Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Top Eco Friendly Office Furniture Manufacturers


Green Office Furniture
Going green is an excellent way to help reduce our carbon footprint. The benefits of eco friendly office furniture and seating are astounding. From improved indoor air quality to sustainability, green products truly help our planet. Often, it's thought that going green increases the cost of products. This common misconception is finally put to rest today by highlighting these top manufacturers that have taken the time to have products Greenguard Certified at no additional cost to the consumer.


1.) Safco

Safco Office Products

The Safco Office Products brand offers several of the hottest office products on the market. From chairs to accessories this environmentally conscious manufacturer prides themselves on quality and cutting edge style. Several Safco office chairs are amongst the absolute best in terms of ergonomic attributes. In addition, Safco computer desks are a great way to outfit your home office on a budget. No matter the office area you're looking to outfit, Safco offers sustainable products sure to impress without breaking your budget.

2.) Global Total Office

Global Total Office

One of the industries absolute best full service furniture brands is also a huge fan of green products. The Global Total Office brand has reduced their consumption of electricity by over 18% over the last four years. They have entirely eliminated the use of CFCs and HCFCs in all our manufacturing processes to protect the ozone layer. This awesome manufacturer recycles 88% of waste product throughout the entire organization! In fact, they have recycled over 100 tons of fabric! All Global Office Products are BIFMA approved to ensure years of service and long lasting quality. Global they "have a responsibility to safeguard the environment in the course of manufacturing and doing business." To ensure quality and the highest levels of professionalism, the Global Environmental Committee was formed.  This committee has members recruited from across the organization, from the factory floor to senior management that report directly to the Chairman and CEO. In simple terms, it’s a fully integrated component of operations, financial planning and expenditures according to Global. Needless to say, if you care about the environment and are looking for Green Office Furniture, Global Total Office is definitely a name to trust in terms of quality and cost effectiveness.

3.) OFM, Inc.

OFM Office Furniture

A top office furniture choice by industry professionals, consumers, and interior design teams is steadily improving their green initiatives. The OFM Office Furniture organization has gone green in more ways than one! Since 2009, OFM has been driven to reduce overall paper usage by handling invoicing, order processing, and shipment confirmations electronically. In fact, they cut their paper usage in half during the first year. In August of 2010, OFM had all of their factory lights changed from 400 watt metal halide bulbs to 200 watt induction exterior high bay lights. This cut the power usage by all lights in half! OFM has taken the time to have hundreds of products Greenguard Certified. Top OFM Office Chairs like the the brand new Avenger Executive Chair, along with popular models from the Rico Stack Chair line are just a few of the seating solutions OFM has had certified. All of the models from the NET Series Seating line have been made eco friendly and make excellent indoor and outdoor beam seating solutions for guest areas.

4.) Mayline

Mayline Office Furniture

With 10 top selling furniture lines on the market today, Mayline sets the bar incredibly high when it comes to professional furnishings for the home and business. The quality and innovations highlighted in Mayline Furniture is easy to appreciate even at first glance. Mayline understands its responsibility to provide a sustainable environment for our families and our communities.  They are committed to implementing practices which demonstrate results toward environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Mayline strives to minimize their environmental impact while maximizing the economic vitality of their products. Here's a few fun facts. Mayline has recycled 28,000 pounds of material. This is the equivalent of saving over 241 tress, 99,000 gallons of water, 853 less pounds of air pollutants, and 1,949 gallons of oil saved. From top conference tables to sustainable office accessories, this manufacturer makes there environmental goals well known in every product they make.

Monday, March 25, 2013

A vintage sewing box that turned out to be a treasure trove, full of retro fabrics


Recently I bought an old sewing box from a family clearing the house of an elderly lady who had passed away. I took the box without having a proper look what was inside as I was mainly interested in the vintage style box itself. A few weeks later as I rediscovered the box and opened it up, I found the most amazing stack of 1960s and 70s fabrics, all neatly folded and in the most vibrant colours and crazy patterns, some of them by 1960s textile designers Barbara Brown and Bernard Wardle.
It made me wonder what kind of lady she was, this woman who picked those fabulous fabrics all those years ago and used them for her own creative projects. She must have loved bold colours and graphic patterns as much as I do. She sure had great taste!

