Who: Bilt

What: Recycled Milled Steel Planters

Where: Sprout Home – $39.75+

Why We Love It: Bilt has us dreaming of lazy summer afternoons lounging with a cool cocktail in hand—mmm, mimosas, mojitos, coladas, hurricanes–to match the colors of these geometrical planters. Love how they blend the rugged and industrial feel of the exposed seams, imperfect edges, recycled steel, with a light and airy feel courtesy of those candy colors and carefree, intentionally imprecise layers.

Made in the USA from at least 50% recycled milled steel and finished with a varied aged enamel, there are small cracks between the stacked layers which makes for good, so best for outdoor use, a wee bit more maintenance involved for indoor use. Available in a variety of sizes–cubes, low cubes, and rectangles–and colors–yellow, aqua blue, retro green, and orange.

Who: Fort Standard – New York, NY

What: White Blocks

Where: Fort Standard – $85

Why We Love It: For the grown-up who never outgrew playing with blocks, or for the kid who prefers a more sophisticated toy, this artfully designed set from Gregory Buntain and Ian Collings of Fort Standard challenges block-building abilities of kids of all ages. Whether played as a game in the vein of Jenga or as personal pursuit, these faceted blocks add an interactive element to your coffee table or bookshelf. Both decorative and entertaining, we like the idea of leaving your creation on display or corralling the blocks in a decorative bowl awaiting the next architect.

Each piece is made from salvaged hardwood scraps collected from local Brooklyn furniture shops and finished with a non-toxic white paint. The 10-block set comes packaged in a handy silk screened cotton drawstring bag.

Who: Cocoon Fires – West Palm Beach, FL

What: Aeries Black Hanging Fireplace

Where: All Modern – $2,990, varies with options

Why We Love It: New Year’s Resolution No. 2: Save money… so that we can splurge on this totally unique, amazingly cool hanging fire place. Added bonus of investing in a statement item like this – ambient heat and a no-one-else-has-this conversation piece, the hard part will be figuring out where to put it. The Cocoon would be a great accent for an open living room (it rotates 360 degrees, so you can spin it towards the dining room, living room, or kitchen!), in a bedroom for a touch of romance, or next to one of those giant sculptural tubs in your dream home…

And you won’t have to chop any wood to get this fire started. This sleek carbon steel fireplace runs on ethanol–a renewable resource derived from plants like corn, wheat, barley and sugarcane, and burns cleaner than wood. And with little to no emissions, you won’t need to install a flue to run your Cocoon fireplace.

or for grown-ups like us who may be slightly enamored with alphabet posters…

Petit Collage – $50/$120; fun factor: key on bottom with all the animal names. elements: hand-printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper; maple hardwood frames handcrafted in the U.S.A. with a no-VOC finish.

Nature Alphabet Poster by Children Inspire Design – $28/$40; fun factor – 26 cute and colorful critter collages; elements: printed on New Leaf recycled card stock with soy inks; packaged with recycled materials.

Animal Alphabet by ModernPop – $38; fun factor: multiple fonts with a splash of retro kitsch; elements: printed on radiant white watercolor paper with vivid color reproduction and archival pigment inks.

Letterpress Alphabet Poster by sycamorestreetpress – $35; fun factor – tangerine and aqua!! ; elements: printed by hand on a vintage letterpress with soy ink and 100% cotton paper in Utah.

Alphabet Signed Print by Alfabetika – $38.89; fun factor – goofy letter characters. elements: made in Paris; 5% of purchase is donated to UNICEF.

Strawberry Luna – $18 each, or 3 for $40; fun factor: a cute way to display babies initials; hand printed with grey water based acrylic inks on archival, cotton rag Stonehenge papers.

Alphabet of Design Classics – $50; fun factor: for the modern design obsessed! elements: digital print on matte finished digital paper glued to heavy stock black mat cardboard by hand.

The Penny Paper Co. Alphabet Print – $15 ; fun factor: add your name at the top and choose your color palette. elements: printed on photographic archival paper for the brightest of colours and longevity, fits in an IKEA Ribba Frame.

Colorful Modern Alphabet Poster by KimsCustomGifts – $ ; fun factor: playful, colorful icons and you can change any or all of the colors. elements: purchase the digital file and print it yourself or pay to have them print it for you.

Animal Alphabet by englishmuffin – $30; fun factor: boxes full of color, animals, words and letters, oh my. elements: printed on a heavy weight 100% recycled paper with a matte finish, using archival inks. fits in pre-matted IKEA Ribba frame.

Modern Alphabet Print by Grace Hester Designs – $ fun factor: cool graphics in an unexpected blue, brown, and green color palette. elements: printed on archival-quality photographic paper with a lustre finish for longevity.

Who: Inhabit – Indianapolis, IN

What: Statement Outdoor Pillows

Where: Inhabit – $45, also available in orange, sunshine, lime & more!

Why We Love It: Always nice to have a little extra inspiration when you are lounging on the sun porch lost in contemplation. These bold graphic pillows share motivational messages from ‘Change the World’ to ‘Why Not Today’ to ‘When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time?’ (Answer: last week – tried stand up paddling for the first time!).

