If I told you I took a miter saw to a child’s KidKraft kitchen, slapped a square of Plexiglass on top and called it art, well, you might call me crafty. Others might call me crazy. And a few might offer me cash. The latter is the reaction that architect Greg Lynn is hoping art lovers will have toward his new collection of one-of-a-kind furniture made from recycled, melted kids’ toys. And so far, he is right on the money.
Here’s a gift to bestow on a child this holiday season that will last him a lifetime: the knowledge of how to live sustainably. The Idbids Eco-Friendly Starter Kit is filled with fun tools which teach children to be environmentally aware, and ten doable “iddy biddy” steps he can take to keep the planet green. Led by a 100% organic Egyptian cotton plush toy bursting at the seams with personality: a cloud named Scout, a flower named Lola, or a water drop named Waverly, playtime meets getting down to business making the world a better place with this award winning kit.
Once thought of as a case strictly for charity, reusing clothing items has become an integral and environmentally savvy facet of green parenting. Now that Goodwill clothing is ‘hip’ (the D.C. stores have a Goodwill Fashionista on their payroll), and we are witnessing the advent of the ‘frugal teen’, can a shift in thinking among parents who once turned up their noses at the idea of hand-me-down or gently-used options for children be too far behind?
The eco-friendly WoodPecker Walker from Plan Toys carved a niche in my heart with its precious features, and quickly became our baby’s favorite companion. Crafted entirely of sustainable wood, this walker is as beautiful as it is functional. Two playful little woodpeckers perched at the front cheerfully peck away, making a charming clacking sound as the walker is pushed. The sound they make is lively and frolicsome, encouraging babies to ‘walk on’ down the path to a green lifestyle.
Wondering what to get for the earth-loving tot who has every ‘green’ toy under the sun? How about a sustainable toy box designed and built by Mod Mom Furniture to beautifully contain all of his eco-friendly wares? The charming Owyn Toy Box is a modern, made to order, organic-style storage box that is functional and perfectly designed for little hands. It is equipped with two leaf shaped lids that children can easily remove to access their toys, and after clean up time, the lids fit right back on top like puzzle pieces, concealing toys and providing a sleek focal point for any room.
Roebuck Studio is a children’s furniture design and manufacturing company chock-full of imagination and whimsy. Roebuck Studio boasts that they “Make furniture for your kids that fit with your Eames chair.” They’re not kidding either; all of their pieces are beautiful and modern. The designs are creative enough for your child, yet every piece has such clean lines and great colors that you can implement them into your living space with confidence that they will mesh with your existing furniture and decor. READ MORE >
If you are looking for stylish, contemporary, environmentally-friendly furniture for your nursery, look no further than Oeuf. This Brooklyn-based husband and wife design duo - named after the French word for egg - serve up adorable kids clothing and furniture that are as easy on the eyes as they are on the planet. My favorite design on the Oeuf menu is the ‘Classic Collection’ of baby furniture. Featuring a matching dresser / changing table, a movable changing station, and a crib that convertsto a toddler bed, Oeuf’s versatile 3-piece collection will stylishly and sustainably cover all your baby furniture needs from birth until kindergarten.
When a company trumpets its simple philosophy of being a good citizen, you can’t help but want to know more. More about its manufacturing processes, its employment practices, its impact on the community and in my case, more about its branding and logo design. Luckily ducduc™ Director of Communications, David Harris, made himself available to tell us more.
If you want to know the history of the products you buy for your child, ducduc would be a good place to go. Based in New York City with manufacturing facilities in Connecticut, ducduc is a company that attends to every detail, from sourcing sustainable hardwoods from Northeast US forests to providing living wages and benefits to each of their employees. Among their extensive furniture collections, the Austin Crib caught our eye for its slim profile and functional flexibility. READ MORE >
We have been devoted fans of Iglooplay’s super cute line of eco mod children’s furniture ever since we first spotted them a few years ago at our local Brooklyn Designs Show. We were both excited to see the latest additions to Iglooplay’s sustainably crafted kid’s collection during our Mother’s Day Green Design Walking Tour at Brooklyn Designs this past May. Design-savvy parents need look no further for an ideal table and seating combo for budding designers or crafters who are looking to set up work and play space. Iglooplay’s craftWork table+chair is an inspiring solution for creative families - as smartly considered furniture like this will leave you wishing that you had a scaled-up version for your own workspace or studio.
