grow an indoor garden

Mourning the passing of summer? Extend the season a little with these indoor growing kits.

From mini peppers, tomatoes, sprouts, herbs and basil to more simply decorative flowers, you’re only limited by the amount of space you have to devote to an indoor garden.

And when summer rolls around again, transplant your garden outdoors into bigger containers on your deck or balcony! People at the Montreal offices where these kits originate say the moonflower vines will grow endlessly and wrap themselves around anything they come into contact with!

Available at: www.seracon.ca

Price: $20

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

textile art

My friend Kelly Mullan is a super-talented textile artist who turns mostly leftover scraps of fabric, string and yarn into stunning wall hangings, bags and works of art.

I’ve always admired her wonderful sense of colour (her apartment is awash with it), but for the dramatic wall hanging at right she stuck to a unusually neutral palette that showcases the amazing 3D-effect at the centre (I couldn’t quite capture it here due to picture size, but to get a better sense of it, check out Kelly’s website at the address below).

The quilted wall hanging shown at left features a charming embroidered centrepiece typical of the kind you’ll find on Kelly’s smaller embroidered pieces, which are perfect for framing and gift-giving.

Available at: Kelly Mullan Textiles, www.wewillfall.com

Prices: $35 to $500

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

biodegradable dishwasher detergent

Method keeps impressing me with their clever products and this fall, they continue to improve with their newest addition, Smarty Dish Non-Toxic Dishwasher Detergent.

Boasting zero phosphates and zero bleach, these tablets are sized to fit the average dishwasher dispenser and come in 20-tablet packages in either Pink Grapefruit or fragrance- and dye-free Go Naked.

STYLE AT HOME magazine editor, Gail Johnston Habs, tested one out for me (I don’t have a dishwasher – sigh!) and thought it did a great job – even though it was slightly large for her Miele dishwasher dispenser.

And, if you’re feeling guilty about doing the dishes using a machine, don’t: a study by the University of Bonn in Germany proved that a dishwasher is by far the most environmentally friendly way to do the dishes. Click here to check out the facts.

Available at: stores across Canada

Price: $6.50

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

organic bedding for the fall

Plover Organic has come out with their new fall line of bedding and the patterns are simply beautiful!

Made from organic cotton grown from non-genetically engineered seeds, bleached using non-chlorine bleach, coloured with low-impact dyes, and manufactured according to Fair Trade practices, the bedding will ensure you get a good night’s sleep in more ways than one!

Available at: www.ploverorganic.com

Price: from $33 US (standard pillowcase), $235 US (250-thread-count queen sheet set)

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

stylish bamboo sink

Bamboo is one of the favoured environmental materials of choice lately due to its fast-growing, regenerative nature.

In my last post, you can see it being used in a snuggly blanket, and a few posts ago, I wrote about it being used in drapery.

Here, it’s put to good use in this attractively angular bathroom sink with a masculine seafaring kind of vibe that would look amazing in a modern clean-lined bathroom or even a more rustic cottage setting (plan ahead for next summer!).

Available through: Amati Bath Centre, Thornhill, Ont., www.amaticanada.com; Taps & Tubs Kitchen & Bath Studio, St. Catharines, Ont., www.tapsandtubs.com; Cantu, Vancouver, www.cantubathrooms.com

Price: approx. $750

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

plush cotton/bamboo blankets

Wrap yourself up in one of these babies from Yumi & Laurie (no relation!) and you won’t ever want to get up off the couch again! Made of 50% organic cotton and 50% organic bamboo, they measure a generous 6′6″ by 4′9″ and are so plush and lush you won’t believe it.

I love the beautiful Furano pattern in the Plum Goldenrod Persimmon colour combo (pictured), but there are many other colours and patterns available.

Available at: www.yumiandlaurie.com

Price: $235 US (as shown)

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

glam reusable shopping bags

There’s been an explosion of reusable shopping bags of late and I say, bring it on!

I love Envirosax’s line of super-lightweight bags not only because you can fold them down into incredibly small little bundles, but also because they come with tabs with snap closures, so they stay all neatly folded up in your purse when you’re not using them.

Each is capable of holding twice the amount of two grocery bags (that’s a whopping 44 pounds), and the pattern won’t fade away, no matter how many times you wash the bag.

They come in lots of beautiful colours and patterns, so you can match them to your outfits, and they’d make great little gifts!

Available at: www.envirosax.com

Price: $8.50 US

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

reusable bottles: go colour!

Klean Kanteen has got me craving a whole lot of colour with their new line of bottles.

Still made from recycled and recyclable stainless steel, but this time sporting a coat of punchy colour, these dishwasher-safe bottles are great for schlepping around town and even using at home.

Who needs those pointless plastic water bottles* anyway???

Available at: www.kleankanteen.com

Price: from $16.95 US

* In Toronto, as reported in The Globe and Mail, 100 million water bottles are managed by the city’s solid-waste program per year; only 65% are recycled. What happens to the rest of them? And what about the ones that somehow never make it into the waste system? Something to think about…

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

karl lohnes puts reuse to good use

With just a few days and a tight, student-friendly budget, STYLE AT HOME style editor Karl Lohnes turned an empty bedroom into a chic and colourful dorm-style retreat using buys from Kijiji Canada’s free local classified ads. The environmental lesson here? Buying new isn’t always necessary!

For more on exactly how Karl stuck to the reduce and reuse mantra and pulled the room together, view the story by www.styleathome.com web producer Lauren McPhillips here.

Check out: www.kijiji.ca

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

brad pitt & kiehl’s team up

Who ever would have guessed I’d be writing about Brad Pitt in this blog? Not me! But the mega Hollywood star has teamed up with Kiehl’s to promote their new Aloe Vera Biodegradable Body Cleanser, which will be available in October.

The cleanser is cradle-to-cradle certified, free of parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate*, sodium laureth sulfate* and dyes and comes in a 100% food-grade, post-consumer recycled bottle.

100% of the net profits from the sales will go to JPF Eco Systems, which was founded with Pitt and which supports global environmental initiatives, including Make it Right, a charity which is currently helping to fund construction of environmentally sustainable, affordable housing in New Orleans for the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. Pitt is seen above touring New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.

*Sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate are detergents and surfactants found in personal care products such as soap, toothpaste shampoo, cleansers and bubble baths. They’re most commonly used in these products as a foaming agent and can irritate skin.

Available at: Kiehl’s in October; www.kiehls.com

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email Laurie at naturalchic@styleathome.com!