Each pillow is handprinted and handmade in the USA using VOC-free water-based inks and 100% certified PET recycled polyester from pop bottles for both the outer fabric and the pillow inserts. Inhabit has done a great job ‘greening’ all aspects of their manufacturing process. The power used in manufacturing is purchased from a local Green Power Initiative that sources electricity from wind mill farms throughout Indiana.

Who: Hulger – London, U.K.

What: PLUMEN Light Bulb

Where: GENERATE – $29

Why We Love It: Rarely can a lightbulb stand on its own as a thing of pure beauty, but this trio of uber cool lightbulbs from Holger certainly need not be hidden behind a shade, globe or Swavorski crystal (of course, you can if you want to). As the CFL bulb was bemoaned for its curly cue shape the PLUMENS light plumes are meant to be celebrated! By simply reconfiguring the glass tubes of the standard CFL, designer Samuel Wilkinson created a work of art.

And it’s a low energy light bulb to boot! Holger says their stylish bulb could save you up to 80% on your energy bills and that it will last 8 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb. Fits in standard light fixtures.

Who: BrasaFire – Soquel, CA

What: Avani Slim Burner

Where: Burke Decor – $415

Why We Love It: Summer makes us think of nights spent ’round the campfire enjoying the company of family and friends. No TV, no cell phones, no WiFi, just the beauty of a crackling fire. This modern portable fireplace lets you enjoy the simplicity and joy of a warm fire inside or out without the complication of installing a fireplace, a vent or managing a firepit – you don’t even have to put another log on the fire (although some would argue that is half the fun…).

This fuel efficient stand alone fire burner runs on denatured alcohol fuel or Bioethanol, a renewable source of energy that is made from agricultural products such as sugar, potatoes, beetroot, and corn, to name a few. It’s made of of stainless steel and high temperature ceramic. A simple, beautiful way to add warmth and intimacy to any room or setting. (Brasa says that, in most cases their fire burners will raise the ambient temperature from between 7-12 degrees, making a cool room cozy and comfortable in a matter of minutes.)

Looking forward to sitting around our new ‘campfire’ under the stars this summer.

Available in white, black, or blossom pattern.

Who: Nanimarquina – Barcelona, Spain

What: Digit Rug

Where: Spacify – $3909.11

Why We Love It: Designed by graphic artist Cristian Zuzunaga, this bright graphic rug reads like an optical illusion (see also the more muted, monochromatic version). Change your perspective, your proximity or the light of day and you’ll notice different patterns jumping out at you, different groupings of pixels rising to the forefront. It’s really very cool. Cristian has used this same technique of ‘decomposition of color through pixels’ to design sofas, pillows, bedding, wallpaper, scarves, too, and now he can add rugs to the list.

Working with Nanimarquina, a renowned Spanish rug manufacturer devoted to promoting sustainable ethics in production, design and fair labor practices. Many of the rugs are biodegradable and masterly handcrafted using traditional techniques in their Fair Trade facilities in India. The Digit rug is made from hand-knotted wool sourced from New Zealand.

Who: Boskke – Wellington, New Zealand

What: Boskke Sky Planter

Where: A+R – $25 – $59 in ceramic

Why We Love It: Tomatoes aren’t the only plants that can be grown upside down. The Boskke Sky Planter, designed by Patrick Morris and winner of the 2011 Red Dot Award for product design, defies gravity. With its upside-down orientation and the unique hanging system make this an item suitable for homes of all sizes. Although, we are still trying to wrap our brains around how the whole things works, how the water reservoir slowly drips water into the soil without dripping on your carpet and how the small mesh disk holds the soil in place, but we didn’t see a single drip or drop of soil at ICFF Day 4….

The beauty of this plant system is that is a space saver, taking advantage of underutilized ceiling space, and creating a green oasis. And a little more greenery in your home can act as a natural air purifier absorbing CO2 and emitting oxygen. Boskke also claims that the upside down planter uses 90% less water than traditional planters courtesy of a gradual watering system. The original Sky Planter is made out from hand-thrown and glazed ceramics, but we were also happy to see their new recycled plastic version that will hit the market soon!

Wondering what plants to grow in your Sky Planter? Here are some hardy recommendations: Kentia and Areca palms, Anthurium, English Ivy, Peace Lily, Rubber plants, many kitchen herbs and even vegetables.

Who: dalhaus – Vancouver, Canada

What: Modern Stripe Bottle Vases

Where: dalhaus art – $40/each or go big, $400 for 11 at etsy.com!

Why We Love It: Just absolutely adore these vases. Want one in every color of the rainbow. So colorful, so fun, so sweet.

Available in your choice of 11 colors as pictured from Bermuda Green to Saffron Yellow. Each vase is handmade by artist Heather Braun-Dahl. At 7″ tall by 4″ wide can fit happily into small spaces. Looks great alone or paired and makes a great hostess gift!