What: Organic Driving Toy

Where: etsy – $32

Why We Love It: With all the plastic around us, it’s comforting to find good solid hand-crafted toys back en vogue. Ones made of natural materials and not concocted in some chemical lab. Designers Nick and Kimber Christensen, the duo behind Little Sapling Toys, clearly feel the same way too. They’ve got a sweet collection of wooden toys with everything from bowling pins to rattles to teethers to puzzles to memory games to this rugged car and truck set. Love that the kit comes with hills and mountains for climbing and a handcy cotton drawstring carrying pouch for toting.

What we love even more about Little Sapling toys is that they are green inside and out. All are made from FSC Certified hardwoods (maple, cherry, or walnut) and finished with locally sourced beeswax and organic jojoba oil–except for the teethers, they are unfinished. The hardwoods they use don’t splinter when finished properly, so are safer for kids. In addition, the company itself makes strides to conserve energy and promote conservation; planting a tree through Trees for the Future for each toy sold–to date they’ve funded the planting 20,000 trees!–and participating in a local green power program to offset their energy use, to which we say ‘thank you!’

What: Stump

Where: AllModern.com – $85 (See also Trunk – $145)

Why We Love It: So yes, we may have spent the better part of the week removing stumps from our front yard, but now we are ready to put them back in. Well, at least Kalon Studios interpretation of the ‘stump.’

Their nature inspired stools provide a welcome respite for weary bones and bring warmth to your space whether indoors or out. We also think they’d make great side tables too providing extra seating when needed.

The ‘stumps’ are cut from the green wood of a FSC-certified, USA-grown maple and ash resulting in the natural splits that run up the base. It is left untreated, in raw wood form. Each piece is handcrafted by New England craftsmen.

What: Atwood Upholstery Collection

Where: AllModern – Coming soon! $1499 – $3199. In the meantime you can find similar Gus*Modern Sectionals at AllModern

Why We Love It: Excited to see the debut of Gus*Modern’s new Atwood Collection at the High Point Furniture Market this weekend from April 2 to 7. The Canadian modern furniture design and manufacturing company is known for their sleek, streamlined, tailored aesthetic perfect for apartment style living. They also have a great reputation for creating furniture with the environment in mind, utilizing eco-friendly materials to complete their designs.

The Atwood collection has an air of refinement a la ‘Mad Men,’ but with the generous height of the arms, one can relax on this couch in any direction (our short-armed couch is jealous). And as an added bonus the ‘chaise’ can easily be switched from left to right making rearranging your room a lot more flexible. Love the blind-tufted seat, back, and arms and the softness of tapered wood legs in lieu of metal legs as seen in previous collections. All of the wood used is FSC-Certified wood in support of responsible forest management – Gus*Modern is a member of the Sustainable Furnishing Council.

Available as a chair ($1499USD), a sofa ($1999USD) or a sectional ($3199USD).

Why: So perhaps that is excessive use of exclamation points, but this really is a pretty amazing deal. Two modern, quality crafted, eco-friendly dressers for just $495… pretty, pretty, pretty good.

We deeply appreciate the Argington philosophy to make furniture and bedding conscientiously and to minimize its environmental impact. And would like to add their commitment to making functional and fashionable furniture as evident with these dressers. They have clearly thought out the function and lifecycle of the product starting as perhaps a changing table for baby with three convenient drawers. Or for the nursery that is tight on space, simply stack the dressers for more efficient storage. And the design suits kids from 1 to 92 – would even make for a convenient buffet…

The dressers are made from renewable and sustainably harvested solid birch wood and low VOC FSC certified birch plywood. All glues, stains and finishes are HAP free, 100% non-toxic and are low VOC and formaldehyde free. The production facilities where Argington’s furniture is manufactured employs lean manufacturing systems and techniques that reduce waste and energy, making it an energy efficient environment.

What: “Friend” Felt Box with Bamboo Top

Where: Branch.com – $29 & 25% with code DailyCandy25 through March 5, 2011.

Why We Love It: First saw this sweet little box at the ICFF in New York. Loved the mix of materials, the unexpected soft felt box with the rigid bamboo top. The two look great together. It does take some finagling to get the top inserted just right, but worth it. Like the idea of placing precious mementos, keepsakes and jewelry into a well cushioned nest. Lovely stacked or stand alone.

Each box is handmade by handmade locally using renewable materials – 100% wool felt and 100% FSC Certified bamboo free of VOC adhesives. Available in Orange or Charcoal.

What: Day Bed One

Where: Another Country – $1585-$2540

Why We Love It: As you know, we are always on the lookout for versatile designs, practical designs that can be used in more ways than one. This multi-functional day bed from the master craftsmen at Another Country works as a bed, a bench, a sofa and a coffee table. Great for small spaces than demand flexibility. Add simple lines, sustainable materials, quality design and classic herringbone and you’ve got us hooked and this day bed certainly hooked us. It’s perfect for lounging, coffee-ing and supporting guests so intoxicated by your hospitality, they choose to stay the night.

Rooted in traditional furniture design, but with a modern interpretation, Another Country’s products are built to last. They use high quality materials like solid FSC-Certified European oak finished with an eco-friendly natural wax oil makes and handcraft each piece in their workshop in Dorset. Care is taken in the design and construction phase to minimize material and time waste and most pieces pack flat to curb transport costs.

