
Transforming from svelte sofa to sleek sleeper "by means of a simple gesture," "Book" from the Italian designers at
Flou offers up its interpretation of the ideal boundary between day and night. During the day, it is an elegant, modern, linear sofa and elegant; at night, it transforms into a comfortable double-size bed with a slatted mattress support. Fitted with a folding orthopedic sprung mattress or with a Memoform mattress, it can be made in three versions: with a reclining head-board and with rectangular or roller backhead and armrests.
A great option for adding sleeping space for guests, or as a do-it-all piece in a studio apartment or other small living space. Hit the jump to see several versions of "Book," and drool over what your living room could look like with one in it.
::Flou via
::Azure...

A possible answer to the question "How can I have a bed and a sofa all in one?", "Lea" is a "poltrona trasformabile" (that's "convertible chair" for any non-Italian speakers) designed by Paola Verzola for Italian company
Casamania. A really sleek design is complemented by a really simple device for transformation; just pop the buckle to go from sofa to bed.
It's available in beige, black, brown, blue, light blue, green, orange, red, white and yellow, so it'll match any decor and is a great way to save space, live small and get the most from your furnishings. Hit the jump to see Lea in bed mode.
::Casamania via
::Pan-dan...

If the words "sofa bed" do little to inspire you when combined, we submit "Scoop!" for your consideration. Designed by the savvy Saba Italia, this elegant space-saver transforms from round nest to two half-moon sofas (it also comes in a square version, if that's more your speed), creating some nice extra seating during the day and eliminating the need for you to have both a sofa and a guest bed. We're not crazy about their use of polyurethane foam, but it sure is a clever way to create space for sitting when you're awake and space to sleep when you're, well, asleep. Hit the jump to see sofa mode.
::Saba Italia via
::Trendir...

When it comes to combining rigorous sustainability standards with high-end design, it doesn't get much better than Q Collection -- see our previous coverage of their excellent work
here,
here and
here as one of TreeHugger's Best Sustainable Designers for more. If you're looking to combine top-notch design with top-to-bottom sustainability considerations, you can't go wrong with Q, so we're excited to see that they've extended their offerings to include
Q Collection Junior, a cute line of mod furniture, bedding and accessories that combines beautiful design with very thoroughly considered and impressive sustainable materials and manufacturing.
The list of green practices and materials that go in to the collection are all what we look for in sustainable furnishings: FSC-certified and locally-sourced, responsibly-managed wood; formaldehyde-free, water-based, non-toxic adhesives; non-toxic, low-VOC finishes; low-impact, non-toxic, heavy metal-free fabric dyes; 100% organic cotton. And we aren't the only ones to give it a thumbs up: Q Collection Junior is the only children’s furniture and bedding line recommended by
Healthy Child Healthy World, a leading non-profit organization helping parents find non-toxic and environmentally friendly products for their children. Q Collection Junior’s cribs are the first (and only, so far) in the world to be certified by the
Greenguard Environmental Institute for low-VOC emissions....

One of the knocks on folding Murphy beds is that, despite their ability to open up some extra floor space, you have to keep their footprint clear so you have room to fold it down again when it's bed time; this leaves you with a folding bed, but a blank spot on the floor that can only be useful if you move stuff in and out of it every day (and let's be honest -- who wants to move furniture every day?).
Enter this slick sofa/bed combination: when you're asleep, you have a full bed; when you're awake, a sofa takes its place, making the space at the foot of your bed useful for more than collecting dust and hiding empty luggage. Pick one up at
::Design & Comfort via
::Freshome...

Here's an interesting take on the folding
Murphy bed idea: instead of folding into the wall, this concept jigsaw-puzzles together to become part of the wall. The bookcase/bed combination works together to help maximize space and give your walls a little extra pop of color; when it's bedtime, just take down your bookcase and you've got a bed.
We like that the bookcases remain on the wall, so you don't have to take stuff off the shelves when it's time to go to bed, but we see a few tricky spots in the day to day operation as well; you'd have to make the bed every night (unless it came with a puzzle-shaped fitted sheet) and it might be a little weird sleeping with a puzzle-shaped crease in the middle. Still, it's a great idea (if the implementation leaves a little to be desired) so we'll hope that some of the kinks will get worked out for Puzzle-Bed 2.0. via
::Yanko Design...

Our pals over at
domino magazine have a trifecta of DIY projects for the shoe enthusiast; the do-it-yourself shoe racks come in beginner, intermediate and advanced varieties -- enough assortment to fit anyone's inventory.
While none of the instructions are explicitly "green" in nature, we really like DIY projects because they allow you to go as green as you want. When you need a modified bookcase, go second hand; when they call for
paint, go low- or no-VOC, and you'll be greener for your efforts.
Having so many shoes that you need a separate shoe rack ain't that green, but if you're going to need one, might as well make it as green as possible. Pictured above is the "beginner"
repurposed bookcase; hit the jump to see the intermediate and advanced varieties.
::domino magazine DIY: Build Your Own Shoe Rack...

