Nightwood is a Brooklyn-based design studio focusing on its own brand of reconstructed furniture and textiles. Owners Myriah Scruggs and Nadia Yaron seek out sustainable fabrics and discarded wood and furniture then deconstruct and recontextualize it into their line of modern-rustic home furnishings. Nadia explained their approach in the New York Times: “We’re making furniture for......read more
Indonesian furniture designer Abie Abdillah has a thing for rattan, the super abundant, highly renewable palm found in tropical climates around the world. Which is cool because so do we. Like bamboo, rattan is a fast-growing plant that's great for sustainable design. What makes it extra special is its strength and bendability. Designboom shared some pics of Abdillah's latest rattan......read more
Working out of Joshua Tree, California, self-taught sculptor and furniture designer Alma Allen crafts objects of stunning beauty from found and salvaged materials. If you've ever been to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, you've seen his work in the lobby and rooms. One of Allen's preferred materials is claro walnut, a dark brown wood native to northern California. This one-of-a-kind,......read more
Like an outdoor cradle for grown-ups, Dedon's new NestRest may be the ultimate spot for an afternoon nap, rocking gently as you laze in the sun. Designed by Daniel Pouzet and Fred Frety, the hanging pod is made of super-sized strands of Dedon Fiber, a patented industrial textile that's both non-toxic and fully recyclable. The thick, sturdy weave is open, breathable and private, so that......read more
In a converted gym in San Francisco's Sunset district, a collective of four artist-designers have joined together through a shared love of craft, surfing, and sustainability. Under the humble name of Woodshop, the group's workspace and showroom is filled with functional art made from reclaimed wood and landfill-bound objects. The studio is made up of four guys whose individual skills......read more
Sao Paulo-based designer Brunno Jahara has unveiled a new collection of scrap wood furniture called Neorustica. Produced by NDT Brazil, a local furniture factory that specializes in working with wood leftover from construction sites, the line of 10 tables, containers and benches pay respect to the country’s rural background. Each Neorustica piece is named after a shanty town or favela in......read more
Earth is increasingly being touted as the building material of the future, leading to a hot new architectural trend: grass houses. Designed by GRID Architects, the Amalia House in Styria, Austria joins the trend...sort of. The family holiday home is completely covered with artificial turf, highlighting the interchange between indoors and out. We may be taking the idea of "green" design......read more
Old wood is the goods. Reclaimed timber has a rugged beauty that new wood products can't replicate. That's our humble opinion, anyway, and Jamison Sellers' too. The Rhode Island designer/craftsman salvages wooden pallets and boards to craft chairs, tables, and shelves that are as simple as they are striking. Alternating diffierent colors of scrap wood in thin strips, Sellers makes furniture with......read more
Folded Roads: Google Earth images become surrealist artworks in Clement Valla's series Postcards from Google Earth, which depicts bridges and roads that appear warped when you zoom in just the right way. T-Shirt Upholstery: Swedish eco designer (and mega babe) Maria Westerberg won first prize at the 2011 Green Furniture Awards for the T-shirt Chair, made of recycled textiles and bent wire fence.......read more
Domingos Totora's work rests comfortably in the fuzzy area where art and design intersect. From his studio in Maria da Fe, Brazil, Totora and a team of twenty artisans create sculptures, furniture, and home accessories from recycled cardboard pulp. Each piece is molded by hand and dried in the sun before being finished. The operation is sustainable on every level, from the creation of jobs to......read more