I can't wait to make them all into beautiful Summer cushions, which I'm sure the old lady would have liked very much if she she was still with us. Here are three cushions I have made so far;




Friday, February 22, 2013

Upcycled, painted and sewn together: chairs, bar stools and colourful cushions

A few photos of recent projects by myself and Willow Cottage.

Breakfast bar stools I have upcycled and painted for customers in Annie Sloan mixed white and duck egg blue chalk paint and recovered in fabric by Prestigious
Cushions I made from a pile of vintage embroidery panels. Prices from £18-22

Ercol chair painted in graphite black (£45) and an large old 'Viresa' wine bottle/vase (£55)

What a line-up! Chairs painted by myself and Willow Cottage. £45 each
Piano stool reupholstered for a customer in a 'patchwork' style
Cushions made with designer fabrics. £30 each

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Dispatches from Spain: A Bike Made Out of a Cars



A fun project out of Madrid, called Bicycled, a bike made out of cars. On their website they are accepting requests for the very first bikes that they are producing right now. More info at bicycledbikes.com.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Travel post: Italian vintage in wonderful Tuscany


I was lucky enough to spend all of last week on holiday in beautiful Tuscany, Italy. If you've ever been there you will know how the area is steeped in history. Cities like Florence and Siena are like fabulous outdoor museums with churches and 'palazzos' around every corner (as well as gelaterias and equally mouth-watering bag and shoe shops).

I didn't have much time for treasure hunting (too busy eating, drinking and catching up with my mum and sister who joined us on the trip!), but did find a great little shop in sunny Siena I wanted to tell you about: Aloe & Wolf.


Hidden away in one of the charming side streets off Piazza del Campo, this little vintage shop is packed with the most fabulous treasures from the 50s, 60s and 70s - although mostly clothing rather than home decor. I am not a great vintage fashionista (I often find the clothes are sort of just not 'it'), but I tell you, Italian vintage clothing is something else! Glamourous, well fitting and great-looking.




The shop also sells handmade, 'upcycled' designer bags by 2Periodico, a lady in Rome, and guess what: I bought one. Re-using pages out of vintage fashion magazines, covering them with plastic and combining them with recycled pieces of soft Italian leather, these funky bags were just to much of a temptation...


If you need a great place to stay in Tuscany, I can thoroughly recommend Borgo San Benedetto, a country resort, hidden away to ensure rest and relaxation, but well placed between all the big and small tourist spots too. Lovely apartments, bed and breakfast, pool and a fabulous restaurant on site too. And yes, that cute guy on their homepage is real - I've seen him with my own two eyes ;-).


Borgo San Benedetto, apartments


Here are some other impressions of my lovely week.

Duomo, Siena

Piazza del Campo, Siena


Picturesque street in Siena

The yummy 'Panforte' cake

Palazzo del Campo, Siena
Me doing the relaxation part

Monday, January 23, 2012

Where East meets West...vintage kimonos and upcycled jeans




Today I had the luxury of a whole afternoon to myself, as hubby took baby out shopping, leaving the house in peace and quiet. Bliss! I took the opportunity to get the sewing machine out and decided to start a new series of patchwork pillows, as I needed to produce some more for my online shop. I have now created some with unusual fabric combinations; how about vintage kimono fabric and an old pair of jeans? Or denim, retro fabric and velvet? I even managed to include the back pocket of the jeans, making it a handy pillow to store your remote control ;-)

They're all for sale in my Etsy shop. 
Have a look! x







Thursday, September 15, 2011

Feeling creative: pom poms, t-shirt yarn and a hula hoop rug

It must be that nesting instinct setting in now I'm about seven months pregnant, but I can't help feeling the incredible urge to make things. Sew, paint, recycle, upcycle, revamp, refurbish, you name it. I am still working my day job though, so I am just collecting lots of ideas in the meantime while still doing the 9-to-5!

