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Welcome to our new Home & Garden section, where we feature articles on Sustainable Buildings, Eco Chic Interiors and Organic Gardening. Our focus will be on design led projects and products, as well as getting to know the designers behind these sustainable homes and wonderful gardens. You may also want to check out our home turf bazaar for more sustainable ideas for your home!

Monday
Jun072010

Visit CAT to learn about Self-Sufficiency

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CAT, the Centre for Alternative Technology, is a fantastic place to visit if you are looking to live in a more sustainable fashion. Whether it's a visit with the kids or to fulfill a serious intention to build a sustainable home, CAT is a beautiful spot in mid Wales to holiday nearby or learn some essential skills to live sustainably. The GIN Lady reports back on why a visit to CAT should be on your adventurous calendar!

If you want a better quality of life, look no further than CAT. Since its foundation in 1973 at the disused Llwyngwern slate quarry near Machynlleth, in Mid Wales, this Centre has blossomed into an inspiring mecca for people passionate about learning to live in a sustainable style. CAT provides a vast array of resources, and is laid out in a way that makes it a destination perfect for everyone: from a family with kids wanting a fun yet soul enriching day out, to a rich educational resource for folk serious about literally building a sustainable home - from hands on short courses to post-grad courses.

Outside the Visitor CentreThe Visitor Centre, open 7 days a week, offers easy to understand, interactive displays to highlight how each of us are tied to global issues, such as the energy crisis, and offers practical, easy tasks to play our part in the solution. Nearby you'll also find CAT's free information service. This is where I met Matthew, one of the co-operative workers, who turned out to be a fountain of knowledge (thanks Matt!). Pop along here and they will be ready to help with any inquiry you have, from composting to installing solar panels. You name it, they answer it!

Once you've browsed the Visitor Centre, had your questions answered and perhaps enjoyed a scrumptious meal at the restaurant, take a tour around the centre - with a guide or by yourselves. Around CAT is a hive of activity as well as plenty of interactive displays. Here you'll find working examples of environmentally responsible buildings, renewable energy generation, sustainability in the home, organic growing, composting and waste management.

As you walk around and learn heaps, the thing that struck us the most was the amazing feeling we got from realising it's much easier than we thought to create a sustainable home. Afterall, installing a solar panel, building a sustainable home, creating an eco friendly waste management system can all seem so daunting - where to start?! This near impossible task no longer feels daunting with CAT's help. With the right guidance, some short courses, we all could be well on our way to realising our sustainable dreams.

CAT's straw buildings and courses make it easy for non-professionals to build their own homesInspired by our CAT tour, we no longer feel overwhelmed by the idea of becoming self-sufficient and building/retrofitting our homes to sustainable levels. CAT offer a wide range of courses, many of which are only 1 day, to get you on the road to sustainable living. From sustainable bee keeping, to renewable electricity and feed in tariffs, to treating grey wastewater, CAT has a short course for everyone. They even offer a Graduate School of the Environment for those of you who want full on accredited post-grad education in sustainable living.

Before we share all the exciting stuff to entertain the kids, it's timely to mention W.I.S.E., the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education, launching this week at CAT. We got a sneak preview of this state of the art building complex which draws on CAT's 30 years of experience in sustainable buildings. Most impressive of all is the new 200 seat rammed earth lecture theatre. Round in layout, this stunning building has a wonderful energy flow and is truly inspirational as a place to learn and share. Made from low embodied-energy construction materials such as earth and hemp and energy efficient glazing for maximum natural day lighting and passive heat gain and much more, this building is likely to inspire people from around the world and makes for a superb setting for business leaders , policy makers , professionals and students. W.I.S.E. will offer the opportunity to "explore, in practical terms, the complex interactions between land-use, energy, food production, buildings, transport, waste management and all aspects of human society." So if you're looking for an incredible setting for a conference, you've just found the perfect spot!

W.I.S.E., the new state-of-the-art environmental education centre at CATChildren are the future, and we couldn't think of a better place than CAT to walk them through the fun, educational aspect of sustainability. Not only do CAT have play areas to enchant your kids in this stunning natural setting, your little people will also have plenty of interactive opportunities to learn, such as the underground Mole Hole where Megan the Mole will greet you and share the wonderful soil critters who live under our feet or going down the worm slide where they'll learn everything about composting.

