What: Mum Hand-Tufted Wool Rug

Where: Inhabit – $142+

Why We Love It: Come middle of January, we are ready for change of scenery inside and out. Something to offset the drabness of winter, and this mix of poppy red, soy, amber, looks beautiful against its cool grey background – and has us feeling much more optimistic about the color grey. It’s not often that you see these colors in combination, so it adds a little bit of the unexpected to any room in your home. Varying loop pile heights add texture and dimension.

Inhabit’s collection of area rugs are hand-tufted from hand-dyed 100% New Zealand wool. The construction is performed by artisans and craftsman using techniques handed down from generation to generation creating an heirloom quality result. And they come GOODWEAVE USA certified which means their rugs are child-labor-free.

Available in a variety of color weaves, patterns, and sizes.

What: Argington Organic Planes & Clouds Bedding

Where: Wild Dill – $27.50-$185

Why We Love It: Leave it to the masters of modern-kid’s-prints to make bomber planes feel like sweet lullabys. Argington’s newest bedding theme mixes planes and clouds in soft, all natural organic cotton for a lofty slumber.

Per their previous collections, their sheets, comforters, and crib bedding are made from 100% certified organic cotton. The prints are executed with with low impact dyes using a low impact printing process. Their comforters, bumpers, and boudoir pillows are filled with Eco-spun, a 100% regenerated polyester fill that does not off gas or emit any traceable VOCs.

See also their new colorful Ginko Bedding and sweet Silhouettes Bedding.

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.

What: Wool rug, ‘Tribute’ (2×2.5)

Where: NOVICA – $164.95

Why We Love It: Love the designs, color and story behind this stunning wool rug. Designed by master artist Cerapio Vallejo, this rug is completely handcrafted in Peru and made using locally sourced materials like the dense and soft llama wool. Each step of the process is done by hand; hand dyed with all natural pigment dyes and meticulously hand loomed using the ancient art of kilin.

The art of kilin is characterized by the use of small, straight stitches, an incredibly time consuming process, but one that creates unparalleled clarity of design. The craft was handed down to Cerapio from his parents and grandparents and he has mastered it while providing viable incomes for the local artisan he employs.

Made in Peru.

What: Pleated Flannel Bedding Collection

Where: Pure Habitat – $20 – $178. Save 20% on first time purchases with coupon code instyle2010

Why We Love It: This time of year, all we want to do is crawl into a warm cozy bed and hibernate, and with this flannel bedding collection from Coyuchi, we are pretty sure we’d be able to sleep straight through to April.

The collection is sourced and manufactured in India in accordance with Fair Trade regulations. It’s made of 100% certified organic cotton and made using low-impact dyes and a nontoxic production process.

What: Striped Alpaca Pillows

Where: Amenity – $127 for the Eco-fill or
$160 for the organic cotton fill:

Why We Love It: Amenity has launched a whole new collection of sustainable and eco-friendly products for the home. And don’t know what it is, perhaps it is fall coming, and that desire to be surrounded by all things cozy and that inexplicable desire to munch on candy corns, or perhaps it is because we had a blank nearly identical to the orange pillow when we were little, but we’ve just got a soft spot for the striped collection of pillows.

The colors, derived from eco-friendly dyes, are a bit of a throw back and we find comfort in that, that in the fact that they are hand woven by artisans in Peru from 100% super soft alpaca wool . Love it in a modern, but casual living room or a kids bedroom. Very versatile as stripes just go with everything.

You can opt for an eco-fill made from recycled bottles or a 100% organic cotton fill.

What: Poppy Pods Throw

Where: Three Sheets 2 the Wind – $325

Why We Love It: What is dreamier than a heavy Irish Linen? Reminiscent of quaint country inns throughout Europe, this handcrafted throw is a lovely choice for your bedroom retreat. Although it is not the most eco-friendly way to live, if we had our druthers, we’d had different linens for every season and this  would be our choice for fall.

The Irish linen has a much softer hand, tighter weave and heavier feel than traditional linen. It is naturally hypoallergenic and anti bacterial which makes it a great option for bedding and it’s an incredibly eco-friendly fabric because it requires five times less pesticides and fertilizers to grow than cotton.

The hand sketched prints are screened onto the fabric entirely by hand. printing process is done entirely by hand. Designer Jenny Sauer hand paints each image onto the screen which can then be used for several months before a replica of the original needs to be made. All of the screening is done by hand using water-based inks. Because it is such a manual technique, each canvas varies slightly based on the weight of the transfer and recreating the original. But that’s kind of what we love about it. That it is not factory made, that each print is a little bit different. That it is all made lovingly by hand.

We also love the simplicity of the print and the natural organic feel. The makings of quite a peaceful respite.

linen duvet

What: Peacock, Shade Check & Bird’s Feet Eco-friendly Fabrics

Where: Balanced Design – $120/yard, 3 yard minimum

Why We Love It: Oooh so fun! The Balanced Design fabric collection has arrived! We caught a sneak peak at ICFF ’10, where the collection was, literally, hot off of the presses – arriving just in time for the on-call upholsterer to work his magic before they were shipped off for the show. Modern, unique and fun, eco-friendly upholstery fabrics are not easy to come by, so we were thrilled to learn of designer eco-designer, Melinda Cox’s new undertaking.

The collection features her signature whimsical, light-hearted and organic forms in pinks, teals and greens. It has been in the works for a while, but finding a factory that can meet Melinda’s strict environmental standards was a hurdle. She was fortunate to discover a local textile mill in Rhode Island that has been family owned and operated since 1937 where her fabrics are meticulously hand printed on 100% organic cotton using water based inks.

Who: West Elm – San Francisco, CA

What: Organic Imperial Duvet Cover + Shams

Where: West Elm – $19 for shams, $69 – $99 for duvet covers

Why We Love It: Eco-luxe option for the bedding, this graphic floral is based on Indian block prints but evokes the simplicity of McKinney style prints. The white and silver is a sleek modern option for the bedroom and can be paired with a variety of colors from pops of red, gold, purple or pinks so it almost works as a neutral and can be tailored to suit your own color preferences.

It’s made of a GOTS certifed 200-thread-count organic cotton percale. West Elm also requires that their vendors sign a Code of Conduct to ensure that their suppliers employ ethical manufacturing practices and comply to the highest standards for safe, healthful working conditions that conform to local law and best industry practices. This includes, among other things, a prohibition against child labor, prison or forced labor, unsafe working conditions or unfair wage practices.

west elm organic duvet

Who:

What: Wall Flowers

Where: Lorna Syson – £100 – £3999, in a variety of colors & sizes.

Why We Love It: These ‘Wall Flowers’ by textile artist Lorna Syson are anything but. We fell in love with the rich colors, the vibrancy and complete originality of these sculptural wall hangings. They truly are stunning.

Made of 100% wool, sued and silk, the textiles are screen printed or digitally printed with patterns designed by Lorna or in solid colors.  The petals are then laser cut and meticulously hand woven to create the 3-D form. One piece can take up to a week to create.

At ICFF, Lorna mentioned that her goal was to source an entirely sustainable collection by 2015. She has far surpassed that target date and will be presenting a completely ‘ec0-friendly’ collection at 100% Design in London this September – can’t wait!

For a taste of Lorna’s stunning collection with a smaller sticker price, check out her collection of accessories and pillows – the pillows are filled with 100% recycled wool that’s naturally resistant to dust mites, so is great for people with allergies.

wall textiles