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.

What: Omhu Canes

Where: Amazon.com – $135-$155

Why We Love It: The Omhu Cane has serious style so those who need one (and those who don’t) can walk with pride. Taking design notes from Scandinavian furniture, bicycles, hockey sticks, and skateboards, this colorful, and cool walking stick has levity and functionality at its core. It is both light-weight and light-hearted breathing fun, joy and color into an oft neglected tool.

The handles are made from layers of birch laminate and hand-finished with Livos oil, an all-natural, non-toxic, plant-based finish. The light-weight, high-strength shaft is made from recyclable aluminum and finished with bike paint. Both the handle and the tip are designed for maximum cushioning, grip, traction and support, usability being of utmost importance.

Available in three sizes 31, 34, 37 and six colors: purple, green, orange, black, cream, and light blue.

What: PlanetBox Lunchbox

Where: Amazon – $59.95

Why We Love It: We are always on the lookout for lunch boxes that make packing, cleaning, toting and reusing safe and easy, and the PlanetBox delivers. It’s a tv dinner tray meets bento box with a compartmental design based on the general nutritional standards for children. So when packing up your child’s lunch (or your own lunch!), you’ll have plenty of space to pack a healthy, well-balanced lunch. Specifically a good option for picky who don’t like their foods to ‘touch’ where the top and bottom of the lids touch so there is no spillage between compartments.

PlanetBoxes are made from the same high quality food safe stainless steel that’s used in hospitals and commercial kitchens; free of lead, phthalates, and BPA so there is no worry of toxins leaching into your food. The steel itself contains up to 60% recycled content and is 100% recyclable. The collection of coordinating magnets to decorate your PlanetBox are made of a synthetic rubber material, not toxic PVC like most magnets.

Steel and metal sourced from Korea and Japan. Manufactured in Taiwan

What: Presso Espresso Machine

Where: Amazon.com – $150 w/free shipping

Why We Love It: So, it’s Monday and we are feeling like we need an extra pick me up and a little indulgence this morning. And what better way to start off the day on track then with a perfectly brewed espresso, or latte, or cappuccino – nothing like a cup of handcrafted, cafe quality coffee from your own kitchen.

The Presso’s n and the simple manual mechanics give it an old world feel, but it’s actually a brand new design that goes back to the basics of crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Dubbed the ‘eco-friendly coffee machine’ the Presso relies on a little elbow grease instead of electricity (which is a lot less scary than our pressurized espresso machine that’s covered in explosion warnings…) The only electricity used is that to heat up a cup of water. An added ‘perk’ of the Presso is that it’s quite portable which means you won’t have to give up your espresso on your next camping trip.

We love the sleek, minimalist design and the fact that is it made from recyclable aluminum. It comes with a milk frother and a 2-cup adapter.

To create the perfect cup of espresso with your Presso machine follow these 5 easy steps:
1) grind the beans finely, but not too fine, ie the setting one step coarser than espresso
2) heat water (best not to heat to boiling, the ideal temperature for espresso is 90 degrees)
3) fill the portafilter basket (that stainless steel, handled contraption) & tamp it down evenly with the scoop or go pro with a stainless steel tamper
4) pour hot water into the water cylinder and raise the handles on the Presso, wait 15 seconds then…
5) push the handles downwards in a firm smooth motion and hold them at the end – what you want is a slow trickle of coffee, not a drip or a heavy flow.

And presto! You’ve got a delicious cup of hand crafted coffee! For maintenance, simply rinse and dry your Presso after each use.

What: Pharrell Moncler Vest

Where: Moncler Outlet – $206

Why We Love It: We’ve been fans of Pharrel for over a decade now. He is the quintessential renaissance man, a talented artist, musician, producer, writer, a tireless entrepreneur, a consummate trendsetter, an innovator and now you can add eco-designer to the list.

He owns Bionic Yarn where recycled bottles are transformed into fabric, and his recent outerwear collaboration with renowned activewear brand Moncler has launched green design onto a whole new level. The collection features the classic Moncler style, with puffy down jackets and vests, but with a hip-hop vibe courtesy of Pharrell. A puffy vest in the style of a bullet-proof vest with a decorative lining based on a print by Japanese artist Keita Sugiura made out of Bionic Yarn.

