What’s more green than taking an old piece of furniture and giving it new life? Since we’re talking about all things eco-friendly this month, we want to see your green style! Have you ever refurbished an old piece of furniture? Show us your DIY projects by uploading a photo of your furniture makeover to Pinterest. Use the hashtag #AHIA or tag us in the caption with @At Home in Arkansas and we will repin YOUR furniture makeover to our Pinterest boards and share them on the At Home in Arkansas blog!
room of the week : down to earth
Oly Studio Chandelier | Payton Print by Michelle Armas | Louis XVI Dining Chair | Zinc Door White Buffet
When a young family approached designer Melissa Haynes to give their home a green makeover, Melissa was delighted to find that eco options abound when it comes to home design. She was able to create a gorgeous green space without sacrificing an ounce of her signature style. The natural grasscloth wallpaper was applied with no-VOC adhesive, and the dining chairs were recovered with durable vinyl rather than leather. We adore everything about this dining room!
What’s your favorite part of this room? Read more about the project here.
At Home in the Kitchen 9.11.09
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In yesterday’s post I mentioned the new Cash for Appliances program. We’ve got a great tool for you to see the latest and greatest new products launched at this year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. Click on the link below for a video preview and start making your wish list. https://athomearkansas.com/At-Home-Arkansas/Featured-Video/
ps: just some random trivia–former governor Mike Huckabee was the keynote speaker at the show. Apparently not chosen for his kitchen skills, rather that he’s great at motivating a crowd.
At Home with Architecture 9.14.09
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Another rainy day…and I’m thinking about how great the rain would sound if you were in this treehouse at Camp Aldersgate in Little Rock. If you’re not familiar with the camp, it’s just on the edge of the western side of town and has been around for about 60 years, providing a traditional camp experience for children with disabilities.
Added to that wonderful mission is the fact that they have great architecture, courtesy of some talented Arkansas architects. For the past several years, U of A architecture prof Laura Terry has conducted a summer design/build workshop for students, and the result has been some amazing recreational spaces, like the treehouse above, and the archery pavilion below.
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And these ribbon wood benches, where kids can get out of their wheelchairs, recline on the bench, and look up at the sky. Bet that’s a great sight.
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For the full story:
https://athomearkansas.com/At-Home-Arkansas/August-2009/Outdoor-Access/
eco-friendly bath products by danny seo
Do you remember this space from our January issue? America’s leading green lifestyle expert Danny Seo green-ified a Little Rock bedroom especially for At Home.
And we’re completely thrilled to announce that the photoshoot provided inspiration for his new line of eco-friendly towels and bathmats! Love that hydrangea blue!
The Danny Seo Eco Existence towel has quick drying ringspun loops for energy-savings when drying and is less prone to smelly mildew when air-drying after use since it quickly wicks away moisture.
Available in September at dannyseo.com and TJ Maxx, it comes in a variety of nature-inspired colors including creamy white, seaglass green, hydrangea blue, desert kahki, bark brown, slate gray and bright white. “They are what I call my gorgeously green, super affordable towels so that everyone can bring eco-indulgence into their bathrooms,” says Danny.
Coordinating bath mats come in the same color palette.
Thanks to Danny, living green is becoming mainstream. Visit www.dannyseo.com for more info about his story, his passion for protecting the Earth, and his products. And for more green design tips from At Home, click here.
creative and color curated style for kids
pin hook // cradle // forever young // chair // goldilocks // beatles // rug // playhouse // cascade mobile
At Home’s Family Homes issue is one of my favorites. Pretty sure it’s because I get to meet some awesome kids and play (I mean style) in their rooms. It’s always a good day when you come across fun, inspiring kids that are so proud of their rooms. So for this installation of “Creative and Color Curated,” IÂ channelled my inner child (which wasn’t very hard) and found some super cool pieces–from the chair, which by the way is only $65 and eco friendly, to the golidlocks mirror that any kid (or adult) is going to enjoy years to come. Whether you are 6 mos. or 60 years old…be sure to add a little whimsy. It’s sure to bring a giggle every now and then.
local arkansans living green
Homeowner Lyndsey Lewis been working with Bret Franks Construction to build a certified green home in Little Rock. She’s been blogging with us about the project (here), and today she is putting the spotlight on a friend who exemplifies green living through his ingenuity and resourcefulness–making him handy to have around during the construction of Lyndsey’s green home too!
For my first installment of the year, Iâm going to try a new spin on green design. This week, instead of talking about my life, my house, my ideas, I decided to interview a special friend of mine, Bryan Rupar, whom I believe exemplifies sustainable living. He doesnât drive a Prius. He isnât a vegetarian. He doesnât own a tiny house. He just does his best to use only what he needsâwhich is really what being “green” should be.
