By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

We’ve long been fans of the daily can-do eco-conscious email-tips (with off-the-cuff sass and "see this is easy" humor) from the team at Ideal Bite—a San Francisco-based company that believes, like we do, that everyone can take small, but frequent, steps to building a better planet.

This week, the company announced the launch of Mama Bite: “Bite-sized tips for making baby and planet happy.”

Too cute. Cute. Cute.

Through interviews over the years, I’ve found that many people’s make-a-move moment that pushed them into a more eco-sensitive lifestyle came when they started a family. It’s when they're creating an environment for a teeny tiny person that they have a heightened awareness of the sub-par air quality in their home, the chemical scents in their cleaners, or the grime underfoot.

So yes, for the sake of the little one, mamas, it's time to take action.

From the source:
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“The moment I became pregnant, my commitment to living a greener, healthier life became that much more personal. It is our hope that mothers across the country will turn to Mama Bite to not only provide them with a place to learn, share and address concerns, but as a community that will connect them with other moms that share the same values,” said Mama Bite editor, Alison Lara.

Founded in 2005 by Heather Stephenson and Jen Boulden, Ideal Bite offers tips on easy ways to go green and live better via a short free e-mail each weekday. The tried and true tips are fun, sassy and peppered with information that consumers can use to make small, practical changes that add up to big results. Mama Bite dishes out those essential tips for mothers everywhere, covering a range of topics from the types of bottles, clothing and toys to purchase, to saving money without skimping on quality, to the options moms struggle with on breastfeeding and cloth diapers.   

Ideal Bite’s Mama Bite will cover topics of interest like:
- Going Green While Saving Green: Modern green mamas are embracing trends like swap parties and online trading sites to help them save money and consume less.
- The latest toys on the market that are safe, free from harmful toxins like phthalates and PVC, and are also fun and Biter baby approved!
- The Great Diaper Debate: Not only are traditional disposables contributing to tons of waste (nearly 18 billion diapers thrown away in the U.S. every year), but also they are loaded with nasty chemicals glues, dyes. Mama Bite will provide customized solutions for all of the different situations.

To sign up: www.idealbite.com/subscribe
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And, if you’re already signed up for the Ideal Bite daily tip (a must), be sure to check out the regional editions they’ve launched over the last year. Good green local stuff. Every morning my inbox is flooded with the daily tip, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle.

Lots of nice small bites. Just what everyone should have for breakfast.

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

With the eco-boom of the last few years the ultimate kick-start motivator for consumers’ green marketplace decisions is a simple relationship: The choices we make to preserve the environment affect our personal health.

Case and point: Because we spend one-third of our day head nestled in a pillow, it’s in our best interest to choose the most natural bed products possible—ones whose materials and manufacturing processes are as light on the planet as they are on our skin.

Personally, I've never been as affected by research for an article as I was when reporting for our story about "the green bed" which appears in our December issue (on newsstands later this month).

Yes, bedding products can be pricey, but fortunately the marketplace has caught up with consumer interest in a greener lifestyle, so choosing bed linens, mattresses, pillows, and even bed frames made of organic, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly materials (good for you and good for the environment) doesn't have to cost more than your standard, conventional options.

Now, you may gawk at my suggestion of a $1300 mattress; but take a look at prices at major retailers (some super cheap; some upwards of $5000), consider the toxicity of things like flame retardants—bad for you and bad for the environment—which come standard in many conventional mattresses, and you're sure to be an eco-bedding convert.

You may say, "But I sleep great" or "My health is fine" or "Why would I change what works?" The thing is, if your bed has always been made up of conventional materials, you have no idea that you could be sleeping better than you do.

Your homework: Find an eco-home store near you, talk to their knowledgeable sales people, and take a little nap. Then, rave to me about it by clicking on the comments link below.

(Linens pictured in shot above: Raksha Bella (blue print pillow), Indika Organics (printed sheet), Loop (green sheet), Plover Organic (blue quilt and lilac pillow), Under the Canopy (blanket))

A special shout-out:

Amenity's gorgeous products (organic cotton linens and reclaimed douglass fir bedframe pictured) didn't fit into our printed article, but we love them!

And they just so happen to be offering 30% off their entire home collection for the month of November. Enter "season" at checkout.

And a list of some of our favorite shops. Email me to tell me about a favorite near you.

San Francisco area
Green Fusion Design Center
Earthsake
Reclaim
Branch (online only)
Eco Boutique
Spring

Seattle area
Greener Lifestyles
One Earth One Design

Los Angeles area
Green and Greener
Kelly Green

By Sarah Gaffney, Sunset Idea House program manager

I love these pendants, end of story. The creative guys at Seattle's Graypants (featured in our October issue) salvage pieces of discarded corrugated cardboard and upcycle them into Scrap Lights, their wonderfully organic and textural pendants. Don't be silly and put them in a damp location. Available at Velocity Art and Design.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

One of the best days I've spent in San Francisco was the one spent helping to plant the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden over the summer. (You can read about my own personal Victory Garden in the current issue of Sunset).