How's this for a "less is more" concept: "Dream Door" takes the
Murphy bed concept a step or two further, just folding down out of the wall and using about as much space as a sideways door.
It's a little too submarine-y for most real-life applications, but the idea is solid: you don't need a bed while you're awake, and you don't need wall space while you're asleep. Most adults would probably find the Dream Door a bit confining, but its diminutive size and virtually non-existent footprint might fit well in a kids room; plus, there's nowhere for monsters to hide under the bed.
::Dream Door via
::pan-dan...

We wish to say congratulations to
Nani Marquina for 20 years (
watch video here) of brilliant work in the world of carpets! We mentioned Nani Marquina’s
carpet collection made from recycled bicycle inner tubes and the
Emiliana felt slippers but it’s time we give you the whole story about this fabulous Barcelonian carpet designer.
For each product, a kind of poetic product life cycle assessment is being done: '
each product always tries to give a synthesis: of who thinks up the product, of who makes it, who looks after it and all those who enjoy it.' What we love about these carpets, apart from the fact that they are simply gorgeous, is that they are almost always made from natural materials such as jute or wool, which makes them 100% biodegradable. The very strong point however lies in the ability to join East and West by carpet. Nani Marquina’s carpets are hand-made in India, Nepal or Pakistan and guarantee that no child labour was involved in producing them. ...

A good bed is often touted as an investment. The inference being you’ll be getting a worthy return from that third of a life spent sleeping. But because beds usually last a long time, it also holds that we should want them to have invested wisely in their materials selection. Design Mobel is a New Zealand brand, (which we
first mentioned a couple of years ago) with a modern aesthetic and an old fashioned sense of stewardship. For the bulk of their beds, and bedroom furniture, they source timber from a sustainably managed native forest on the NZ East Coast, via a program of selective felling, with logs being airlifted out to reduce soil impaction on the forest floor. For the slats on their Body Fit bases they use laminated layers of sustainable European Birch timber. Energise mattresses are of 100% natural latex, (tapped from sustainably managed rubber trees) wrapped in a layer of wool and covered with what they call ‘organic bamboo.’ Though we doubt the bamboo is certified organic, they do indicate it qualifies for the European Oeko-Tex 100 standard, which means its free of human toxins....

As the name suggests, the
Green Fusion Design Center (GFDC) offers a slick combo of green building and design retail, a bookstore, and a showroom for all of their green products. Offering not just the stuff to make your home healthier and more efficient, but also the green knowledge behind the benefits of using bamboo cabinets or no-VOC paint, GFDC aims to bridge the gap between supply and demand for your greener life. The store is located in San Anselmo, California (just north of San Francisco), and recently celebrated the expansion of their showroom into a new, larger gallery space; they now claim to be the largest, most comprehensive green retail store in the Bay Area, with a product list to match. They've got a pretty wide variety of products that reads like a how-to 'hugg your home, from paints and wallcoverings like
AFM Safecoat and
American Clay Plaster to building materials like
kirei board to flooring options including
cork and
marmoleum to kitchen accoutrements like
AlterEco bamboo cabinets and
AZCAST stools and tabletop accessories...whew. ...

TreeHugger has seen examples of
growing furniture -- a
couple of times, in fact -- but this is an example of furniture that grows with you. Joel Hesselgren's bed, the winner of the
Stockholm Furniture Fair 2007, appears to be magically floating (it's supported underneath at the two opposing corners, which also double as end tables), and can also magically double in size. No need for a new frame when you can adjust the one you've got and allow you bed to "grow" with your needs; wouldn't it be great to have a bed that would last you from grade school to retirement and beyond? We aren't sure how the mechanics of it work, exactly, but we know we like it. Hit the jump to see the double-wide version, via
::Freshome and
::Yanko Design...

One of our all-time fave design spots on the Web,
DesignSponge, has the scoop on the upcoming line of organic baby bedding from
Amenity Home.
Made from 100 percent pesticide-free organic cotton, and printed with nontoxic organic dyes, Amenity's Meadow and Woods collections feature keen-eyed bunnies, curious turtles, and dappled deer on their pillows, wall canvases, and blankets. And the best part: Gender-neutral shades of green, yellow, and brown. No ick-inducing pastels, thanks! ::
DesignSponge
See also: ::
How to Green Your Baby, ::
Nest Organic Cotton Crib Set, and ::
miYim Organic Toys...
Steve Russell/Toronto Star
Fourth year OCAD student Laura Melling's bedroom is rather public- it is on display at OCAD's open house this weekend in Toronto. It is a demonstration of sustainability; according to Alwynne Gwilt of the Star: "As ambient, energy-saving bulbs illuminate your bedroom, you snuggle down into baby-soft soy sheets, silk-screened by hand with beautiful nature designs. Your bed frame, made of a reclaimed wood harvested in an eco-friendly manner, creaks slightly as your cheek brushes organic-cotton pillow cases."
...

