LINDAL CEDAR HOMES FEATURED IN THE DWELL COLLECTION

Due to the overwhelming response to this post, I am re-posting this again.

This house is JUST incredible and is the highlight/focus of my personal vision board!  This is my absolute favorite house style; so architecturally exquisite in my eyes.  The warmth and livability of these homes come from clean, uncluttered lines and the inspired use of natural materials in the Lindal building system. (Lindal Cedar Homes)

TURKEL DESIGN - The house, an original design created by Turkel Design for Lindal as part of the Dwell Homes Collection, is adaptable to multiple site conditions and opens to views simultaneously in several directions. These attributes led the design team to select this plan as the starting point for the unique conditions of this steep site. Turkel Design collaborated with the local independent Lindal Cedar Homes dealer, My House Design/Build, and positioned the house to open into a stand of old-growth cedars and out through the treetops to the opposite shoreline.

The TD3 2490 collects its own rainwater, uses passive methods to self-ventilate, and can be delivered and constructed in almost any location worldwide. 

Please visit http://www.turkeldesign.com to see what other amazing projects they have completed.

Photos Courtesy of Turkel Design

Here is a video walk through of this beautiful home.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

ENJOY!!

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

TRANSFORMING A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV | PART ll

One of my most popular posts, with several thousands views, is on TRANSFORMING A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV.  People find this subject so fascinating!

What my husband and I learned when we were considering this project was that school buses are a wonderfully safe vehicle to convert. They are kept in optimal maintenance condition because they are transporting children to and from school each and every day. The side metal panels are also heavily re-enforced in the event of a collision.

If travelling is something your family likes to do, converting a school bus into an RV, may be a fantastic DIY project that the entire family can enjoy. 

We were very fortunate, when we purchased our bus (for $500.00) what a deal, that all the seats had already been removed. Yeah!!  This is one of the most labour intensive jobs of this entire project.

Just like designing a space in your home you should plan the layout carefully dividing the space into various sections.  Our bus was 40' long and our layout plan included a sleeping area in the rear of the bus, a bathroom area, a kitchen/eating area, a living area and the driver area at the front of the bus. 

We didn't install or wire an electrical source for our bus since it was parked at our property and not used for travel. Our bus was used as a safe way to camp and sleep without having to worry about bears having us for dinner.  However, if you are travelling with your bus, you will need an electrical source to power appliances.  Other necessities include a stove, sink and refrigerator and of course a sleeping area.

Installing solar panels on the roof to power the bus and appliances is definitely the way to go to create an eco-friendly bus.

Converting another school bus or possibly an Airstream, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them, is definitely a project that we would like to tackle again in the future.  We certainly learned a lot from our first fantastic experience and really had a blast!  

Here are a few fabulous school bus and Airstream interiors with some great ideas to get you started just in case you are thinking about trying this fun project.

If this is camping, I'm in!!

Airstream Interiors by Christopher Deam  

  

  

Rachel Horn and husband renovated this Airstream with Style   

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest Architecture student converts bus into cabin

How about you. Is this something that you might consider trying?

If you would like to read Part 1 of TRANSFORMING A SCHOOLBUS INTO AN RV you can find it here.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design and Products http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com   

INCREDIBLE LIVE EDGE TABLES - MY NEW LOVE | SUSTAINABLE INTERIOR DESIGN

My new love is live edge tables and I would really love one in my kitchen/dining area. 

Live Edge refers to the natural edge of the lumber or slab under the bark. Many of the slabs that are available, are either a full or partial live edge and a combination of straight and natural edges and often consist of multiple slabs connected with butterfly joints called inlays. These inlays are used to reinforce areas that have been weakened by cracks, knots or large bark pockets.

George Nakashima was a highly recognized furniture designer/architect and well known for making pieces from raw wood left in its natural state. What most woodworkers saw as imperfections he saw as beauty.  His tables, chairs and cabinets typically were made from slabs of free-edged wood and very organic in nature. Mr. Nakashima died several years ago but his vision has been carried on by his daughter Mira at Nakashima Studios in Pennsylvania.

This coffee table piece is an example of his work which shows the bark live edge.

Picture courtesy of Nakashima Studio

Jeffery Greene another seriously talented and highly respected furniture designer whom I have recently discovered and admire, also designs live edge furniture and was influenced by the work of George Nakashima. 

It would be absolutely impossible for me to choose one of his tables as I am completely blown away by all of them.  These tables are like nothing that I have ever seen before; each is an exquisite piece of art.

I would like to share a few examples of his work and I am certain you will agree with me!