The bountiful fruit, herb, and vegetable garden that resulted from the diverse group of us who gathered together to get our hands dirty has proven to be so popular that the City of San Francisco has extended Slow Food Nation's "lease" on the project. Slow Food Nation and a number of Bay Area organizations are hosting a series of weekend activities to bring the community in. I'll be bringing my family this Saturday, October 18 from 11am-3pm for the first Community Day, which will focus on growing food in San Francisco. The next Community Days are scheduled for Saturday, November 1 and Saturday, November 22.

For more information about the Victory Garden, or the Community Days, visit Slow Food Nation.

Participating organizations include Alemany Farm, Urban Sprouts, and The Edible Schoolyard.

by Miranda Jones, Sunset style editor

Last Wednesday Jess Chamberlain and I went to the east bay to scout an upcoming story (January Easy Style — you are going to love it!) and we stumbled on what is now My New Favorite Place: Bakesale Betty's.

Bakesale Betty's had many offerings (delicious baked goods and a fried chicken sandwich that I really really want to try) but the thing that caught my eye was the ingenious use of old ironing boards.

Behold. And be inspired to think about using (and reusing) items in a new way.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

If you missed the amazing Slow Food Nation festival in San Francisco last month, don't despair. You can learn about the incredible group of fresh-food artisans committed to keeping our food supply delicious, diverse, and safe in Slow Food Nation's new book "Come to the Table: The Slow Food Way of Living" edited by Katrina Heron, with a foreword by Alice Waters.

We could have featured this book on Sunset's garden or food blog but I've included it here to bring the point home that Slow Food is really about a lot more than food itself. It's about the importance of craft, the joy that comes from collaboration, the importance of creating community. These things can manifest themselves not only in the food we grow, buy and eat but in the homes we design, build and live in (hence an article on "slow design" in the New York Times last year).

"Come to the Table" features profiles (and gorgeous photographs) of the farms and growers who devote themselves to the perfect peach (or plum or pepper). I love the book's "How to Go Slow" guide with its simple tips such as Plant a kitchen garden, Eat together, Talk food politics, Learn your region's food story.

And did I mention the recipes? I made the Simple Roast Chicken (p. 140) last night. Delicious.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

It was a big week for green in the San Jose, CA, last week. On Thursday, September 25, the truly inspirational West Coast Green conference opened in San Jose. Keynote speakers throughout the amazing event included former Vice President Al Gore and an unparalleled group of sustainability stars such as David Suzuki (whose foundation put out the report, Sustainability within a Generation, a map to put Canada on the path to sustainability by the year 2030), Hunter Lovins (President of Natural Capitalism Solutions), and Sarah Susanka (author of the Not So Big House books).

I gave a lecture Thursday about creating community and presented some of my favorite people-connecting projects like the tree-planting efforts of Friends of the Urban Forest, and Linden Alley, a once derelict alley transformed by the Blue Bottle Coffee kiosk and the ever increasing hordes of caffeine addicts who frequent it.

Sunset was proud to sponsor the beautiful SG Block Shipping Container House (aka Harbinger House) designed by the Lawrence Group. The striking structure drew a steady stream of visitors eager to see how shipping containers could be transformed into domestic bliss:

It's impossible in just one post to recount all the interesting people, provocative conversations, and promising new technology gathered under one roof during WCG....you'll be hearing more from us on this later.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset, editor-at-large

Only 10 days more to wait 'til the start of West Coast Green!

In addition to all the great things happening at the conference itself at the San Jose Convention Center from Sept. 25-27, you'll also want to catch the Build It Green Home Tour in San Mateo and Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Sept. 28 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Visitors will have access to 14 green homes on this self-guided tour. On view are houses that look great, save money and are easier on the environment. You'll have the opportunity to speak with homeowners, builders and designers about the projects, and can discover green materials like dual-flush toilets, recycled wood decking, green flooring and countertop options. Learn about technologies such as radiant floor heating, green roofs, graywater systems, solar water heating and more.

For $20/person, you'll receive a Tour Guidebook which acts as your admission ticket into each of the homes on tour. For more information on attending the Home Tour, visit www.BuildItGreen.org or call 1-888-404-7336.

More ways to live greener

by Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer (image of Tumbleweed house on freeway from story)

Being a San Francisco young adult renter, an eco-enthusiast, and not independently wealthy, I've been obsessed with the idea of small, sustainable, minimalist homes for sometime now and just adored this New York Times article yesterday: The next little thing?