Kids can do down the worm slide while learning about composting!At the end of the day, CAT is a brilliant place to visit for everyone. We came away inspired and feeling wonderfully positive about the future. It has helped us realise that moving to a carbon zero future is more than possible, and it'll be fun and rewarding to do so as well. There's no doom and gloom here - the Centre for Alternative Technology is the place to learn about sustainability, and mid Wales is a wonderful place to visit while you're there. Visit CAT now to learn so much more!

DateJun 7, 2010 | Comment1 Comment |
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Tuesday
Apr202010

Eco Friendly Lifestock, Gardening & Pet Homes

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At Empire Farm in Somerset we discovered an innovative design company - Green Frog Designs - that provides a true Noah's ark for your animals at home - livestock and pets. Green Frog also offer some ultra cool garden accessories, including some gorgeous planters for kids. The real innovation comes in the material used - recycled plastic sheets and its manufacture is also pretty nifty, using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to minimise waste and optimise design.

The key material is food-grade plastic, bottle tops for instance, that have been recycled into flat sheets. Green Frog use these manufactured recycled plastic sheets to conjure up a colourful array of diverse arks for every livestock and pet imaginable! And with precision, aided by CAD, little waste is generated, with even this recycled back into flat sheets, thereby creating a near zero waste process. What's more, as the creative force behind Green Frog Designs, Adrian Morgan, is an experienced smallholder himself at Empire Farm, he certainly knows the functional needs of keeping lifestock safe in style.

Keeping chickens is not just the domain of rural dwellers. Many living in urban areas are now rearing poultry in their backyards, and Green Frog Designs are ideal for both the rural and urban chicken keeper, with chicken houses offered in small, medium and large sizes. Whether your bent is eco or design led, we reckon both your chickens and you will equally love their funky chicken house designs which can be bought online at inexpensive prices. The small chicken house, pictured below, provides ample room for four bantams or a pair of larger chickens and a chicken run can also be purchased which easily attaches to your choice of house.

Small chicken house in blue black.Recycled plastic is a clever idea, not just from an eco perspective. Plastic acts as a better insulator than your normal wooden coop, keeping your chickens warm when needed or cooler in hotter months. Their plastic frames are also spot on for minimising the risk of disease as there are fewer crevices for pests to hide in and cleaning them out couldn't be easier - phew! What's more, they don't rust, rot and can be (re)assembled with ease.

A diverse noah's ark of livestock are provided for. While at Empire Farm we went along to see some of their pigs - an oh so cute sow with her litter of piglets - and with this hands-on pig rearing experience, Green Frog Designs has come up with a clever version for pigs, pictured below. While just as easy to use as the other livestock designs, the pig housing is even sturdier to accommodate these fine beasts.

Pigs and chicken are not the only animals Green Frog Designs cater for. Why not diversify and farm some ducks and goose, just like they do on Empire Farm? Apparently, ducks are easy to raise and keep, and they won't necessarily damage your garden, particularly smaller black East Indies. This particular variety, like other ducks, will show off their speciality for slug control, but don't tend to ruin your vegetable patch! Goose, however, are a different bird alltogether. With their love for grazing, they will keep your lawn trim and keep burglars at bay with their 'watch dog' honking when someone comes near!

Small duck house by Green Frog DesignsGreen Frog also design some pretty cool homes for pets and wildlife. So if you're looking to encourage birdlife in your garden, why not hang up one of Green Frog's bird houses or bird feeders and you can choose from one of their five signature colours: blue, green, red, yellow or black. They also have some lovely wildlife homes for garden visitors - bats and hedgehogs!

Hanging bird feeder from Green Frog DesignsAs well as livestock and wildlife homes, Green Frog also design stylish dog kennels and rabbit hutches. To make them feel part of the family, you can also personalise their homes with their name or image print!

Stylish dog kennel by Green Frog DesignsLet's turn our attention to your garden now. Green Frog Designs also harness their innovative design approach to eco friendly cold frames, the perfect tool to protect your fledging produce from the elements and unwanted pests. If you're wanting a sustainable garden, we can't think of a better frame to house your produce: these cold frames are hygienic, ultra tough, frost-resistant and can be left outside unharmed all year round.

Sustainable cold frame by Green Frog DesignsAnd lastly, the kids aren't left out either. We adore their Square Foot Gardens. While they are ideal for urban backgardens, balconies even, they are super for children to grow their own! The square foot is a raised bed, divided into one square foot compartments to maximise production, when filled with organic compost and support different crops in each square. Adrian Morgan tells us you can grow up to 16 onions in a square. And for a child, we love the idea of personalising the garden at a small extra cost with their own name!

