Creative, Recycled Green Home Decor

We love to highlight our favorite eco-friendly furniture finds and the latest trends in green decorating here at the Green Connoisseur.  We've showcased amazing up-cycled eco art and even featured a few DIY green decor projects.  Today, we're adding to that collection with some of the most intriguing recycled home accessories we've encountered - from creative kitchen ware lighting to unique throw pillows you can make yourself!

Recycled Lights

Gilles Eichenbaum brings new life to otherwise worthless pots, pans, teapots, and utensils with his unique lighting creations.  The recycled lights lend a rustic, somewhat whimsical touch to interior decorating while rescuing old kitchenwares from a life in the landfill.

Unique Glass Art

TranSglass is a fair trade industry that supports Guatemalan craftsmen and creates one-of-a-kind eco-friendly art designs from discarded bottles.  Used beer and wine bottles are cut, sanded, and polished to become chic vases, candle holders, and tumblers for modern homes.  TranSglass products are available online, starting at 24. 

DIY Throw Pillows

Outdated fabrics don't have to spend their eternity in a trash pile.  Your old jackets, shirts, and skirts are ideal materials for creative throw pillows for any room of the house.  The great thing about this DIY recycled decor is that the pillows require very little skill or time to make.

Innovative Picture Frames

Old bicycle parts can be transformed into many different things, including amazing recycled jewelry and intriguing accent baskets.  This bike chain picture frame lends an active flair to your green decor.  Of course, there are plenty of DIY photo frame ideas if recycled chains aren't quite your style - check out these cardboard picture rings or try your hand at transforming an old keyboard into a chic, but geek frame.

Reclaimed Baskets

These eye-catching bowls are fashioned from vintage vinyl records.  Artist Christine Claringbold doesn't stop with bowls and baskets - her vinyl creations include bracelets, mirrors, clocks, and more.  Take a look at some of the other recycled home decor created by Etsy artists or visit Christine's recycled record collection.

Intriguing Games

Automotive scraps, spark plugs, and cogs enjoy new beauty when they land in the hands of Armando Ramirez.  The gorgeous chess set shown here is just one of Ramirez's fascinating works of art.  Nativity scenes, miniature locomotives, and an assortment of innovative sculptures are handcrafted by the artist using recycled metal.  The recycled art is available through NOVICA.  

Chopstick Art

Disposable chopsticks are the chosen materials for the unique eco art by Kwytza.  25 billion pairs of chopsticks are thrown away each year - consuming valuable trees for just a single meal.  With Kwytza, these utensils are rescued, sanitized, and transformed into awesome folding baskets, lamp tables, jewelry, and more.

Brighten Your World and Your Walls with Bungaloo Color Liquid

Eco-friendly paint gets a makeover with expressive, personalized color liquids from Bungaloo.   Eighty vivid shades of VOC-free color make Bungaloo the perfect choice for any room, any mood, and any style.  Bungaloo color liquids are more than paint - they're fun reflections of living.

Color with a Cause

Bungaloo isn't your typical paint shop.  The new company operates online and offers a unique collection of designer-selected colors to make redecorating convenient and fun.  The entire paint shopping process can be done online, directly through the website - including browsing colors, customizing your rooms, requesting samples, and purchasing your selection.

Bungaloo is much more than a paint supplier, however.  They are making a difference and re-coloring the world by bringing their vivid hues to a variety of events in fabulous ways.  Caltopia at Berkley University was the location of Bungaloo's most recent appearance, where thousands of students showed their artistic flair on a huge canvas tree.  The first 1,000 participants were rewarded with a donation on their behalf to Seed Our Future.

Choose Your Color Mood

From mellow and sophisticated to global and fun, Bungaloo has a color that suits every interior - and probably a color with your name on it!  Unleash your creativity with a vivid pink called Danielle or relax with baby blue Tyler, every shade carries it's own personalized name and shatters the traditional color mold for homes.  

Besides offering an array of exciting colors, Bungaloo's color liquids are all non-toxic and VOC free - making it one of the most eco-friendly paints available.  Ordering is just as easy as choosing your colors.  Select a kit that is customized for the exact size of your space (minimizing waste) or buy a bottle, available in 2 different sizes.  

Bungaloo prices range from $13.99 for a 40 ounce container to $119.95 for an extra-large room kit, including wall and trim paint.  Ground shipping is just $5 and the ordering process is fun and simple.  Visit My Bungaloo to see for yourself!

Via Reuters

Images from Bungaloo

The Green Queen: Eco-Designer Kelly LaPlante

Getting ready to do a fabulous new look in your sitting room, kitchen or the whole house? Fashion conscious homes are important to many, but often times, designers are more about the 'new' things they can bring in rather than the things they can recycle. One eco-designer, Kelly LaPlante, is all about taking used items and recreating them into functional and beautiful pieces. The great thing - when all the pieces come together, the finished look is stylish, luxurious and beautiful. In With the Old Featured in the January 2009 issue of Los Angeles Magazine, Kelly LaPlante was called the 'Green Queen' for her ingenious use of older items to create modern and stylish new looks. She truly enjoys showing clients how to go green in a way that still allows them to be fashionable and trendy. For instance, one thing Kelly is fond of is purchasing vintage elements. She recommends that individuals check out shops that sell vintage doorknobs, chandeliers and art - as well as eco-shops that focus on purely green items for the home. See for Yourself Kelly's book, 'ecologique: The Style of Sustainable Design' features 160 pages of breathtaking photos of Kelly's designs. The goal is to show individuals that going green in design doesn't mean they have to compromise one stitch of style or luxury in their homes. 100% of the proceeds from the book are donated to Global Green USA and The Blank Theater Company. Released in 2008, the book plainly shows that recycling gorgeous items and using vintage elements within your home is the way to go when it comes to design. The book is printed on acid free paper with soy-based ink. Hats off to Kelly LaPlante, a fabulous decorating diva who is dedicated to showing individuals that being eco-conscious can be the same as being fashion-conscious! Photos are Courtesy of and Property of www.OrganicInteriorDesign.com.