In this piece about a surge of interest in tiny dwellings as a reaction to the intense real estate market (and a boom in popularity of the greener life), author Steven Kurutz defines the "small house movement" as "minimizing one’s footprint—structural as well as carbon—by living in spaces that are smaller than 1,000 square feet and, in some cases, smaller than 100."

The story introduced me to the blog Small House Style, which I kind of can't believe I haven't known about. For the first time in a long time I have renewed hope in the idea of one day being a homeowner. 

Though I beg for a home larger than 100 square feet.

By Sarah Gaffney, Sunset Idea House program manager

The Halloween mood has struck me early this year. I'm ready to start stacking hay bales and pumpkins on the front porch. That must be why I fell instantly in love with the spider designs of artist Sarah Cihat's Rehabilitated Dishware.

First of all, the concept is eco-fabulous. She scours thrift shops and clearance aisles for ceramic dinnerware that she takes to her Brooklyn studio and reglazes and refires into chic and cheeky designs.

Check out her site for other fun graphic motifs and online purchasing. Available at Rose and Radish in San Francisco.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset, editor-at-large

We're pleased to be able to offer a 20% discount for full West Coast Green conference passes to our readers. Just log on to West Coast Green and enter Code: sm4632.

The latest news from WCG is the naming of the 2008 Showhouse (sponsored by Sunset): The Harbinger!

Gregory Shaefer who came up with the winning moniker (and is also resident chef on Planet Green's daily news show "g word") explains his choice: "By definition, a harbinger is something which allows us to see the future, a foretelling, a symbolic event or bridge. I think we usually are aware of these in hindsight, but here, today we can clearly see the future. The Harbinger House is a model of sustainable design that needs recognition for its forward thinking vision and creativity."

The 1,700 square foot two-story home will be made of an unconventional but highly sustainable building material: reused shipping containers!

by Allison Arieff, Sunset, editor-at-large

Just had to share this great letter we got from reader Sue Koopman in response to my solar party story from Sunset's September issue.

Koopman and a group of her neighbors in Livermore, California, researched 9 different solar companies and approached 4 of them to see what sort of community discount they could receive. They opted for a community discount program with Akeena Solar  and REC Solar . By the end of July, Koopman's group (which expanded to Pleasanton as well) had reached their goal of getting 30 houses signed up for solar. By August, they had 87 homes signed up and are anticipating having more than 100 on board by the end of their community program deadline of September 15.

They've created a helpful website with tips on how to follow their great example. And to celebrate, writes Koopman, "We of course had a solar party, watched the meter go backwards and enjoyed a beautiful evening outside ... "

We'd love to hear your solar success story. Email us at homeblog@sunset.com

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

For the last several months I've been driving by this cool looking building in downtown San Francisco and wondering what it was.

I'm so glad to learn that it not only looks great but there's a great idea behind it. In a city where space is at a premium and home prices remain staggeringly high, Cubix offers small, space-maximizing units (about 250-350 square feet) at a price that more closely aligns with the national median (around $200,000). Other major cities like New York and Hong Kong have long offered tiny but stylish multi-family options; it's an idea whose time has come here in San Francisco.

Designed by Hauser Architects, Cubix takes a lesson from Jane Jacobs and promotes walkability. Apart from the small and efficient square footage of its units (because after all, shouldn't we be out enjoying the world outside our door a little more), the building is in easy walking distance of downtown (and of all of the city's major public transit systems).

You'd do just fine here without a car (and if you needed one, you could just pop on over and get a Zip Car for the afternoon. There's a Whole Foods down the street, the amazing Ferry Plaza Farmers Market just blocks away, and countless amazing restaurants like Fringale, Coco500, and South Park Cafe nearby.

Perfect for first-time homebuyers or empty nesters. Ideal for the environment. I'd love to see more of this forward-thinking city planning happening here in San Francisco and elsewhere throughout the country.

by Miranda Jones, Sunset's style editor

Walking is good for more than just your heart. It also cuts down on pollution, helps boost a sense of community, and increases local business. Walk Score, a site that uses an algorithm to rate your address's walkability, counts San Francisco, Boston and New York as the top three cities to live in without a car. This site makes me think about how much impact urban planning really has on over all quality of life. Where your house is; in your neighborhood, in your city and in your state really has so much to do with your over all quality of life.

As a San Francisco based dweller, I was happy to see that SF took the cake with an over all score of 86. The site breaks down each neighborhood by color (green is good, red is not as good) and assigns it a score. Chinatown received 99 points for being a Walker's Paradise. And a Driver's Nightmare. The site didn't say that but I know it from experience.