Now we can keep livestock and pets in true sustainable style - visit Green Frog Designs for more information.

DateApr 20, 2010 | Comment3 Comments |
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Sunday
Feb142010

Restored Antique Baths - Meet The Bath Man

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As a special treat, nothing beats a long soak in a tub, particularly if the bath water is rain fed. And because our bathrooms can be a special escape to wash away the stress of daily life, we've put bath restoration in the spotlight this week. Richard May, who we've nicknamed The Bath Man, has embarked on an exciting antique bath restoration venture, and takes us through the creative paces to help us find and restore an antique roll top bath into an original style piece to take centre stage in your eco friendly bathroom.

Why do you love baths so much Richard?

The Bath Man: Well who doesn't like to unwind after a hard day's work and relax their aching muscles? My personal favourite is the cast iron bath which really is a solid piece of bathroom furniture and will out last any acrylic/plastic bath.

Your best bath tip is...?

The Bath Man: Get your water temperature a few degrees hotter than what you would like and this will heat the metal and once hot will keep your bath hotter for longer.

Talk us through the whole bath restoration process...

The Bath Man: We source a variety of different original antique cast iron roll top baths. Our baths go through our cleaning process to prepare them for tiling with the imported European mosaics (sanding/red oxidization process), then using specialist highly flexible adhesives, we fix the mosiacs to the bath. Once the adhesive has cured, the grouting can be fixed. We also use a specialist pregnator for the grout which seals it to ease cleaning and the grout pigments turn into a really dark black colour.

Before Bath RestorationAfter grouting, we then re-enamel the bath using the best quality coating from the USA which we find does not yellow over time like some other enameling products do.

The next stage is to chrome the feet in a sparkly style chrome and then give a good polish down for the finished look.

After Bath RestorationIs restoring antique baths more eco friendly than buying a new one?

The Bath Man: Yes. Because we restore old original baths (which would normally be destined to be smashed into pieces by the plumbers who renovate bathrooms), it means we produce much less carbon as we don't have to create the bath in the first place. They already exist! So for every bath that can be restored and given a new home, it means that one less reproduction bath needs to be made, which can't be a bad thing.

Can you create bespoke baths to match our interiors?

The Bath Man: Yes. We offer a massive choice in mosaic shapes and colours, all handmade so every single tile is unique. So if you have an idea in mind we will try to match it.

We're loving the funky red mosaic on this pictured bath. Your design?

The Bath Man: Although I designed the bath, the beautiful tiles were made and designed in Europe by some very creative talented people who have many more unique designs on offer.

Is cast iron bath restoration a DIY job we can do at home?

The Bath Man: I'm sure there will be people out there who are willing to give it a try themselves but if you want a truly professional looking finish then let the experts do it for you.

Are you a bubble bath or Epsom salts sort of Bath Man?

The Bath Man: Ha... I would have to choose the bubble bath myself. Being eco friendly I like to have no wasted water, so just like in cooking with "enough water to cover the vegetables", my bubble bath would maintain a bit of modesty if anyone were to walk in on me!

Click our link to find out more about restoring antique roll top baths to create your own bathroom masterpiece.

DateFeb 14, 2010 | Comment2 Comments |
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Monday
Jan182010

Recycled Chairs for your Eco Design Home

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Writing about Reestore's Trolley Chair this week got us all excited about the potential of upcycling 'junk' and reincarnating everyday objects into sustainable masterpieces for you to sit on. We set out to discover design-led 'thrones' that offer a unique perspective on sustainable living style.

Plastic bags have been big news in recent years, with many of us turning our backs on them in favour of stylish shopping totes. Despite this step in the right direction, plastic bags still choke our environment in their zillions. Ryan Frank, a 'free-range' furniture designer, looks at plastic bags through a different lens: South African, born and bred, Ryan views plastic bags as a resource, as materials are scarce (there's no such thing as 'rubbish'). Ryan shares "In South Africa I became super aware of these type of materials because they hold high value in a third world country. Here in London, where I now live and work, I see lots of skips full of thrown out stuff. In South Africa, it wouldn't last two hours."

Inspired by the chicken ornaments made in the slums of Johannesburg, Ryan Frank's limited edition chair, affectionately named 'inkuku' - Zulu for chicken - is entirely made from recycled plastic bags. And the result is magnificent: Tactile, vibrant and multi layered, the inkuku is a bold, colourful style statement - and one we are coveting at GIN Towers!

