Green Living Home

Firma Casa, is a designer furniture store in Sao Paulo, Brazil that is owned by Sonia Diniz Bernardini.  With a recent remodel, Firma Casa turned to SuperLimão Studio , an architecture and design studio, and world renowned designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, for the project.

The design is a new twist on the green wall and vertical gardening. The façade is covered by 3,500 vases with 9,000 green snake plant seedlings. Espada-de-São-Jorge (Sansevieria Trifasciata) (which is commonly called Snake plant in the US) carries with it not only a striking texture when planted on the industrial frame, en masse, but it also is infused with Brazilian culture. It is believed that they (the snake plant) have superstitious powers and can protect from the evil eye so the business and the people within are much safer within.

If you are lucky enough to live within shopping distance of an Ikea, you probably wait anxiously for every new catalog. The Swedish brand takes as much care with the layouts in their wish books as they do with the modern designs of their products.

These Ikea catalog shots from photographer Carl Kleiner are almost more art than product photography.

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Q: I’d like to grow some goji berries. Will they make fruit in San Francisco?

A: Goji berry, also known as wolf berry, is the latest miracle food craze. If ads are to be believed, among its many benefits are cancer prevention, healthier heart and arteries, and treatment for diabetes and obesity. Is any of this true or is this a skillful effort to part you from your hard-earned cash? I’m not an expert in herbal pharmacology, but generally have a healthy skepticism of such varied claims for a single food or herb. And I have learned that, although the berries have long held a place in Chinese medicine, many claims for them are quite recent and not yet subjected to well-designed clinical trials.

As far as I can tell, this is an edible fruit with a good vitamin and mineral content and some interesting phytochemicals that may promote health.

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It’s January and here in New England we are just starting to get winter. December was unseasonably warm and even though in the moment I loved the mild weather and the extension to my gardening season –Hooray for planting bulbs after Thanksgiving and feeling my fingers while hanging garland in December- cool temperatures are key to keeping winter adornments looking photo fresh.

So while it may be 3 degrees out, I am calling all gardeners to get out and toss the crusty wreaths, drag your containers into the garage and thaw them out or better yet, bring out extra empty vessels and get started.

Note: to all gardeners who ran out of time before the holidays and forgot to plant your winter composition, this is your 2^nd chance!   

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They all start with four ordinary legs touching the ground, made of wooden, leading up to a white-lacquered seat, but from there out the differences dwarf the similarities between these offbeat pieces.

Seung-Yong Song started with a set meant to encompass a bed when tucked together side-to-side and front-to-front, but serving all the other furniture functions of a bedroom on the sides.

Beyond that, the series gets increasingly whimsical with a giant lamp shade to give you illuminated privacy for reading, and a series of shelves and ladders to make maximum use of vertical space.