Recently one of our readers/commentators wondered out loud about one negative aspect of good design. “Too bad none of it is affordable,” commented Jeff. “Alas that’s why there’s IKEA.”
It certainly is true that great design tends to come at an even greater cost, but this is not always so. And Jeff’s comment immediately made me think of one whimsical, functional objet d’art that is the perfect balance of collectibilityandaffordability: Eero Aarnio’s ‘Puppy’.
Smart, sturdy, stunning, sustainable; these are all terms that can be used to describe the ecotots “high-quality, full-line of environmentally friendly, real wood modern furniture”. Yet the most novel aspect of the furniture designed by ecotots is its simplicity. So how does one go about designing a logo that says all of this?
Combining cuteness with compactness, Ecotots is a full-line of environmentally friendly wooden modern furnishings for your tot’s play spaces. Designed to flat-pack and ship efficiently, the line of tables easels and desks also assemble and disassemble quickly and without tools or hardware. Plus they’re made from 100% renewable FSC certified Smart Wood®, and come in a variety of eco-friendly, colorful UV finishes.
The CASAKids Collection by Roberto Gil features sleek modern nursery and pint-sized bedroom furniture that’s solidly built, refreshingly modern, and super roomy - all must-haves for your little one’s dreamy sleeping space. The sustainable OLA! line is crafted out of Lyptus, a fast growing, IBAMA-certified, plantation grown Brazilian hardwood - smartly finished with non-toxic water based paints. To add to all this eco-friendliness and future-forward thinking, the pieces in this collection can all be shipped flat - one of the best green style features, in our opinion!
All new parents know first hand the trials and tribulations of trying to maintain a sense of order in a topsy-turvy household. Despite our best team efforts, stashes of baby gear, litterings of toys, and supplies of child-rearing essentials begin to dot the landscape formerly known as ‘adultville’. For some, this is as daunting as an unattended pile of laundry, for others it is just part of the territory. Thankfully, Q Collection Junior’s Stella Stackables provide a hip and stylish way for families to organize and artfully conceal the messiness of day-to-day living. Collect two or three modules or create a whole geometric wall assemblage. They are the perfect solution for parents who refuse to sacrifice style for comfort and storage ease.
Every mom knows that a good rocking chair is essential for breastfeeding. But how to find one that is chic, eco-friendly, and won’t break the bank? And as I stare down the barrel of impending motherhood, I am quickly trying to get all my breastfeeding accoutrements together - and for the longest time the rocking chair was the most elusive item on my list. There is a surprising dearth of nicely-designed rocking chairs out there - most seem either to be 80s style leather ‘gliders’ that cost and arm and a leg, or old-school granny wooden rockers that don’t look too comfy for your derriere. So you can imagine my delight when I rediscovered the Eames’ classic chair in rocker form!
When it comes to choosing children’s furniture, design-loving parents want it all: aesthetic appeal, affordability, simple assembly, and perhaps most importantly, a guarantee that no toxic substances went into the product’s creation. The designers behind Celery Furniture—who are parents themselves—decided it was possible to have all of this and more. READ MORE >
Argington’s Taj Chair is a great example of simple green design- an understated design that combines the best materials and least chemicals for your tots’ toy rooms. Designed by Jenny Argie and Andrew Thornton with longevity in mind, the chair is the perfect size for ages 2 to 4, and comes with extendable legs for up to age 60-sized kids. All materials are safe and non-toxic, free of pesky and harmful VOC’s, so no worries if you find your tykes chewing on the legs.
