I’ve been a happy and devoted Haworth Zody user for over a year and my chair is time-tested, blogger-approved — it’s a beautiful hoss.  But my other chair, the office one, is quite hobbled and needs replacing.  So when I was walking the exhibit floor at Greenbuild, the Herman Miller Embody chair caught my eye in a big way.  Depending on the color you go for, it’s a loud chair, if not flamboyant, but that’s all part of its intrinsic ambition — and probably why Embody will be the next, must-have chair for stylish office types. 

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Wow, check out this stunning, prefab home located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.  Just like the Marfa Weehouse, a home we talked about a long time ago, this home was designed by Alchemy Architects.  The Johnson Creek weeHouse is a 2,200 sf retreat home consisting of the main living area for daily activities and a small tower for less intenstive activities, like sleeping.  The two parts are connected by a patio bridge and the entire home is surrounded by the heavily wooded site.   

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IBM is becoming gradually more involved in the world of clean tech, so it’s not surprising that their third annual "IBM Next Five in Five" includes a mention of solar power.  The list includes five innovations that will change the way people work, live, and play over the next five years.  Accordingly, IBM thinks energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint, and windows.  Basically, with the advent of thin-film solar cells and advances in technology, everything everywhere will have solar cells and harvest energy.  And the technology to do so will be affordable, too. 

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Maybe Samsø started a trend in becoming a net exporter of renewable energy because it appears that the Vatican is thinking about doing something similar.  The curvaceous roof of Paul VI Audience Hall, a building that's located right by the famous St. Peter's Basilica, has been topped with 2,400 photovoltaic panels to source energy for lighting, heat, and air conditioning. 

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I am very excited to let you all know that Benjamin Moore’s newest line of eco-friendly paint, Natura, offers no volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).  Volatile organic compounds are the chemicals, usually found in paint, that toxify your indoor air quality.  I’ve been waiting for this day because while other no-VOC paints are available on the market, I don’t think that you can beat the quality of Benjamin Moore. 

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