interior

Italian food has firmly staked its claim as one of the world's most popular cuisines. A treat for the eyes, nose, and taste buds, it's easy to see why the kings and queens of pasta live such happy and healthy lives.

The sights and smells of the Italian countryside serve as inspiration for California based Nomine's line of soy candles. Pronounced "noh-mi-neh", Nomine "simply means 'name' in Latin and was chosen to celebrate the power of the meaning behind names."

Started by Nancy Covello as part of her dedication to alternative health therapies and a vegetarian lifestyle, all of Nomine's burning beauties are made from only soybean wax and essential oils - 100% free of petroleum ingredients found in "traditional" paraffin candles.

Our wax burns longer, cooler, and clearer than paraffin candle waxes, with little to NO carbon build-up. Soy wax does not produce black soot, which can leave residue on furnishings and walls. The wax is made predominantly from domestically grown crops supporting U.S. farmers and the economy.

Available in both jars and as tea lights, there are four scents in the Nomine collection, each representing one of the four seasons. You can buy each candle individually from the Nomine website, or as set of all four seasons (shown above, includes a box of matches). Each of the candles in the "Botanical Jar Collection" feature a beautifully applied image on their glass jars, adding both pleasant smells and sights to your own eco-abode.

Efficient, attractive design is at the heart of modern culture. The basis of all Swedish creations is that it has to be both beautiful to look at and useful in a straightforward way. Embracing the advantages of intelligent design is helping to move the green lifestyle even more mainstream than it was in the 1960s.

But where do we go to buy all of these products with smart design and sustainable features combined? One of my personal favorites is the Branch online store, based right here in San Francisco.

As a social activity, shopping gets us out into the various neighborhoods in our city, allowing us to connect with other people along the way. As a cultural excursion, it gives us a chance to discover what’s new and interesting in the world. At the same time, there’s an element to shopping that we find quite troubling. We buy things that appeal to us—we love a product’s styling, for example—though we may have little idea of where a product comes from. Instead of asking people to stop shopping (which is, of course, pretty darn impractical), what if we changed the paradigm of shopping itself?

Everything from larger items; like furniture and lighting; to home and lifestyle accessories; such as pillows, plates, and dog toys; are available in this easy-to-navigate web store. Well-known eco-brands like Amenity, Bambu, Ting and K Studio are featured. Looking for something special? Check out the smaller, local collections such as Perch!, Esque and Dwelling. Ready to outfit your sustainable abode? Then Branch is your one-stop-shop for modern interiors.

The common idea is that anything sustainable or eco-conscious has to be sparse or spiritless. A whole host of companies have been started in just the past decade, bent on changing this outdated concept.

Nestled in the bohemianly urban city of Providence, Rhode Island, Balanced Design began as a simple idea while founder Melissa Cox walked the streets of Paris. Working as a logo designer gave her the power to find beauty in simple and abstract shapes.

Embracing the beauty of design; color, shape, and form; Balanced Design's home accessories (currently a striking collection of pillows made from hemp, linen, wool felt, and organic cotton flannel) prove that being green is an essential part of modern style.

Started by Marin County, California's Kimberly Rider, Atmosphera is a full-service, broad-range interior design firm. In particular, they specialize in working with homeowners, real estate professionals, and developers to create personal, custom designs.

"People are becoming aware that design is all around them, ...not only in retail environments, but on the web, on television and in the growth of home improvement”, says Kimberly. “They understand they have the power to change their environments. I built this company to provide the guidance and resources necessary to help clients realize their own sense of style."

A featured guest expert on HGTV's "Curb Appeal", Kimberly has also authored two green living books for Chronicle Books of San Francisco. The first, published in 2006, is titled "The Healthy Home Workbook" - which leads the way to creating a space that is friendly to the environment, reflects the owner's personal style, and won't break the bank. Released in February of this year is her second non-fiction book, titled "Organic Baby" - offering parents dozens of solutions that fit their priorities and their lifestyle—and their budget.

The range of services Atmosphera offers includes (but is not limited to): detailed landscaping; color consultation; space planning; light remodeling; and custom furniture, window coverings, bedding, and textiles. As a Co-op America Approved Green Business and a Registered Bay Area Green Business, Atmosphera is truly dedicated to making sustainable living beautiful and beneficial.

A worker-owned cooperative operating in San Francisco since 1997, Woodshanti constructs impeccable custom furniture, cabinetry, and built-ins of all kinds. Using responsbily harviested and reclaimed woods, they create lasting pieces that could easily become family heirlooms for generations to come.

Shanti (shän-tee) is the Sanskrit word for peace and symbolizes this effort towards harmony. This includes everything that we interact with or influence, from the materials we use, to the companies we support, and everything in between. Our concerns fall into three main categories: economic, ecological, and social.

Not only is the wood sustainable, but so are the finishes that are applied to it. Using nothing but natural oils nurishes the wood the way nature intended it to, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the pieces themselves and the company as a whole.

This five-person crew has featured their work at three past Green Festivals, and will again be showing at the San Francisco Green Festival this November. If you are headed to the upcoming West Coast Green event next month (Sept. 20-22), make sure to stop by their booth - they'll be displaying their pieces there also.

When browsing their online portfolio, each piece is specific whether it is made from FSC, SmartWood, reposonsibly harvested, or reclaimed/rediscovered lumber. Their custom kitchens and built-ins are deliciously impressive and inspire creativity just looking at them - my personal favorite is the kitchen and living combination.

Plants in our homes, offices, hospitals, shopping malls and other interior settings go beyond just their aesthetic appeal and are actually physically and mentally beneficial to people. The belief that plants and natural settings can positively stimulate the psychological well-being in humans has been around for thousands of years. During the middle ages elaborate plantings were created as a way to produce soothing environments for the ill. For centuries sensorial gardens for meditation have been an integral part of eastern culture. It is obvious that the immediate environment in which we live and work is linked to our state of mind, mood and stability. In recent years considerable academic research as to the positive effects of plants on people has been carried out. Studies suggest office workers in a green environment are sick less often, have higher spirits and are less fatigued than workers in a plant-free or sterile environment. In addition, heath care facilities report patients exposed to plants and natural settings are less stressed and feel less anxious, contributing to a faster recovery and a more pleasant care experience. Experts theorize the reason plants have so many positive effects on people is because for the past two million years we have evolved with and have settled around clusters of vegetation. Therefore, plants may still signify on a subconscious level food, water, shelter and protection; thus increasing survival. Interior foliage has also been proven to purify polluted air, which can be up to three times worse than outside air. Research by NASA concludes that common houseplants can effectively reduce the amount of contaminants found in the indoor air supply. Furthermore, plants have the ability to influence humidity thus hampering dust particles and lessening minor respiratory discomforts normally associated with overly dry conditions. It is clear that plants add value far exceeding their visual appeal. In a world where most of our time is spent indoors and faced with overcrowded conditions, plants give us a much-needed break from our artificial surroundings and remind us of the kind of environment we evolved from. Coast Live Tropicals is an interior plant design, sales and service company dedicated to bringing green plants to buildings.