Though creating a green nursery or playroom can typically be a real expenditure for families with growing needs, there are some rather cost-effective and stylish options for designer households that abide by form + function fabulousness. Kid-friendly tables and chairs by Knú are a great choice for parents who do not want to compromise their design tastes for practicality. Knú’s eco-mod tables and chairs will set you up in enviro-friendly, color-coordinated style via the knú-est standards for play that is meant to last and last - while looking great, too!
Some kids possess an innate eye for design. They line up their Hot Wheels cars in order of size and hue, insist on wearing mismatched Converse All Stars to fashionable effect, and prefer vintage over store-bought. But would I turn over the proverbial keys to the castle so that my son could have a go at decorating our apartment? No way.
We love DIY, open source design, especially when it’s great, green design made available to us and our families for FREE! Swiss architect Nicola Enrico Stäubli’s FoldSchool furniture does just this, bringing downloadable cardboard plans to your computer, so that you and your tots can build your own eco chairs! The downloadable FREE patterns from his website are the embodiment of great green design- all you need is a printer, some cardboard, a pair of scissors, and some childlike creativity, and you’re on your way to sitting pretty. Patterns come in three options- a stool, rocker, or chair.
Imagine children’s furniture that is totally convertible as your little one grows and adapts to new eating routines and seating arrangements. Better yet, what if Mom or Dad could use the same chair to dine with little ones around the kitchen table? Too good to be true? Argington Modern Children’s Furniture has literally raised the bar for how to raise our little ones. The adjustable Argington Babylon Toddler High Chair defines sustainable design for future generations, as good solid investment pieces prove to have lasting value and multi-functional use for the whole family!
It’s a real comfort to know that some of the most innovative and versatile contemporary furniture pieces on the eco design front are for precious newborns and cute tots (and the parents who love and want the very best for them!) We’ve seen an explosion of green baby products from great design companies like Modern Seed, Speesees (highlighted in our Holiday Gift Guide for Kids,) and even the adult-favorite, Design Within Reach. A real stand-out as an eco modern nursery investment in this niche is Ooba and the gorgeous pieces in their Nest Collection. The Ooba bassinet looks as good as any other design piece in the rest of your home and sustainably compliments your lifestyle in the most modern and functional way.
Iglooplay’s adorable line of eco mod children’s furniture will leave you wishing they made an adult version. Based in Brooklyn, NY Iglooplay children’s furniture collection combines organic forms with practical ergonomics and a modernist sensibility that engages both children and adults. Designer Lisa Albin first conceived the collection following her first baby after finding that there was little too choose from when it came to thoughtfully designed children’s furniture. While observing the way her growing toddler interacts with the world she began to develop designs that were engaging to kids while aesthetically pleasing to adults.
Pkolino’s ever-clever design approach comes through again with their P’kolino Klick — a workstation for toddlers that functions like a kid-size puzzle, with the chair fitting into the desk just so. Kids can get excited about learning and working with a desk and chair made just for them.
The minimalist aesthetic of modern design can sometimes be too austere for children’s environments—”clean” tends to go against a kid’s lifestyle. But the husband and wife team behind Spot On Square found a way to unite simple modern design with the softer characteristics of youth products.
Bob and Nicole Springer have twins and a third child born just 18 months after the first two. With a handful of toddlers on their hands, the industrial designer and teacher applied their know-how to launching a small line of furniture and wall décor for kids like theirs. They use only non-toxic paints, adhesives and finishes in their pieces, as well as recycled and reclaimed MDF. Parents who choose the bamboo for their hardwood selection when customizing their furniture end up with a highly sustainable product.
The “cradle to cradle” concept really comes home in the YiAhn bassinet — an infant cradle that transforms as the baby grows, taking on new functions as the child’s needs change. The bassinet, intended for babies from birth to 4 months, converts into a toy bin and book shelf that the child can use until age 4, and then into a chair and table for kids learning to read, write and draw. If a new baby comes into the family, the materials can once again be assembled into a bassinet. READ MORE >
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