Next time you are thinking of moving be sure to check out how your future address rates. No only will you be able to save on gas by moving to a neighborhood with a good score but you will able to feel smug knowing that you can weave your way home on your own two feet from last call as opposed to having to wait for a cab.

Won't that be nice?

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

Renée Loux first introduced me to to Gypsystyle bags earlier this year when we included the shoulder bag design in a round-up of some of her favorite eco-friendly goods that don't sacrifice style for sustainability. I consider the shoulder bag (which Loux loves for grocery shopping) to be double-green. It's made from recycled materials AND it keeps us from using disposable products. Remember: The correct answer to "Paper or plastic?" is "Neither".

Gypsystyle  designer (also a photographer and celebrity stylist) Noel Cianci recently debuted the "Gypsytote" (not actually yet on the website yet—it's that new). (Pictured above.) I'm smitten! What a great beach bag, farmer's market tote, or—who am I kidding—purse! Another must have is her cosmetic bag—perfect size for makeup collection, and ultra durable.

To order:

web: gypsystyle.com (soon)
phone: 323/445-5044
email: gypsystylebags@gmail.com

by Allison Arieff, Sunset, editor-at-large

Want to immerse yourself in the latest in green innovation? Want to get up to date on what's happening with sustainable building? Want to feel inspired by the words of some the major players in the green movement? Then there's no better place to be next month than West Coast Green in the country's cleantech capital, San Jose, California.

Workshops on everything from building your own electric car to investing in renewable energy kick things off on Wednesday, September 24th. Former Vice President Al Gorekicks things off on Thursday morning, September 25th. An amazing roster of speakers follow including architect Sarah Susanka, author of the best-selling "Not So Big House" books, photographer/activist Chris Jordan who explores the detritus of mass culture, landscape architect Josiah Raison Cain, whose projects include San Francisco's new Academy of Science's living roof, and yours truly, Allison Arieff, Sunset's Editor-at-Large. This will be my third time speaking at West Coast Green and I can't wait to immerse myself in it again. (That's me, third from left at last years' Women in Green panel along with writer/moderator Kira Gould, and architects Michelle Kaufmann, and Susan Ubbelohde.)

West Coast Green makes you feel like you're truly part of something: You won't want to miss it. And this year, Sunset readers will receive a special discount on conference registration (check back here next week for details). Homeowners day on September 27th costs just $20.

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

A handpicked group of some of the coolest architects and designers in the Bay Area have stepped to the plate to create everything from beer halls to food halls for Slow Food Nation, the first-ever American collaborative gathering to unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair through enjoyable, accessible and educational activities.

Jensen Architects' bold Welcome Pavilions, created from shipping containers, will lure visitors to SFN's Civic Center and Fort Mason locations.

Chocolate will be even tastier when sampled in the multi-sensory pavilion created by Aidlin Darling Design (who are also the designers of one of my favorite SF restaurants, Bar Bambino).

You can sample charcuterie to your heart's content while viewing a cultural history of meat in Cary Bernstein's gallery-inspired pavilion.

Other cool projects include Randolph Design's Beer Pavilion featuring a bar made from recycled beer bottles, Sagan Piechota Architecture's Pickle and Chutney Pavilion, which involves the suspension of over 3,000 mason jar lids from the ceiling, and walls made from mason jars and filled with recipes and pictures of pickles from around the world, an "infinite" table for picnicking by David Baker + Partners, and a compost exhibit from the designers of IDEO including "black gold" compost bricks for visitors to take away.

Hungry yet? Slow Food Nation will take place in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend, August 29 to September 1, 2008. Sunset is proud to be a sponsor of this amazing event. For tickets, click here. See you there!

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset Home writer

It's not often that a day "out in the field" feels like a third grade science experiment. But recently, with 12 laundry bottles and dozens of towels in tow, my workday felt like just that.

For the “Laundry room detox” story you’ll find in our September issue, I tested 11 eco-friendly laundry detergents against a grocery store standard.

What I did:

I bought 36 white hand towels (for $.49 cents each) at Ikea. I stained 12 towels with red wine and 12 towels with coffee and kept 12 towels clean. I let the stains set for 6 hours.

I then spent an afternoon at the Bernal Bubbles laundromat in Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco doing 12 loads of laundry (three appropriately-labeled towels in each load plus some larger towels to add some weight to the machine).

*Please note: We recognize that doing 12 seemingly unnecessary loads of laundry is in itself not eco-friendly, but because our purpose was to find reason to encourage our readership (millions of households people!) to use eco-friendly products, we rest easy. And fortunately the washing machines at Bernal Bubbles are energy efficient models.