Bryan, born in Michigan, now lives here in Central Arkansas and works as the Chief of Land Acquisition and Stewardship for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. (I had to ask him what this actually means⦠He purchases and manages property for a system of nature preserves here in Arkansas.)
What I love about Bryan is that he is so practical. He does his own maintenance on his 1997 Jeep. He uses free ârecycledâ mulch from the city. He fixes things around the house, for his boat, for OTHER people⦠rather than just tossing stuff.
Above: With the help of his mechanical engineer brother, Bryan affixed a brass dog (that I had found) to a brass towel ring (that he found at Goodwill), which I’m going to use in my bathroom in the Whidbey. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts Iâve ever received⦠canât wait to install it in the little house.
So during his transition to Little Rock, Bryan ended up in a living arrangement that was very unconventionalâhe and his roommate shared a used 32-by-8â camper in North Little Rock. It began as a place for him to use while commuting between Monticello and Little Rock and eventually morphed into his home for almost three years.
The plan was to find a place in Little Rock. âBut we quickly realized we could pay off student loans and our credit card debt with two incomes and living in a camper. So we rented a storage unit for the rest of our belongings,â Bryan explains. In fact, he says that his “rent,” including electric, water, and his storage unit, was only $275 per month.
Above: Bryan, with his dad, inside the camper in North Little Rock.
âAt the time, we thought it was better to live in the cramped 240-square-feet and avoid years of financial stress later,â he adds. He was able to pay off his debts and save for a nest egg, which he eventually used for a down payment on his current home.
Me: Whyâd you leave the camper?
Bryan: I donât know that I have a good reason for that⦠I guess I finally had enough for a down payment, to furnish my house, and go on a nice vacation.
Me: Do you ever miss the camper?
Bryan: (smiling) I miss the low maintenance and high personal operational budget.
Bryan, like myself, is a thirty-somethinger. So it was curious to me how he got to be so smart about stuff. I mean, arenât we supposed to be lazy, wasteful jerks with maxed out credit cards??
âMy parents are very frugal peopleâ’thrifty’ if you want to be nice,â he explains. Like his dad, Bryan can also take his frugality a bit farâlast week when he insisted on stopping to pick up an “awesome” tire iron that someone had abandoned on the interstate.
But even then, itâs still great.
Above: Salvaged granite for my countertops from Bryan. âWhen I noticed them removing the granite from the building they were gutting,” he says, “I decided to ask if I could have them. Not only did they say yes, but they also helped me load them up.â
planning a little house in little rock
If you’ve been following our “At Home with Green Design” series, you’ve gotten to know homeowner Lyndsey Lewis, as she’s been writing since November about the certified green home she’s building in Little Rock. Today, the experts at Bret Franks Construction (comprised of Bret and Jen Franks) talk about the process of building Lyndsey’s sustainable home. The key, they say, is in the planning.
PS- Tour Bret and Jen Franks’ own certified green home in our July 2011 issue, here!
The Whidbey, the home plan for Lyndsey’s own green home
Building a custom home always takes careful planning and forethought. Building a tiny home takes the importance of planning to another level. Then throw in Certified Green and Energy Star Qualifications, and it requires special attention to detail to make the dream a reality. In addition to the design, colors, fixtures and finishes that need to be determined, there are building code requirements, space planning, and Green points to consider.
One important aspect of planning a tiny home is to verify that the home plan and location meet the International Building Code Requirements. Bret met with the City of Little Rock Planning and Development Department before construction began to confirm that Lyndsey’s Tiny Tumbleweed home plan would conform to local residential building and neighborhood design requirements.
The design and location of the garage was also critical – not only for the aesthetics of a visible corner lot but for the storage needs of the homeowner. We felt it was important for the garage to be just as unique as the home without overpowering the diminutive size of the home. After discussing the storage needs with the homeowner (including a desire for covered space for two cars), Bret and I designed a single car enclosed garage with an attached carport – sometimes called a “lean-to”. The design was inspired by our recent trip to the South Carolina low country and incorporates space for a single car, a large amount of storage on two levels, a covered area for a grill, and a carport space for a second car which can also be used for outdoor parties with recessed lighting and a ceiling fan. Multi-purpose spaces are integral to tiny homes and their garages!
The kitchen design also required considerable thought and planning. Before the initial cabinet sketches, we had many discussions with Lyndsey about what was most important to her – from the coffee pot location to the built-in trash can (a must when you have two curious dogs living with you!). And small space appliances from GE were also determined before the cabinet design was finalized. Everything in the kitchen was scaled to fraction of inches – because every “tiny” bit of storage space counts when your building a little house.