Photo courtesy of RyanFrank.net

Ryan Frank's inkuku also has a 'sister' chair, made from fabric off cuts from the fashion industry, called the Dog. To view Ryan Frank's bespoke and product collection and explore his experimental approach further, please visit RyanFrank.net.

Ryan isn't the only talent to recycle fabrics into furniture.  Tejo Remy, a designer at Droog, the 'no-nonsense' design collective from Holland, created the Rag Chair, a clever and colourful amalgamation of old clothes - 15 bags in fact, that were layered together to form a chair. 

The Rag Chair has really got us thinking... While you can buy ready made, Droog offer the option to use your own rags to create your own bespoke chair. So if you have a bundle of old clothes that wouldn't cut the mustard at a swish party, then don't dismay - we've just found the perfect 'home' for your old rags. Why not pop along to Droog to find out more.

Photo courtesy of Droog

Plastic bags and the fashion industry's off cuts are well known 'waste' issues, but what about all those traffic signs that have passed their use by date? Now we'll be honest, it's not an issue we've given much thought to, but Boris Bally, an American metalsmith, has done since 1991 to much acclaim; Boris Bally set out to transcend basic root materials to support recycling, good design and sustainability. And boy, has Boris done so with fascinating style!

Innovative in manufacture, high on the design stakes, and with a successful Transit seat behind him, Boris set out on a new design challenge: To create a more complex chair design maximizing the graphic and material potential of recycled traffic signs - what Boris terms The Broadway Armchair objective. Boris told The GIN Lady "My goal was to create a design which could easily become a luminescent centerpiece of welcome, greeting clients in a Hotel Lobby or restaurant waiting area. I pushed this specific design to minimize scrap generated in its manufacture while honing the numerous technical challenges of working with this un-yielding material. It was my desire to maximize comfort and accessibility and optimize formal design concerns."

Boris's motto - “Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Do without” - drives this desire and throughout his whole ‘HUMANUFACTURED®’ process... nothing goes to waste. Anything left over is further used in the production of numerous other furnishing designs - think switchplates, mailboxes, house numbers, clocks, picture frames and even key fobs! Not surprisingly, Boris Bally has won much international recognition, and is often witnessed in publications, exhibitions and installations. 

The result? Boris Bally has produced hundreds of these armchairs this year alone, so we're not alone in putting these Broadway Armchairs firmly on our wishlist. Claiming one or two of these armchairs as your own throne won't just add a splash of innovative design to your interior, this move will also save heaps of rubbish from the dump. Boris enthused "I will be able to re-direct over twenty tons of aluminum, re-energize the Sustainable movement and train and employ numerous assistants." Way to go Boris! To grab some design eye candy for yourself, visit BorisBally.com.Photograph courtesy of J.W. Johnson Photography (www.jwjimaging.com)

Another designer extraordinaire is Tom Price. Who'd have thought 10,000 black nylon cable tires, with nothing else added to the mix except heat, could produce such an iconic chair design? The Meltdown Chair by award winning London designer Tom Price is a design we'd like to sink into, with its contrast seat pressed into the woven melted ball of cable ties. Clever, unique... we're balled over! Visit Tom Price to learn more.

Photo courtesy of Tom-Price.com

If you're looking for a sleek British chair, look no further than Blue Marmalade. Based in Edinburgh, Blue Marmalade's designs are deceptively simple and outrageously cerebral in design. Simplicity at its best, this sustainable design house only use one sheet of recycled and recyclable plastic to construct their blue and black iconic i b pop chair. Curvaceous and chic, this minimalist designer chair would make for a stunning contemporary look in your dining room, the outdoors or simply used as an occasional chair.

Before you feast your eyes below to check out this stunner of a chair, you may be wondering why the Scottish contemporary designer team is named Blue Marmalade. Just like marmalade, this design house is traditionally British but blue as this isn't business as normal. Blue Marmalade are proud to be British, but there's nothing traditional or normal about their design approach. Visit Blue Marmalade to discover more about their contemporary approach to sustainable furniture.

Photograph courtesy of Blue Marmalade

If your home is crying out for a natural, calm ambience, you can't go wrong with the Imprint Chair designed by Johannes Foresom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen from the Swedish design house Lammhults. The Imprint has been constructed from compressed layers of recycled spruce, bark and coconut fibre and the creative result is a one-piece shell that's light and textured, giving its original wood a whole new identity. We're loving the innovation behind this new blended material - and is recycling at its most natural. Visit Lammhults to check this Imprint Chair out for yourself.