Stylish new parents can easily be frustrated by the abundance of sailboats and ballerinas that are apparently supposed to adorn every inch of their child's new room, especially when it comes to the crib. Fear not, hipster parents! From our
good friends at kid-friendly furniture company Nest comes this mod-tastic crib set made with 100% certified organic cotton. In addition to the organic cotton sheet and crib skirt, the quilt and crib bumper (also covered with organic cotton) are stuffed with recycled PET. And as an added bonus, during the month of May, it looks as if Nest is having an extensive sale - 20% off on their entire stock. All you have to do is enter "May Sale" at checkout.
::Nest
...
Q Collection, featured
here,
here and
here as one of TreeHugger's Best of Sustainable Designers, has always been on of our favorites when it comes to combining sustainability and design. Their ability to combine a modern sensibility with materials that consider the health of the planet and the health of consumers has always impressed us, so it's exciting to hear that they'll be launching a line of furniture and bedding for little TreeHuggers next month at the
International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).
Q Collection Junior will be produced with the same rigorous attention to eco-details given to their current products, including zero- or low-VOC finishes, non-toxic, water-based, formaldehyde-free glues, low-impact, non-toxic, heavy metal-free fabric dyes on 100% organic cotton. They'll use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified or locally-sourced solid hardwoods, and everything will be handmade in the US at a price point that's on par with other US-made children’s furniture. We're excited to see that there will be a new healthy, green option for families, because it's never too early to start kids living green and looking good. Stay tuned for more info (and images) coming next month; to get more details from Q Collection as they become available,
register for updates on their splash/registration page.
::Q Collection Junior
Update: hit the jump for more details on the look and feel of the line....

How a 90 year company making organic bedding has managed to avoid the TH radar for so long is a mystery. But it did. Vivetique, although based in Los Angeles are using Earth Day and New York’s
1800mattress.com to launch their new EcoDream mattress. It seems this will make them the first New York City retailer to carry an organic mattress. From the press release it looks like the EcoDream is made from two types of natural latex, wrapped in unbleached, un-dyed and certified organic cotton. All perched upon an “eco-friendly: wood foundation, though we’re unsure what eco-friendly refers to exactly. We did ascertain however that they also offer comforters from what they call Sonoma County Pure Grow Wool. Which apparently means the wool is grown according to organic agricultural practices… “no pesticides on the pasture, no chemicals in the animal feed, use a biodegradable soap for lanolin removal, allow the wash house to recycle the lanolin, and use a land management system for low impact on the environment.” Oh, and the price of the EcoDream in a queen size? $5,000 USD.
::Vivétique, via
PR Wire....

Have we said how much we love the Toronto store /studio/ apartment/ theatre called Up to You?
Yes. Now we find new products that we want to spring for, like this bed, "Made from recycled materials including car suspension springs, this bed is such a pleasure to sleep on, you will never be able to get off. This is a truly contemporary, comfortable bed for the environmentally conscious consumer. Mattress not included. Hand signed and numbered by the maker. "
The springs are from Vauxhall Astras, and the frame is reclaimed British pine. We are relieved to learn that there are rubber feet to protect the floor. Made to order, it takes about a month and the price is not yet finally determined.
::Up to You
...

We always like furniture that takes up less space and serves multiple functions. This daybed folds out from a very comfortable twin to make a full double bed when you have, um, guests. I once worked on the design like this and we knicknamed it the "get lucky bed". There is nothing particularly green about this version's construction but the idea is so simple and the price reflects it at $ 749.
We are seeing more and more of this kind of design as people adapt to smaller spaces. We just wish more of it was made from sustainable materials. Other than
Roomy, is anyone thinking green?
Picture of it in double mode below the fold.
::CB2 via
::Productdose...

This month,
House & Garden is celebrating Spring with a fresh new design and re-launch of
houseandgarden.com. All of the great content from the old is still there (like
TreeHugger's blog on green design, plus some fun new features, including a whole section on
living green. The print mag starts off with a bang, with an impassioned plea from Editor Dominique Browning to wake up, change our ways and do something about climate change, which is great to see in a magazine generally dedicated to "design for the well-lived life". Should we tire from all the climate campaigning during April (it is Earth Month, after all), there's a nice feature about the importance of choosing a planet-friendly mattress (page 58). It includes tips for avoiding toxic flame retardants (like PBDEs), a handmade mattress that you can sleep on for the rest of your life (no pun intended) and ideas for staying away from common mattress allergens. The best thing they found about a green mattress, though, is an idea that TreeHugger likes a lot: longevity; most are guaranteed for at least 20 years, so you won't have to go shopping again anytime soon. The new site also offers some
good online support for the piece, with a selection of TreeHugger-friendly sheets, pajamas and calming teas, all to help you get your beauty rest. We spend nearly 1/3 of our lives in bed; might as well make it as green as possible. Lots more in this months mag; take a tour of the
new site for more.
::House & Garden magazine...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the
if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.