor Fireplaces

We're lucky to have amazing weather here pretty much all year round in Southern California. Barbecues generally rule. And evening cocktails on a deck would be considered by many as the perfect night out. Sure, it gets nippy late at night. But that’s why you get things like these majestic, Roman-inspired EcoSmart Fire Towers. Each one of these stainless-steel burners emits as much heat as two room heaters (think about how many tiki torches you'd need to get the same result). And, besides being efficient, they also run on denatured ethanol – a renewable, biodegradable biological bi-product that emits nothing but smokeless heat, carbon dioxide, and steam when burned. That way, you can sip those mojitos without worrying about what you're breathing. Mmm…mojitos. Please, don’t forget to invite your less fortunate friends.

Learn more at EcoSmart

FYI: WILLIAMS SONOMA IS HAVING THEIR SEMI-ANNUAL SALE!!!

Click here to see some fabulous finds

If you're needing help specifying furnishings, accessories, etc. for your home,
contact Design Diva Interiors

Graypants Cardboard Chandeliers

The corrugated cardboard box has come a long way. Once a mere means to an end, the post-office favorite has become a staple in sustainable design. These days, it wouldn’t be hard to outfit an entire apartment in just cardboard – chairs, tables, dressers, shelves, whole couches, and even chandeliers. Scrap Lights, a new series designed and aptly named by Seattle-based design firm Graypants, is made of stacked reclaimed cardboard boxes. We know that’s nothing new. But the real sight to behold here are the undulating patterns that shine through the cardboard and magnificent shapes and shadows that are cast on the wall. Each piece is handmade so shapes and sizes vary slightly. But generally, they come in disc, bell, or irregular shapes and span between 9 and 12 inches in diameter.

Try on graypants to learn more

Piegato Shelves

I love the many uses of these unique shelves...

Read more @ Dwell

got furniture?

Take advantage of less than wholesale pricing on designer furniture...
Featuring one of my MOST favorites... Ardanas!

See Green Frog Art furnishings on the cover of
Tori Spelling's "MOMMYWOOD"

I know, I know... Really?! Did someone name their company this? YES!!!
And it has earned them quite the reputation in both the
residential and commercial design industry.

I'm sure you've seen them before in restaurant/bar/club settings.
BIG ASS FANS can also be used in residential applications, if your space allows...

Please contact Design Diva Interiors for an evaluation of your space.
We'd love to help you achieve a BIG ASS FAN!

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