Our subjects:
Shaklee Get Clean (fragrance free): $.48/load
Vaska Botanicals (Lavender): $.29/load
Ecover: $.40/load
Ecos (Lemongrass): $.12/load
Trader Joe’s: $.09/load
Method (free & clear): $.25/load
Seventh Generation (free & clear): $.25/load
Biokleen (Grapefruit Seed & Orange Peel): $.19/load
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day (Baby Blossom): $.38/load
Caldrea (Sweet Pea): $.50/load
Planet: $.23/load

Our control: Tide (original scent): $.28/load

And the results....

We were shocked(!) to find no significant difference in stain removal between detergents (eco-friendly or standard), and were thrilled to uncover an example of the new reality that “green” doesn’t have to mean a higher price tag.

Because we found no significant difference in cleaning power (remember: we weren't testing stain sticks or bleach), our favorites were chosen based on scent:

Trader Joe’s (the ever-so-slight hint of lavender—and serendipitously the cheapest!) and Caldrea’s Sweet Pea (divine fragrance, though admittedly a splurge).

Look for more surprising eco-friendly laundry info (conventional dry cleaning can be crazy toxic!) in our September issue, on newsstands in a couple weeks.

by Miranda Jones, Sunset style editor

Long for a garden but don't have the space? Daniel Schipper, a young designer in Amsterdam, heard your plea and has created a prototype greenhouse that is lightweight, flexible and perfectly suited to small-space living. The collapsable container is small enough to fit on a balcony but large enough to have a little garden.

The greenhouse doesn't have a frame, which allows it to be folded flat when not in use. You could store it in your closet or even out on your balcony when you aren't busy cultivated your newest crop of cilantro. The greenhouse is made from polypropylene plastic and living hinges (which are used on high volume application containers like tackle boxes or CD cases) , and you don't need any extra hardware to make sure it keeps it shape.

The only things stopping me from running out and buying one  is that Daniel doesn't have any way to put this puppy into production yet. He is still searching for a design firm or a partner. I  hope someone steps up soon and makes this greenhouse available. It is perfectly poised to ride the Slow Food wave.....Good luck Daniel! Keep us posted. We think it is only a matter of thyme until we see these available in every city. Forgive me Daniel.....I have a weakness for silly puns. 

by Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

So much of what we read and see about green design seems to be about sleek modern homes or super-expensive jeans made from organic cotton. So it's great to find examples of sustainabililty reaching a broader, more diverse audience.

Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard program is a simple yet brilliant concept: create and sustain an organic garden in schools and design student curriculum around it.

The idea, which began in Berkeley, California, has taken root at schools throughout the country allowing more and more kids to learn where there food comes from, how to grow it, and equally important, how to enjoy it.

A groundbreaking for the new EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park took place this past Earth Day on April 22, 2008; the Center, located on a former toxic site in one of San Francisco's toughest neighborhoods, will provide students and largely low income local residents with "eco-literacy"--at the new green facility they can learn about everything from open space restoration to the benefits of solar energy.

And the Eco Village Farm is located in Richmond, California, one of the more economically and environmentally challenged parts of the Bay Area.

Through its exhibits and participatory programs, Eco Village Farm aims to help residents of the San Francisco East Bay live more sustainable and healthier lives and learn how to better protect the Earth's natural resources and ecosystems. Richmond is so often associated with its oil refinery so it's amazing to see 5.6 acres of semi-rural farm land on which fruit trees, oaks, blackberries and walnuts are growing.

Achieving a greener lifestyle is all about innovative--and collective--efforts so it's just great to see more and more of these sustainable resources.

By Allison Arieff, Sunset editor-at-large

I love the Rainwater HOG. It's so simple: just a modular tank to catch and store rainwater. But no one has really marketed such a thing before. It's designed to be used in multiple locations throughout your house and surrounding property. It can be positioned vertically, along the side of your home...

or horizontally, below your porch or deck...

Solutions like this are brilliant. Designer Sally Dominguez created the Rainwater HOG to serve an elemental purpose: rainwater that's collected can be used for drinking, flushing toilets, washing clothes, or watering your garden. The object itself is simple and discrete, so much so that it's distributed through Design Within Reach.

Once Ms. Dominguez and DWR can figure out how to bring the price down a bit as it's $450 per 47-gallon storage unit, I see no reason why every household wouldn't have a Rainwater HOG.

by Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer (photo: re-nest)

Apartment Therapy's "re-nest" blog prompted a conversation today that's bewildered me for a while now: The debate about laundry lines. Eyesore? Or romantic-ish domestic art statement waving with the wind? I've always thought the latter. And am little appalled some neighborhoods are said to be banning this environmentally-friendly laundry practice (requiring no energy at all—since Mother Nature does the work).

Tell re-nest what you think here.

And look forward to our eco-laundry story in Sunset's September issue. I'll be posting about our detergent test next week.