The cushy mattress is made of quality materials by the folks at Naturalmat. It features a certified organic latex core (from rubber trees) wrapped in certified organic coir (coconut fibre)

 and upholstered in Bute fabric made from locally sourced organic lambswool.

What: HandySitt Portable Seat

Where: Fawn & Forest – $129.95 & save 20% on first time purchases with coupon code “instyle2010″

Why We Love It: We just learned that our dear friends our having twins…. again! (Congrats!!!) And so we couldn’t help thinking about life with four babies… This ingenius, multi-use, portable, compact little high-chair might make it a little easier. The beauty of this design is that you don’t need a separate high chair, its adjustable steel arms extend to hook over a chair back and voila – you’ve got a high chair. And when you are done you can fold it up and stow it away or leave it in place for the next meal. It comes with a handy carrying case so you can easily take it on the road with you too.

It is designed for children ages 6 months to 5 years, so can be used as your child grows. You can also purchase the portable seat with a coordinating chair as the HandySitt High Chair. This combination allows you to lock the portable chair into place with magnets to the chair. The chair itself can be used as a regular dining chair with the portable seat is removed.

The seat is made from FSC-certified solid Birch cut from sustainable forests in the European Baltics along with steel parts and BPA and phthalate free plastic components and water-based and formaldehyde free finishes. The environment is considered throughout the entire product chain, minimizing waste at the ‘cut’ phase, packing flat for a smaller shipping footprint and considering ease of recycling at the end of its lifetime.

Made in Europe.

What: mosspink collection

Where: brühl

Why We Love It: A cool, modular, innovative, comfortable and eco-inspired design in a variety of colors and combinations to bring a little excitement and personality to your living room. Designed by Kati Meyer-Brühl, the mosspink collection was the  winner of the  Focus Green Silver 2008 design prize and the Good Design Award 2008 by the Chicago Athenaeum. Her design draws upon natural elements, like stacking pebbles, to create furniture that is fun without being silly and functional without being boring.

The collection is available in a variety of environmentally friendly fabrics, including fast growing bamboo, in bright greens, blues and pinks or natural linen. It is also available in leather, but we prefer the eco-friendly fabrics available. The frame is built from FSC Certified wood sourced locally when possible, and covered in a low-VOC foam. You can choose from wooden legs, also FSC Certified, or aluminum legs. The cushions have removable covers for easy cleaning or replacement.

The furniture is designed with the entire lifecycle in mind – cradle to cradle. Efforts are taken along the entire process to use durable, ecologically compatible materials, to minimize waste and to recycle whatever waste is created. Using high quality materials and workmanship ensures a highly durable and long lasting final product.  Even the environmental transportation costs were taken into consideration, so Brühl now delivers their furniture on their own lorries resulting in a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and associated transport-related CO2 emissions.

For this Brühl has been recognized with the  Bavarian Environment Medal for special contributions towards environmental protection and regional development in 2002, and became the first German seating furniture manufacturer entitled to use the “Blue Angel” label as proof of environmental-friendliness in design.

Made in Germany.

Who:

What: Pratt Desk

Where: West Elm -$299

Why We Love It: The latest in West Elm’s foray with sustainable home furnishings comes from a collaboration with the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, one of the most sustainably innovative design schools in the country. West Elm challenged recent grads to create a line of affordable office furniture using FSC-certified materials. Our favorite from the minimalist collection is this ode to mid-century modern desk.

The mid-century modern inspired desk desk features legs made of FSC-certified eucalyptus wood, an FSC-certified medium density fiberboard table top and a white powder-coated steel drawer. The slim profile makes this a great option for an office or for a small space that benefits from furniture serving dual purposes both as a desk and a dining table.

There is still plenty of room for improvement. We would have like to have seen eco-friendly finishes as well and there is much debate about FSC certification. FSC certified woods can get a bad rap because of all the bureaucracy involved in becoming FSC-certified, and often manufacturers will purchase FSC-certified materials from across the globe instead of buying from a local, non-FSC certified supplier that may employ FSC qualified practices, but hasn’t gotten through the cost of time of obtaining FSC certification. But you must start somewhere and the FSC certification has changed the way a lot of loggers do business.

What: Air Hazel Setee

Where: Structured Green – $4100 (shipping included)

Why We Love It: Perfect apartment sized setee. Love the slim lines and lack of bulk without sacrificing comfort. Truly lives up to its name, its pure and simple, streamlined and elegant and an unexpected and refreshing shape with the free from arms. Texture comes from the organic embroidery that adorns the back of the setee.

Designer Ami McKay launched her furniture collection to fill the void of stylish, sustainable and healthy furniture for her clients who were seeking chemical-free eco-friendly home environment. To achieve this, her furniture is manufactured locally using biodegradable, natural latex rubber, FSC Certified hardwood frames, organic cotton batting, renewable jute and latex webbing, non-toxic adhesives, OEKO-tex certified wool fabrics that use organic dyes, renewable and sustainable Kirei grass and wheat boards, and fast growing hemp and bamboo. Because of these high eco-standards, PURE furniture also counts towards the collection of LEED points.

Available in 11 colors: Aegean, Waves, Coffee Bean, Sunrise, Charcoal, Sunburst, Inferno, Stone, Vapor, Cloud, and Clay with or without the embroidery detail. See also the coordinating Fire Cyrilla Arm Chair by PURE and the Structured Green Fire Cyrilla Daybed by PURE.