Silver Monolith Base - Live Edge Dining Table 

(I would like this as my Board Room Table)

Clear plexiglass leg base - Dark Finish Live Edge Dining Table 

(This one would work perfectly in my kitchen/dining area - I want it!!!!)

                                         Clear plexiglass leg base - Light Finish Live Edge Dining Table

Golden Forest Base (SOLID CAST BRONZE) Live Edge Dining Table

 (Actually, I wouldn't mind this one either. Just love the forest base, comes in silver as well)

Live Edge Book Matched - Buried Black Walnut Slab

All photos - courtesy of Jeffery Greene.

Sentient is located in Brooklyn, New York and is a furniture design and fabrication company. Their work is also incredible. Here are a few examples.

These last two photos show examples of the butterfly inlays referred to above. 

Photos - courtesy of Sentient

                                     We would love to hear from you.  Which are your favourites?

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle. 

                              Please visit us at http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF GREEN COMMITMENT?? | GLOBAL WARMING

GLOBAL WARMING.........

This is not a new term. We hear it almost everyday, on the news, weather stations, radio, newspapers. What does it mean? 

These photographs tell the whole story really don't they? 

A recent study in the U.S and Canada clearly indicates that the polar bear population in Canada's northwestern Arctic has declined by almost half in the last ten years. 

Pic - Climate News Network

Photo - Courtesy of Shia Wisdom

Wikipedia tells us that, "Global warming is the current rise in the average temperature of Earth's oceans and atmosphere and its projected continuation. The scientific consensus is that global warming is occurring and was initiated by human activities, especially those that increase concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as deforestation and burning of fossil fuels"

Over the next few posts we will discuss various levels of green living to learn how we can reduce our environmental impact on a day-to-day basis. We will begin with the most simple ways to incorporate some "GREEN INTO YOUR LIFE" right up to full blown commitment.  As we discuss each level, I invite you to share some of the ways that you have added that element of green into your life!!!

 REDUCE, RE-USE, RE-CYCLE, RECLAIM

    

REDUCE - This is the first level, the most simple/important and the easiest way to begin your journey toward incorporating some green into your life. We live in a very wasteful society and to support a greener and sustainable tomorrow we must all do our part to reduce consumption, reduce waste and reduce pollution as well as conserve energy, water and other natural resources.  

RE-USE -  Re-use items that we have to keep them out of our already overstuffed landfills.

RE-CYCLE - Probably the most widely used term in the sustainability world. It simply means to treat or reprocess a material/product back into a RAW material to be used in the production of a new product.

RE-CLAIM - Very similar to reuse, items can be used for alternate purposes. 

What are you doing to bring some Green into your life, help foster a better tomorrow and protect our environment for years to come? 

We would love to hear from you!!!!                   

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

HOW TO TRANSFORM A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV

Bears became an issue at our vacant 5 1/2 acre property that we owned in Haliburton.  We just loved to spend weekends up there and had been roughing it in a tent.  I actually couldn't believe that I (I am a city girl to the core, high heels and all) actually stayed in a tent.  Roughing it to me is a black and white TV while staying at a Holiday Inn.  Anyway, we started looking at used RV's, trailers etc. to stay in during our weekend sleepovers and they were all filthy, rotting, moldy and just plain disgusting to be blunt.

My husband Joe suggested that we convert a school bus into an RV.  I initially thought that he was out of his mind but after some research discovered that this is quite a common project.  We started looking on Kijiji and Craigslist and alas found our RV in the rough and boy oh boy was it rough.

Here is an Exterior before picture

And Interior

Hey I wasn't kidding was I??????

We worked each evening for about a month and a half and finally finished our new safe from bears condo on wheels to place on our little piece of paradise.  Oddly enough our street name was Shangri-La and was it ever an oasis !!!!!! So pristine as is the rest of Haliburton and the Kawarthas. For those of you not from my area this is a very popular cottage area. We used all recycled materials that we found on Craigslist or garage sales with the exception of the kitchen tiles which we purchased quite inexpensively. 

Due to the Ministry of Transportations guidelines, we had to change the exterior colour from yellow as this was exclusive to School Buses. We decided on green to blend in nicely with the greenery of the trees on our property and after all this was a GREEN project.

Here is the interior very close to completion. For privacy we installed mini blinds for the windows.  This queen sized pull out couch is for overnight guests with our bedroom located at the rear of the bus.  The room directly behind the wall of the banquette is the bathroom with an envirolet toilet, sink and recycled dresser used as the vanity.  The kitchen is just opposite to the banquette.  

We would bring our laptop to watch DVD's or listen to music for those rainy days and for evenings. A propane bbq was used to prepare meals.

Many glasses of wine were enjoyed just sitting outside by the roaring fire enjoying life!!!!