Photograph courtesy of Lammhults

While the next in our line up - the Reee Classic Chair by Pli Design - may not be the most desirable choice for a modern home interior, it's worth mentioning as these are now peppered across many an innovative workspace - The Hub in Kings Cross London being a good example - and has now become a much deserved best-seller. Many, like us, love where this chair's material was sourced from... 100% recycled computer games consoles! And each chair saves an impressive 2.4kg of plastic from heading to landfill. In brief, the Reee is comfy to sit in, is relatively inexpensive, designed and made here in the UK (hurrah!) and is eco friendly to boot.

Isn't it time you had a quiet word in your boss's ear so you and your colleagues can sit at your desks in sustainable style? Visit Pli Design to get the lowdown on this British firm's approach to sustainable design.

So there you have it. 7 iconic chair designs that focus on recycled materials. Waste? There's no such thing....!

DateJan 18, 2010 | Comment5 Comments |
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Monday
Dec142009

Eco Friendly Christmas Decorations

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There's nothing sustainable - not to mention tasteful - about plastic Christmas decorations that only get hauled out once a year. To sustain some festive cheer around the house, we've put some D.I.Y. ideas as well as products with natural longevity into the picture to help you duck from the materialistic frenzy Christmas all too often becomes! Think Christmas wreaths, trees, tinsel and special baubles...

Let nature decorate your room. Ditch the plastic baubles and silver tinzel for some holly, berries and ivy which you can drape over picture frames, mirrors and mantelpieces to beautiful effect. You can even make your own wreath, which Xmas tree cuttings come in rather handy for as well.

If you don't trust your own DIY skills, then why not buy a completely handmade one that will fill your home with a fragrant orange and cinnamon scent that is bound to create a wonderful ambience. Aspen & Brown's wreath (£13.50) is made with dried whole oranges and pumpinos interspersed with slices of dried oranges and apples and cinnamon sticks. Sounds delicious (don't eat it!) and is reusable, as you can top it up with essential oils when you bring it out again next year. View wreath at Aspen & Brown.

The Christmas tree always makes a grand statement during the festive season, and if you haven't already grown a tree in preparation for Xmas, then here are some suggestions. Over the holidays, get wrapped up warm and plant some trees outside for future Christmases. Tree2MyDoor is a good option. We also love the idea of renting a Christmas tree. TreesforRent.com deliver to a wide radius around Dorset and ChristmasTreeMan deliver UK wide. What we didn't twig is a living Christmas tree poses less of a fire hazard than a dead cut one.

Another idea is a Fair Trade Christmas tree, a collaborative approach between Love Eco and the poor cone tree growers in Georgia. We particularly like the idea of the potted one as you'll be able to plant it outdoors after Christmas.

Now that you've got your Christmas Tree sourced, it's time to decorate it with gorgeous baubles that won't cost the earth and will last a lifetime. So we hunted around for some special items to decorate your tree with.

Biome Lifestyle have some gorgeous decorations for the tree, and are either made with eco friendly materials or are sourced from ethical work units supporting fair pay and rights for workers. We love the striped hearts in particular, and at £3 each, they won't break the bank, particularly if you use them year in, year out.

We also love Biome Lifestyle's Christmas Eco Tinsel. It's doubtful that many, if any of us, will enjoy a white Christmas but you will if you decorate your tree with this white snow ball tinsel. They are made from chemical-free felt (just soap and water in fact!), and are handmade by a small collective of wonderful women in a small backstreet of Kathmandu. We love!

We also couldn't resist sharing these painted vintage birds from Cox & Cox. In fact they are so pretty, we recommend using them as decor all year round. These tin birdies are oh so delightful, and will look simply stunning hanging from their black and cream ribbons.

Christmas dinner isn't really festive without some crackers, but most are destined for the landfill. Don't throw it, grow it, is the motto for these super Eco Seed Crackers, which will give you some wild flowers to enjoy long after Xmas has ended. The handmade seed paper crackers still contain the expected hat, motto and snapper, but the true gift of these lies in the paper, which you can plant to grow your wild flowers. How beautiful is that?!

And to conclude your Xmas decorations, scatter your home with some cute little porcelain tealight holders. What we particularly love is the British artist who hand makes them uses leftover porcelain from other projects. So rather than wasting her 'off cuts', she recycles them into these lovely little tealight candle holders.

 

Happy Xmas!

DateDec 14, 2009 | Comment2 Comments |
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