The Bathroom
In my journey of learning about Green Interior Design I was excited to discover that a huge element in the eco-friendly movement is the notion of “re-purposing” furniture". Using items that are already existing and re-tooling them or using them in a new way rather than cutting down more trees to manufacture new items. People who go to flea markets, yard sales and thrift shops have been doing this for years. The thing that’s fun about repurposing is that anybody can do it and not only are you adding style but you’re most likely saving some money as well!
In the bathroom we started with an old dresser from an online auction and turned it into the double sink vanity. I liked the idea of using blue in the bathroom, it sort of has that spa like quality and blue looks great with rich stained wood, which is what the vanity was made out of. I chose the EnviroGlas countertop that’s made with recycled cobalt blue glass chips and bright white resin for a fresh, crisp look on top of the wood dresser.
I knew we’d be chopping off the wood top of the dresser and be replacing it with the EnviroGlas counter so we used the wood from the top to turn into the frame for the mirror that’s over the vanity.
I love the wall light sconces on either side of the mirror. We used compact florescent light bulbs and the mirror section behind the sconce reflects the light and adds ambience and bright light to the space. I learned that one fluorescent light bulb lasts as long as ten regular incandescent bulbs and is much more energy efficient; it’s such an easy change you can make that yields huge results.
I wanted to update the drawer pulls with a new sleeker polished chrome pull to give the drawers a facelift as well. The sinks from Kohler are a wonderful oval shape that are above counter mount sinks and their water saving faucets complete the dresser makeover from dated to dynamic!
Because I knew the dresser would be dark wood I wanted to use lighter cork flooring for contrast, the floor from natural Cork and More has a light cream base with just a tiny tinge of a gray blue which worked so well with the blue color scheme.
The 100% recycled mosaic tiles from Susan Jablon Mosaics are a great combination of many different shades of blue and I wanted to show that you can use the same material but in a different pattern and achieve a completely new look. Susan suggested we do the mosaic tiles in a “Gradient” pattern which means starting with the darker color at the bottom and having the shades gradually turn lighter as you move up the wall until eventually the top area is in primarily lighter shades of tiles.
The water saving Kohler toilet is next to a small divider which was made from reclaimed wood. I learned that reclaimed wood is re-using wood from one area to make something new, for example old wooden planks from a barn, an old house or even a gymnasium floor can be used to make a new piece. This again, is using what we have rather than chopping down more trees to start from scratch and reclaimed wood can have a great texture or weathered quality that can add a lot of style to any new item you want to create.
The ottoman was from the NaturalLee collection and out of organic cotton with a rich cobalt contrast welt. I always think if you have space in a bathroom an ottoman or a small bench is a nice place to be able to rest a towel or robe when you’re in the shower, it’s functional and can warm up the feel of a bathroom. I had some fun with the green tips and signage in the bathroom. I love bath towels with monograms so I thought it could be fun to embroider the tips onto organic cotton towels, sort of a new take on the traditional initials!
The tub mat outside the shower was the perfect chance to talk about the cork flooring material. I used cobalt blue accessories for cotton balls; q-tips etc. that I found at yard sales and flea markets and recycled glass vases for fresh greenery to add some life.
The baskets are made from abaca leaves which are twisted and woven to create stylish and sturdy storage baskets and of course filled with toilet paper that’s made from recycled paper.
To the Living Room.
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