Design & Architecture

These aren't your mother's convertible beds. The New York Times rounds up a nice selection of sleeper sofas, folding beds, transforming couches and other clever pieces that do double duty and save space, all without the uncomfortable metal bars in your back.

A few will be familiar to long-time TreeHugger readers, like the sofa-to-bunk-bed combo (which is now available in the US) but it's a pretty well-rounded round-up, whether you're in to futons, sofas or beds that just disappear into the wall. Hit the jump for pics of our favorites. via ::New York Times

See also: BEDUP: The Space-Saving Bed that Falls From the Ceiling and TreeHugger Picks: Sleeping Beauties

Design & Architecture

TreeHugger loves the Murphy bed concept; it's a great way to live comfortably in less space, since you don't need a bed when you're awake, and don't need the living space when you're asleep. We've seen some great examples, including the bed/desk/closet combination, this sofa/bed combo, and this elegant version, integrated with shelving. Still, most Murphy's require a clear area to fold down into, which either requires a daily ritual of furniture-moving or sacrificing otherwise useful space for the bed's footprint. But if the bed came down from the ceiling...

You could leave your stuff where it is, putting the bed above it. That's the rather brilliant idea behind BEDUP, designed by French designers Décadrages. It installs in your ceiling, rather than the wall, and sort of floats down when it's bed time. No furniture-moving required; it can stop at various heights, using a variety of braces to help it integrate with your bedroom's furniture. It's even possible to integrate lighting into the bottom of the bed, for use when it's in storage mode. Watch this movie to see it in action, and hit the jump to see it installed in a living room and home office. ::BEDUP (in French) via ::Freshome

Design & Architecture

After our initial launch, we were thrilled to find Crate & Barrel's Kona rug. And over the past few years we’ve covered the company's various eco-products, such as their glass food storage containers, their Bamboo Bento collection and, in the past year, their “green sofa.” Nowadays, we’re amazed at what they’ve come up with.

At first, we were skeptical of Crate & Barrel’s most recent e-newsletters, touting their commitment to sustainability, but we’re beginning to see that this might not be a case of your average green washing. “The best place to start making the world a better place is right at home,” reads the introduction to the environmental part of their website. “At Crate & Barrel, green is not a trend. It’s an ongoing mission.”

Design & Architecture

We've liked the space-saving sofa that transforms into bunks and traditional Murphy bed from UK retailer Bonbon Trading; they've combined those two concepts into "Lollipop," a horizontal folding bunk bed with a couple of cool options.

They can add a folding table to the front, to create additional workspace when the bottom bed is folded, and shelving on the top (pictured above). The whole thing is just 31 cm (just about 12 inches) deep, making it easy to turn any room into the guest/kids room. Hit the jump to see more pics, check out Apartment Therapy's cool round-up of horizontal-opening Murphy beds, and cross your fingers that these smart less-is-more space-savers will be available in the US soon. ::Bonbon Trading via ::The Design Blog

Design & Architecture

Treehuggers love flat-pack furniture and even houses. We rave about it all the time. We also love anything made from recycled materials. When we found Green Lullaby's flat pack Eco Cradle made from 100% recycled cardboard boxes, we nearly flipped our lid.

This baby furniture gives new meaning to the term 'cradle to cradle.'

Design & Architecture

Argington's modern furniture, designed for youngsters, is also designed with the planet in mind; its solid wood is FSC-certified, constructed with non-toxic, low-VOC glues and topped with non-toxic finishes. Each piece from the Wonders collection -- individually named for one of the wonders of the world -- is designed with usability in mind, whether its the Delphi changing table's ability to "grow up" into a dresser, or the Sahara crib's convertibility to a toddler bed (both are pictured above; Sahara on top).

Other pieces in the Wonders collection include the Babylon toddler highchair (pictured after the jump) that adjusts and grows with your youngster and the slick, stackable Picchu dresser; all are available from their selected brick 'n mortar and online retailers. ::Argington

Design & Architecture

Add some comfort and a pop of color and texture to your life with LoooLo's new cushions and blankets -- that's "La Rue" two tone above, with more La Rue and "Honeycomb" cushions and blankets below the fold -- unveiled this week at the New York International Gift Fair. We've been impressed before with their pillows and cushions and chic scarves, and are always glad to see more of their top-notch sustainability efforts, from organic cotton to Climatex felt and non-toxic yarns, applied to their fun design sensibility.

Looolo whose name is a visual representation of "100%," symbolizes their commitment to sustainability in every aspect of the design process, from making the choice to use organic materials during development to consideration of the environmental footprint our products leave at the end of their useful lives; all their products are 100% biodegradable, so you could just toss 'em in the compost heap and they'd break down. With such great design, though, we don't think we'd ever want to. ::Looolo

Design & Architecture

Here’s a new shop paradigm for you: Shop according to the revealed ingredients of every object. Because those ingredients sure look yummy with a range of products made from sustainable wood, cork, bamboo, organic and recycled materials. Monica Potvin in Barcelona and Anu Suominen in Finland have joined forces and created ‘a new version shop presenting a collection of objects for living made as sustainable as possible’. Matteriashop is finally a shop that guarantees eco-smartness as well as fabulous design.

Through close collaboration with designers all over the globe, the Matteriashop offers a unique transparency and behind-the-scene information on each carefully selected product, taking into account its entire lifecycle. Monica Potvin explains:

Recent Comment by Jensen : "Not targeted for US at the moment (must email them for a US shipping quote)..." [read]