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

I'm a self-admitted target customer for die-hard plants, and also a total softie for home & garden gift shops, especially those with organic-modern aesthetic. I was therefore over-the-top thrilled to find out about the Life + Limb store while doing some work in Portland, OR a few months ago. A visit to this lovely and unique urban succulent and modern design haven lead to some container cameos in a recent home story photo shoot, which appears in this month’s issue, pages 57-62. Unfortunately we didn’t have room to focus on these lovely arrangements, so an extra-big shout out (and adoration!) to Life + Limb (and talented owner Molly Quan) right here!

Tabletop arrangements pictured above: Haworthia Fasciata in containers, $60/arrangement ($6/plant, 4 in each pot; $28/container; $8/potting)

Tabletop arrangements pictured above:
Right and left: Ferocactus chrysacanthus in Adam Ceramic pot, $27 ($8/plant, $15/pot, $4/potting-service)
Middle: Opuntia in Adam Ceramic pot, $29 ($10/plant, $15/pot, $4/potting-service)

And below are some pics of my visit to the shop back in March, when it was a mere 5 months old. I was like a kid in a candy store, awe-ing at the gorgeous architectural indoor plants and the well-edited selection of accessories and home accents—a must shop for gifts! I loved watching the in-store potting service in action as a young couple chose a plant, a container, and mulch and had it all assembled right there—likely on their way to a housewarming.

More pics here.

Life + Limb, which specializes in indoor plants (namely succulents) offers rotating monthly art shows, gift registry, complimentary gift wrapping, in-home consultation—and potentially online shopping soon!

Visit: Life + Limb; 1716 E. Burnside, Portland, OR; 503/233-4738 or lifeandlimb.net
 

By Sarah Gaffney, Sunset Idea House program manager

There is no rest for the weary Idea House team! We just finished staging our Menlo Park Idea House and now we're gearing up for moving into our Monterey house in a couple of weeks. No time for vacation, but a day of furniture shopping in Laguna Beach is not a bad fringe benefit! 

Our great friend Laurie Alter of Tuvalu Home Environment in downtown Laguna is helping us complete the casually elegant look of the home. Tuvalu provided most of the accessories for our Orange County Idea House, and did a phenomenal job in helping us add layers of luxurious beach house style.

Her selections for the Monterey house are just as fabulous. These lights are made from natural wild vines. We are going to group them together in a large indoor-outdoor room that opens up to the landscape and a majestic native oak.

This lovely Jamie Young lamp would look great in my house the Idea House!  Excuse my vicarious shopping, another on-the-job hazard.

I love these vintage wheels. We may use the large one as a piece of art in the entry to the house. Stay tuned for the start of staging!

by Miranda Jones, Sunset style editor

Philippe Starck is apparently not content with just making lust worthy interiors and products - he recently admitted that he would like his designs to be essential to living. His new backyard turbine, the "Democratic Ecology" might fit the bill. 

The turbine, which also comes in orange (to match your backyard furniture?) reportately can provide a single home with 20-60% of all the electricity it needs. At $633 it is cheaper, and more of an eco investment than a few of these beauties:

Doesn't stop me from wanting them though!

by Miranda Jones, Sunset style editor

I was in Reclaim the other day, looking for cool eco products for the Menlo Park Idea House and this rubber ducky caught my eye.

That little yellow guy is digital shower timer from Ripple, an Australian business whose focus is water awareness, water consumption and water usage. They recommend that you aim to take a four minute shower, which uses about 9 gallons.  By shortening your shower by four minutes you can save 2400 gallons of water, 274 pounds of CO2 and $78 per year. Amazing! Imagine if each person in your house did that!

I have no idea how long my showers are at the moment but I fear that they don't come in under the 4 minute mark. I can't wait to set the timer and start 'beating' my own best shower time!

Ripple Digital Shower Timer $19.95

By Sarah Gaffney, Sunset Idea House program manager

After a couple of almost all-nighters, the Menlo Park Idea House opened to great success last weekend. It's fantastic to see, what for so long have been ideas percolating in our heads, finally come to fruition after a lot of hard work and determination (not to mention umpteen trips to Ikea, Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond!).

Here's a sneak peek at some of my favorite ideas and spaces in the house.

The living room beautifully epitomizes our vision for the house: combining old and affordable pieces with the new and luxurious to create a fresh, unique and elegant look. Sofa is from InformSeattle, side chairs and vintage file cabinet from Cisco Home, coffee table and curtains from Ikea, all paint from Benjamin Moore's low-VOC Aura collection.

There's a chorus of "wows" every time visitors enter the boy's room and see this vintage album cover headboard. It's a great way to show off that collection of album art sitting in your garage. The Plexiglass front is easy to remove, so when you're tired of the album covers, you could easily replace them with fabric, photos, or paint out the framed squares in different colors!