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: YogaForce A-line Yoga Mat

Where: YogaForce – $79

Why We Love It: We are yoga fanatics, we love love love it! And are constantly encouraging friends and husbands (hint, hint) to try it. Often the feedback is that people are too afraid of doing it wrong or don’t think it’s a good enough workout (go ahead and tell that to our aching shoulders…) Well, the Yoga Force A-line mat can certainly help with the former (the latter will be resolved once you try your first class!). The A-line mat has built-in alignment guides to make sure your positioning is on track. This is great for novice and veteran yogis as always good to have a gentle reminder.

It also has a built-in, adjustable shoulder strap and a removable wallet to stash the must-have phone, keys & wallet. And best yet it’s eco-friendly, long lasting, recyclable and latex-free, so you can breath easy during your practice.

Want to compare eco-friendly yoga mats? Here are some other options.

What: BowHaus Dog Den

Where: DenHaus – $599

Why We Love It: So, we don’t have any pets, but we kind of want one of these pet crates for an end table. In fact, the first time we saw the BowHaus, we actually thought that’s what it was, simply a funky and modern side table with clever storage space. We now understand that that storage space is a cozy pad for discerning pets.

Traditional pet crates are sooo depressing and a blight on any room (apologies to all those pet owners out there with crates…) no matter how you try to disguise them. Thankfully there is DenHaus and their collection of designer pet crates to make Fido’s bed a more integral part of your home be it as bedside table, coffee table, or side table. And they are particularly advantageous for apartment owners where space is tight and dual functionality is key. It’s just a wonder it took this long for someone to readdress the design and give them new life.

Of the collection, the BowHaus is the only model made in the USA. It is made of recyclable powder-coated steel and packaged in recycled packaging. They are quite durable and are built to last.

What: o-Re-gami Lampshade

Where: Regenesi Concept Store – 98EU

Why We Love It: Looking for an innovative design for your lighting? This unique lampshade, designed by Matali Crasset for Regenesi, is handcrafted by Italian artisans who fold sheets of regenerated leather into this origami-esque shapes, hence the name. Organic cut-outs along the edges create a peek-a-boo affect for the bright orange hidden inside. Almost has the feel of a welted wool, but in fact it is made from leather scraps as suits Regenesi’s eco-sensibilities.

Their motto: “We turn waste products into things of beauty because there is no contradiction between being functional, eco-friendly and beautiful. We believe that something fine and useful can be gleaned from the consumer society and from wastage”. The o-Re-gami Lampshade is made of sheets of regenerated leather that is 100% recyclable. Chrome shavings and vegetable-tanned leather scraps obtained from all around the world are salvaged and milled to create the regenerated leather. The final product is composed of 65% vegetable tanned leather fibers, 18% natural latex extracted from rubber plants, 10% water, 5% natural fats and 2% natural coloring agents and salts comparable in look and feel to genuine leather.

Clearance: Save up to 75% on Select Lighting, Fans, Gifts & Accessories at Lumens.com. Free shipping. Easy Returns. Low price guarantee.

What: Libri Lamp

Where: Not yet in stores, expected to retail for £300.

Why We Love It: It was hard to miss alle’s booth at 100% design. Their candy colors, jell-o like molds and sleek designs definitely stood out. Once our eyes sifted through the bright colors, they settled on an unusual set of reading lamps all bent from single sheets of Methacrylate (a durable, stain resistant, flexible acrylic that is 100% recyclable) increasing strength because there are no joints and minimizing waste. In fact, the entire manufacturing process is designed to achieve zero % waste. Off cuts from oval shaped tables become the frame for oval shaped mirrors; excess acrylic scraps can be used in the new Jelly collection, so that every scrap of waste produced is reused for other projects.

The lamps had a fabulous glow about them reflecting off the white back plastics and love that book slats were built right into the Libri lamp. The boxy shape is also quite fascinating the way it is bent to form a continuous shape. Excited to see this product make it to the states.

table lamps