WOULDN'T YOU AGREE, this is RE-TREASURING AT ITS ABSOLUTE FINEST? !!!!

This is a condensed version of our adventure, but if you are interested in the longer version please visit http://www.freewebs.com/lovebugproject  a website I created to document our Bus Conversion.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.  

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

PINCH ME~ I HAVE MY OWN LIVE EDGE TABLE!! | SUSTAINABLE INTERIOR DESIGN | NOVEMBER 25

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That is me screaming! Recently we, picked up our custom-made, beyond gorgeous 86" x 48" x 2" solid black walnut live edge table.

Getting it into our house was quite a challenge due to its size.  Hubby and 2 men wrestled with this incredibly heavy, probably 200 lb table to get it in our front door. I was navigating and it still almost didn't happen.

It is absolutely HUGE and we love it and still can't believe we have one!!

If you have been following the De-sign of the Times blog for awhile, you will know that I am crazy in loooooove with live edge tables and have been wanting one for quite some time. I just never, ever imagined that we would purchase one due to the exorbitant price $$$$$$$ tags. For the size we wanted, I have been quoted prices ranging anywhere from $7000.00 - 18,000.00 yikes!!!!  

So, while researching suppliers, my husband came across a company in Cambridge, Ontario called Galt Wood Co.  I gave them a call and spoke with the owner and Head Builder, George Hollinger. This guy is incredible! I told him what we were looking for, what size we wanted, that we preferred Walnut and then asked him for a quote while holding my breath. His price was amazing and we ordered our live edge table right there and then.

I asked George, how much was required for a deposit and the method of payment.  He responded, "I don't require a deposit."  Huh?  Just the good old-fashioned business model called TRUST.  Love it!!! 

Here is a quote from their website,

"From massive live edge slabs to 100+ year old barn beams, The Galt Wood Co uses the most unique materials to create gorgeous one of a kind furniture pieces.

We work with you to bring your dream furniture into a reality. We walk you through the process of selecting a wood species, choosing styles, and figuring out dimensions. All our furniture is hand made to your specifications."

And a few samples from their exquisite portfolio of work

We were given a date of 4 weeks for our table to be ready for pick up.  In the meantime, we drove out to Cambridge to deliver the legs that had been on our Duncan Phyfe table.  They would be refinished, stained and attached to our new table.  My personal design style is contemporary but I sometimes like to throw a little old in there for some visual interest.  George, didn't think the style would work as he typically likes to use steel bases on the live edge tables but he thought the Duncan Phyfe legs looked great.

Here is a pic of the legs being installed. A long piece of heavy metal was placed between the legs to support the table. 

In an attempt to reduce our own carbon footprint and to also live a simpler life, we moved into a small home several years ago.  Living in a smaller home means that many of our rooms I have had to design to serve multi-purposes. One being our kitchen/dining room. When I was planning this room, I didn't want it to look too kitcheny,(I know that is not a word, but you know what I mean!!) We don't have a dining room, (many dining rooms are under utilized anyways in my opinion) so I wanted a huge good for everything table that could seat 10-12 at dinner comfortably, could be used as a board table to meet with clients and suppliers, a table where I could lay out fabrics, floor plans, blueprints, mood boards, play cards, use for sewing and making crafts etc.  Well this table fits the bill perfectly and because it is constructed out of walnut which is a very, very hard wood, it is virtually indestructible. Sustainable furniture has fine workmanship and is built to last. We will NEVER have to purchase another table and this will certainly become an heirloom.

To compliment our new table, we built a very long banquette from scratch and framed a large unframed piece of mirror to hang behind the banquette.  This was all part of a Nightmare Design Dilemma which has been driving me nuts for awhile. (Stay tuned for that post). I will also post some DIY projects on how we built our banquette and mirror.

Saturday night we hosted our first dinner party at our new table and banquette.  Everyone was very comfortable and had tons of elbow space. It felt like we were at a restaurant.

Here are a few pics of our table.

We particularly love this side of the table where the very large knot is emphasized and curves out at that point. It adds such visual interest and is quite a conversation starter. This picture also shows how the live edge was finished on an angle and smoothed out.

This shot gives you view of the Duncan Phyfe legs that were added as well as a pic, although not a great pic, of the banquette we built.

If you looking for a Live Edge Table, we would highly recommend Galt Wood Co. I can guarantee, you will not be disappointed.

If you would like to take advantage of a designer discount on your table, please contact Soulier Design Studio in advance and we will refer you as our client.

Love to her what you think of our table!!

Do you have a Live Edge table and pics that you can share?

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco-Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.

Please visit us at 

https://www.soulierdesignstudio.com