Weekend Warriors: How to Build a Green Roof Cool Copper Projects Warm metallic hues are easy to love but often pricey. When you create the look... Easy Doily Bowl Craft a decorative bowl from a doily picked up from a flea market, antique... Camper Birdhouse Encourage birds to stay awhile with an adorable vintage birdhouse.
Cactus Roofs Cactus Roof Cactus roof in Arizona by Steve Martino.Steve says prickly pear is one of the toughest plants on earth, it grows in hot, dry climates and even springs up in cracks in rock cliffs. stevemartino.blogspot.com First they reinforced the roof, then placed tar paper, then soil fabric, then 3" of native granite soil from the site. Originally they laid the cactus pads flat like shingles, but rainwater slid right off the cactus shingles. They then flipped all the prickly pear pads upward so they could catch rain water. Cactus roofs are a perfect choice for hot, dry climates. Rooftop Cactus Garden at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.Agaves, euphorbias and grusoniis...cactuslimon.com Rooftop Cactus Garden at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) blue chalk sticks (Senecio sp), Sedum ticoides and Agave Americana variegata. thesmartergardener.com, getty.edu Formal cactus roof by Jenny Smith Gardens. jsg.net.au
Eco-Enegry Flooring System by Stephen Chan Wing Tak Piezoelectricity Generation X! Electric polarization in a substance resulting from the application of mechanical stress – that’s what Piezoelectricity is. It’s used in these: Eco-Enegry Flooring System pads that use the pressure applied by people walking, running, rolling over to squeeze piezoelectric blocks. Upon squeezing, energy is generated and stored on a paper battery system. Then, THEN, the energy is used for, what else? The pads are actually made up of 6 layers. Easy to transport, easy to use, basically perfect. Cost effective? Designer: Stephen Chan Wing Tak
Tn - TudoNanet: 11 dicas e truques para usar em sua casa Vi estas dicas quando eu estava no oBoteco do Humberto e trouxer para vocês poderem dar uma de sabichões em casa! Eu com certeza farei isso hehehe. <h2><a href=" pt 468*60</a></h2> Healthy News and Information by ARIANA MARISOL Installing a green roof can provide many advantages that will not only save you money, but also provide you with healthy fresh produce. The installation of a green roof on your home can have many benefits including: Better stormwater management and less stormwater runoff. Green roofs can intercept between 15% and 90% of rooftop runoff, absorbing this runoff into root systems on your roof. Green roofs reduce the need for energy to heat a house in the winter and cool it in the summer. If installed correctly, green roofs can extend the life of a conventional roof by a factor of three times. Green roofs can incorporate that can supply you with fresh, healthy produce. Green roofs provide pleasant smells, sights, and sounds that promote a healthy social environment, especially in urban areas. Plant photosynthesis can reduce the negative impact of carbon dioxide while also producing oxygen. Material and Installation Analyze your structure Design plan development Insulation Share:
Eco Bath by Jang Woo-seok Use Your Water Twice It goes in the sink, then it goes in the toilet. What’s that? It’s your water bill! You simply must read this little poem written about this toilet system by it’s designer, Jang Woo-seok: Express the flow of water. Fresh, yes? Jang gets the idea for the Eco Bath from the naturally flowing waterways all around us. Designer: Jang Woo-seok Giant craft stick snowflakes I could hardly wait to show you this Popsicle stick craft! These snowflakes are fun, easy, and so inexpensive to make. The smallest snowflake is 12 inches across; the largest is 24 inches. I had some rhinestones left over from my Christmas tree advent calendar, so I glued some at the tips of each white snowflake. How to make giant craft stick snowflakes Supplies and tools craft sticksprotractor hot glue gun and glue fishing line clear cellophane tape 3/8- to 1/2-inch-wide holiday ribbon red and white paint (I used Benjamin Moore Aura Steam [AF-15] and Caliente [AF-290]) round 12mm rhinestones scissors double-stick foam tape small paintbrushdrop cloth or newspaper All my snowflakes are based on three basic patterns, which I will call star, hexagon, and rotated hexagon. The star 1. 2. 3. The hexagon 1A. 1B. 2. 3. 4. The rotated hexagon 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Patrick Nadeau's Green-Roofed Wave Home Changes Appearance with the Seasons in France Architect Patrick Nadeau designed his green-roofed Wave House (La Maison-vague) as one of 63 experimental houses being built near Reims in France. The vegetated semicylindrical shell acts as thermal insulation and glides gently to shelter the space while the rim surrounding the wooden shelf transforms into a big bench. The Wave Home has two floors. On the ground level the living room, kitchen and multimedia space open up towards the exterior by sliding walls. The roof features an automatic watering system and water retention mechanism. The house changes its appearance with the seasons and symbolizes an ocean wave or an open field, while acting as a living, breathing micro-habitat for insects and birds. + Patrick Nadeau Via Dezeen