Here is another room that elicits a visceral response from visitors. This yellow paint, Benjamin Moore's Soleil AF-330, is like sunshine in a can. It practically glows with cheer! It's impossible to be in a bad mood when you're in this room. Alas, a good choice for a tweener's bedroom. The vinyl graphics, Ilan Dei's Anise from BLIK Surface Graphics, add instant art to the happy walls.

In the master bedroom, we created a mantle headboard from foam architectural trim from Fypon. Great way to save some $$$ and no woodworking experience required! Wallpaper is Lace Stripe from the Velluto Collection produced by Printers Guild Series. We found it at California Paint Company in Palo Alto, 650/326-9285.

Visit the house for many more cool ideas.  It's open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday till August 31.

Download the program, floorplans, and more

By Allison Arieff, Sunset, editor-at-large

Last week I spent a few days at the annual Pacific Coast Builders show or PCBC at San Francisco’s Moscone Center checking out the latest trends in homebuilding. Some highlights included speakers Malcolm Gladwell, author of mega-bestsellers The Tipping Point and Blink, who stressed the importance of going with your gut, and futurist/sustainability pioneer Stewart Brand, founder of the Well, editor/publisher of The Whole Earth Catalog, and author of numerous books including How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built.

Brand gave an engaging presentation, focusing on the speed with which we all live today. His The Long Now Foundation aims to promote slower/better thinking, a concept I can really get behind.

On the tradeshow floor, PCBC was, like most tradeshows, a bustling mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s not easy making things like pest control look great in an exhibit booth (though I was amazed by the high design of a booth devoted to underfloor radiant heating). My personal design award has to go to Modernus’ gorgeous doors.

An interactive exhibit on the challenge of creating community, sponsored by the Vine Conference, a sort of annual think tank event for housing innovation, was another highlight.

Sustainability made its presence known at PCBC though not as much as I’d hoped. It was interesting to learn that Kelly Moore Paints has produced their environmentally friendly Enviro-Cote paint (formulated without VOC-volatile organic compounds) for over 13 years.

In the last few years, it’s become a top-seller as more and more consumers request it. That’s a great takeaway from PCBC: proof that consumer demand is driving a lot of positive green changes in the homebuilding market.

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

Browsing the new goods at Spring last week, I fell smitten with these water bottles by EarthLust, a new San Francisco-based company focused on one of my favorite topics: sustainability with style.

Upon return to the office, I immediately contacted EarthLust owner/designer Allison through her website to find out the back-story:

"I started the company after doing a lot of research on plastics. We were having a baby and I didn’t feel good about using plastic bottles for him. Some of the information I found was disturbing…So we got rid of our microwave, and stopped using plastic. I also wanted new bottles for Adam and I but couldn’t find any designs I liked…So that’s what sparked my interest in doing my own line.   

Many of the designs are mine—the crow is a picture I took on Treasure Island during a family walk. Others are from independent graphic designers (work-from-home moms!)

We were able to find a great, quality product with food grade stainless steel. It's sourced through an ethical factory in China that pays fair wages and uses very high quality materials. It is very exciting to have a product that we feel so good about using! Our baby ADORES his owl bottle—maybe it’s because he sees us with ours?"

Love it! Organic-modern design with a good conscious. Allison also told us that an expanded EarthLust product line is scheduled to launch in August, so stay tuned.

Info: Double-walled food-grade stainless steal with non-toxic paints. Naturally safe unlined. Recyclable. Three sizes: 13 ounce, $16.00; 20 ounce, $18.00, 1 liter, $21.00. More info at www.earthlust.com.

by Miranda Jones, Sunset style editor

It has been a while since I have been to Target (when did they stop carrying the entire Method line?! that was such a hook!) and I had forgotten how many great things they stock. Check it.

Item one: A red retro cafeteria tray, perfect for outdoor dining AND making sure your food doesn't touch. How much? Glad you asked. $3.99!

Item two: A recycled canvas bag, of  a very good weight, found in the make up aisle. Sometimes I get tired of things that advertise the  fact that they are recycled but for some reason I thought this item was just fetching. Perhaps it was the rope pull. I do have an All Thing Nautical weakness. Price? $5.99

Item three: Zote Soap (pink). Before yesterday I had never seen Zote soap. It was the packaging that caught my eye (I love it, of course). A little online research revealed what many already know: that Zote soap is not just a laundry detergent (for everything from delicates to towels with stains) but it is also catfish bait, mosquito repellent, fabric softener, dish soap and a floor cleaner. And people love the smell. It has been and continues to be used extensively in Mexico. After reading all about it I cannot wait to go back and buy myself a bar. Or three. $1.12

Item four: Weleda! Target is expanding their natural beauty product selection and my favorite addition is Weleda. Weleda makes holistic body care products and has been biodynamic & organic since the 1920s. All of their formulas (shampoos to skin care to lotion) are free of synthetic preservatives, fragrances, colorants and parabens, and the ingredients and finished products are never tested on animals. And they manage to feel luxurious through their packaging and their fantastic smells! Their rose deodorant is my favorite. Prices vary.