Here are a few great ideas you may want to try yourself, whether expecting a baby like me, having a day off or looking for stuff to do with the kids in the holidays.

To cheer up any party or kids room, you could make a pom pom garland. Remember those? We used to make them in primary school all the time. Now it's time for the grown-up version! If a garland looks more like a week's work than something you're able to do in an afternoon, why not keep it simple and make a few to dispense from the ceiling? If you're really lazy you can of course just buy them from other creatives down at Etsy.



This tutorial from Craftaholics Anonymous (great name!) shows you how to make fluffy pom poms made from t-shirt yarn (you know, 'wool' made from old tees - see how to make your own yarn here). Very nice.



Another cool looking project is the 'hula hoop rug', woven from t-shirt yarn. I'd love to give this a try. Looks pretty easy, no? I am crazy about those chunky knitted rugs and poufs at the moment, but I have no idea how to knit them. This seems to be an easy way to create something similar. Not sure about the bold colours in the one pictured, but I'm sure you could turn it into something quite sophisticated by using greys, deep purples or reds instead. Here's the How-To

familyfun.go.com



Monday, September 12, 2011

Making a coat rack out of a wood pallet and some doilie DIY


I absolutely LOVE this. Doilies, those things your granny probably has millions of lying in her drawers, can be used in far more creative ways than as coasters or table cloths. Turn them into a gorgeous lamp shade! Visit the lovely Swedish blog www.dosfamily.com for the full How-To.

Then another wonderful, and quite simple, project you could finish on a Saturday: a coat rack made out of an old pallet. Give it a lick of paint, screw in a few hooks and - voila! Great idea. For the How-To (do you need one?) visit www.shelterness.com


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Meet Peapod, Aberdeen's brand new upcycled furniture shop

Photo3

Living in the North East of Scotland, I am missing independent, creative and inspiring shops, mainly in the furniture department. I clearly wasn't the only one. Two weeks ago Claire Milne, a mother of one (and another one on the way!), opened up her brand new shop 'Peapod' in Aberdeen, dedicated to giving used and unloved pieces of furniture a new life by lovingly restoring them, painting them and giving them a whole new 'funky' look. I headed down to meet with her.

Photo5

"I just felt it was time to do something different in my life", says Claire, "after having been a fulltime mum for over a year. Opening up my own business felt like the right thing to do, doing what I love doing and being able to fit it around my family as well." When a competition called Retail Rocks sprung up earlier this year, offering a number of entrepreneurs the chance to start up their business in rent-free premises for a year, Claire grabbed the opportunity. She is now one of the winners, trying to breathe new life into Aberdeen's old neighbourhood of Torry, alongside a jewellery designer, a gallery, a hot dog cafe and a photo studio.

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Peapod has a real vintage and romantic feel to it, with its pink painted walls, pastel coloured chairs, dresser and wardrobe and colourful bunting in the window. There are also plenty of pieces of furniture still in their original, shabby state, waiting for their turn to be done up. "We would like to give customers the freedom of telling us what colour and design they would like the furniture to be in", explains Claire. " They may be looking for something in particular, so we source it and we can then give it any look they wish." Claire tells me about the basement of the shop that is full of gorgeous, old furniture and there's even more. "There's loads at my parents' house, even their summer house in the garden is piled full of stuff!"
Other than just giving furniture a fresh lick of paint, Claire also has a love for the decoupage technique, which she applied to one of the chairs on the shop floor, covered in old comic book pictures. As I came in today, Claire was just busy doing another one, reusing sheet music from an old Beatles book. Great idea!