The Fun Theory - Video Contest Type to Search Green Living How Hotels Are Getting Smarter About Stopping Waste Greener housekeeping is just the beginning when it comes to environmental initiatives major hotel chains are embracing. By Miriam Arond Home Ideas Share This Spiky Invention Won't Let You Dawdle in the Shower For the sake of the environment — and a good laugh. Smart Ways to Save Around the House Good Housekeeping + Cree A few quick fixes can add up to significant energy savings. Life 6 Climate Change Myths — Debunked! Don't fall for these misconceptions. A 150-Year-Old Pennsylvania Barn Gets a Second Chance Piece by piece, the historic structure will be saved. Want a home that looks beautiful and helps the environment? These Tiny Homes Can Be Built in a Day Get in on the small space movement without the wait. Healthy Recipes & Meal Ideas The New Dirty Dozen: 22 Foods to Eat Organic Here are the latest culprits full of pesticide residue, plus more you should also know. This Cute Home Is Not What It Seems How to Live Greener
Coolest Bookshelves EVER: Part Uno We already know what our book piles say about us, but what do our bookshelves say about us? Are we any sort of creative with how we display our books? I certainly am an epic fail in this department. I have one cool bookshelf (made of tree branches), but the rest are straight up and down run-of-the-mill bookshelves. To be honest, I didn’t even know cool bookshelf owners existed – not this cool, at least. UPDATE: Check out the second part, featuring a luxury car hung as a bookshelf…. If this were mine… I’d place books on the appropriate state shelf in which they are set. I’d read more because my wall would be screaming at me to do so, and I’d feel guilty if I didn’t. I would feel dizzy. If these were mine… I’d no doubt, no doubt, have a few broken toes already. I’d have a child. You’d see a lot more of {this} in my writing. Hungry for more cool bookshelves?
All New Rooftops Must Be Covered in Plants or Solar Panels in France Frances’s new “green roof” law is cooling city streets, cutting heating and air conditioning costs, reducing water and air pollution, providing local, organic food and ecosystems for birds, bees and hundreds of other species In an effort to make concrete jungles more eco-friendly, France recently passed a law requiring the rooftops of all new buildings in commercial zones to be fully or partially covered in plants or solar panels. The concept, known as “green roofs,” is becoming so popular in some cities, like Paris, that even the owners of old buildings are voluntarily complying with the law, building giant rooftop farms, meadows and apiaries for bees and other pollinators. Green roofs provide a long list of fantastic benefits to society, while insulating it from some of the inherent drawbacks of urban life: 1. The reason city streets can be so sweltering hot in the summer is because their aren’t many or any trees to cool down the air. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Boyan Slat 25 (more) clever ideas to make life easier . We heard you loud and clear. When we published our first list of clever ideas to make life easier last year, we received an overwhelming response. Source: chezerbey.com Got an empty kitchen shelf? Source: maillardvillemanor.com Wall mount cutlery trays and add a cup hook in each compartment for brilliant jewelery storage. Source: apartmenttherapy.com Avoid messy dresser drawers by “filing” your clothing side-by-side instead of stacking items on top of each other. Photo: William Warby on flickr.com Has putting Toy Story on constant repeat finally taken its toll? Source: realsimple.com Packing tip: Protect breakables such as wine bottles or food containers with children’s inflatable floaties. Source: whatiwore.tumblr.com Rather than bundling them in your drawer, loop tights over a coathanger and store them in your wardrobe. Source: bakedbree.com Pre-bake your cakes and keep them fresh overnight by placing a slice of bread on top. Source: blog.craftzine.com Source: marthastewart.com Want more?
15 DIY crafts you need to make right now It's cold, it's raining and quite frankly, it's utterly miserable outside at the moment. So stay in! But then it hits you. It's not that great inside either. You're young, so you haven't got all of that furniture and all of the little decorative trinkets that accumulate over time, and if you have, you haven't got nearly enough. So we say, make them! Instead of spending your time sitting around moaning about the weather, why not spend your time doing something useful? Why not spend your time crafting some of these? Freshers Fields is back for 2013! 1. Source Stick your button collection around a balloon (and importantly) to each other. 2. Source Glue, buttons, cardboard and a bit of artistic ingenuity and you'll have yourself a great sign for your bedroom door (assuming you use the first letter of your first name). 3. Simply wash out a screw top spirit bottle, find a screw top soap dispenser and put it together. 4. Source 5. 6. Source 7. 8. 9. Source 10. Source 11. Source Hollow them out and plant.