By Allison Arieff, editor-at-large, Sunset

Green used to be a color; now it's an issue, a moral imperative, a lifestyle, and/or a series of decisions one has to make about doing what's right for the environment. There are of course now a million sources for getting green information from websites like Treehugger, Inhabitat , and Ideal Bite, to name just a few. Bookshelves sag under the weight of green guides and manifestos.

Whole TV networks are now devoted to green programming like the Discovery Channel's new Planet Green and the Sundance Channel's "The Green" which is currently airing the second season of  its sustainable documentary series, "Big Ideas for a Small Planet."

I was so impressed with the performance of architect Eric Corey Freed of Organic Architect (he and I were both featured in the Sundance program), that I invited him to participate in Sunset's recent Celebration Weekend.

Eric and I share a passion for green building so we gave a joint presentation on easy ways to go green in your home, whether you're remodeling or building from the ground up.

Whether it's something as basic as purchasing Energy Star appliances or as complex as selecting the right team (and budget) for your green remodel, Eric is ideally suited to providing all this important information in the clearest possible way having recently published the book, Green Building and Remodeling for Dummies.

Why not get green guidance in the clearest (and most entertaining) way possible?

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

In Sunset's December 2007 issue we profiled the then just-launched Inverness,CA-based Green Girl Events team as a "Company to watch". Last weekend, Green Girl Events co-owners Molli Milner and Denise Rocco-Zilber shared tips for "greening" kids birthday parties on the Eco Lounge presentation stage at Sunset's Celebration Weekend.

We were thrilled to have had the opportunity for guests to garner eco-minded tips and stories from some of our favorite change-makers in-person. The energy was contagious!

Here Denise and Molli share notes from their talk:

Greening up your kid's birthday party
by Denise Rocco-Zilber and Molli Milner, Green Girl Events

We all know throwing a great kids party really just boils down to three elements: room to run wild, a cake, and a loot bag. Here are five things you can do to keep it healthy and eco-friendly.

Chose a memorable location
Chose a great place to have a party. Whether it's your backyard, a National Park, beach or your local playground, chances are a great location will be remembered.

Concentrate a theme
If your child is really stuck on a certain theme make the cake the centerpiece. Instead of buying tons of throw-away decorations, make a 'Nemo' or 'Thomas the Train' cake.

Forget plastic tableware
This is where most of the unnecessary waste comes in. Plastic tableware tossed today will sit in landfills until 3010!
- Try to use "real" dishes and cloth napkins first. Consider mix-and-match pieces from a thrift store. This will help the child be a part of the cause and feel more "grown up".
- Other eco tableware options (made of bamboo, sugarcane, corn, and natural fiber) available through greenpartygoods.com (a Burlingame, CA-based one-woman business that does next-day shipping).

Chose reusable decorations
- Use felt party hats and reusable signs.
- Make your own piñata (no need for plastic or sugar; fill with art supplies, wooden toys like yoyos, racecars, etc).
- Use a washable tablecloth, and fun squares of fabric scraps as napkins.
- Most of all, no balloons!!

Reinvent gifts
- Book Exchange (for younger kiddos): Ask everyone to bring a wrapped book, put them in a big tub, and let each child chose a gift to take home.
- Have each child chose one of their own toys to give to the birthday boy or girl. Not only does this keep us from purchasing more "stuff" but it teaches our children what it means to truly give.
- Rethink the goodie bag: Stuff felt bags with art supplies, homemade cookies, and wooden toys.

by Sheila Schmitz, Sunset online editor

Above, Cathey Anderson checks out Eco Lounge furniture from Marin Outdoor Living at Celebration Weekend today. Unbidden, Cathey pops out this plum quote about going more earth-friendly: "Sunset helps you transition your thinking from the old way to the new way." "Yeah," says her husband Mark. "You can have a nice quality of life and still help protect the environment." Cool.

Cathey (far left), and Mark (on right in photo) were here visiting pals — and future in-laws — Jim and Marnie Carson.

Mark would like us to write more about lawns, and not only about ripping them out. How can you have some lawn and still be a good steward of the earth, he'd like to know. We'll ask our friends over at Fresh Dirt about that. Ideas, Jim or Sharon?

An ag instructor in San Diego, Cathey has a tip for our One-block Diet readers — especially those having trouble thinking about raising chickens