Photo4

Claire has got help from her dad, a joiner ("my dad makes sure wonky chairs are safe to sit on again!"), and her husband, who is self-employed and is currently building an online shop for the Peapod business. And now, in addition to a lovely shop just been born, Claire is going to have a second baby in November. "It's going to be one busy year!" Claire laughs, "we'll just see how things go and make the best of it". I have much admiration for this busy bee and hope she'll do really well, adding a much needed touch of originality and a splash of paint to the grey city of Aberdeen.
If you're in the area, go and have a look. Or even better, finally get that unique and eclectic statement sideboard, chair or wardrobe you've been looking for for ages.

Peapod
28 Menzies Road, AB25 1SL Aberdeen, UK
peapodaberdeen@gmail.com
Peapod on Facebook

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Restyled, re-worked, updated and saved from the trash: vintage sideboards

I love sideboards from the 1950s and 60s. Sleek, timeless and very stylish. They are often great as they are, given some TLC and a dash of Danish oil, but are sometimes even better with some creative adjustments. Caroline Key owns Trash Furnishing in Edinburgh and creates a unique collection of bespoke up-cycled furniture. She restores and re-works furniture and brings the pieces up-to-date with stencils or some paint. I love the way she turns a simple cupboard into something totally unique.

Circlescabinet_details_main
Record_cabinet_resized


Another company who does this sort of work is a little bit further away from where I live, but anyone reading this living in Australia is lucky. These sleek and funky sideboards are restyled and sold by Retromodern in Adelaide. Totally customisable to your taste and very cool looking.

Retromod-blog1-516x1024

Retromodinhab1


Have you ever saved a sideboard or other piece of furniture from the trash and restyled it?

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Friday, January 14, 2011

Repurposing furniture and other things

Hello everyone! It’s January 2011 and as most of us are broke after the December month I thought I write a post about repurposing or altering things you already own or can find for little money.

Looking at the overload of TV commercials from the home superstores it seems that the nation is obsessed with getting new furniture, buying new kitchens and bathrooms and basically getting their whole house done for springtime. I can't help but think people must still all want to keep up with the Joneses and subsequently put themselves into debt as a result, despite the difficult economic times we're in. Anyway, how about we don’t buy all those expensive new things but instead look at what we already own or can find for free or little money and how we can give it a new life?

This is a vintage sofa my mum once rescued from the marriage resistry office at the local Town Hall in Emmen, The Netherlands. Although not repurposed by physically changing it, I gave it a new purpose by placing it in my student room, and later moved it to my first apartment. When I moved again and the sofa turned out to be too large, I had it "adopted" by my good friend Mieke in Utrecht, who now loves it. Schools, local authority buildings and other offices sometimes get rid of furniture, shelving units and desks. Worth keeping an eye out for them...



I got inspired by this post on the Daily What and really wanted to share this with you. "The amazing transformed oven lounge". Not something you would DIY on a Saturday, but what a great idea!




I also came across this - I must admit slightly silly - idea of repurposing a water wing via Apartment Therapy. Still, it's very original!



Has anyone ever looked at the Ikea Hacker site? It's brilliant how people take a run-of-the-mill Ikea item and just make it into something else. Now this Billy bookcase is still a Billy bookcase, except the owner has 'hacked' it by turned it on its side and mounting it onto the wall making it 'float'. Cool!





Fruit crates are very versatile to reuse in the home. Here they've been mounted onto the kitchen wall to be used as open shelving, looking very nice. Found it on the great blog Poetic Home.




Another amazing project featured on Poetic Home is this huge desk made from repurposed books, created by Architectural students at Delft University of Technology. Could you imagine something similar for your own home in the shape of a smaller desk or coffee table?


My car (a lovely old Mazda Mx5 with pop-up head lights) had to go for its MOT today and failed on a rusty bottom (ooh, that doesn't sound right, does it, haha). We're getting it repaired - once again - but if ever it had to die, I would like it to be turned into a sofa, like Bel & Bel have done with a Seat 600. What a cracker.

I drive one in black - such a cool little car

What have you given a new life?

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