Website of the Week

Hello Lu n' Am readers,

We have just received an e-mail from a representative of Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awarness Center, an organization recognized as the web's leading organization for relevant and authoritative information regarding asbestos and health complications associated with asbestos exposure.

The MAA Center regards high environmental and green presence as a critical part of their movement and promotes the use of sustainable green products, awareness of past buildings and preventative steps in avoiding asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.

Be sure to check out their website as well as their blog in order to gain further knowledge on these important environmental and health issues.

Also, we are hopeful and excited about the possibility of a guest post from the public outreach assistant of the MAA Center, and we are very honored to be able to relay such valuable information to our readers.

Please be sure to check out these links:

- http://www.maacenter.org/

- http://www.maacenter.org/blog/


Hope you guys have a wonderful week and that your fourth of July celebration was a fantabulous one!

-Lucie

Roof Gardens = Genius

Some of the perks according to this article (Toiture Truchon):
- Enhances building's appearance
- Adds space for tenant use and recreation
- One answer to the Urban Heat Island problem
- Stormwater management - retain 50%-90% of a typical rain fall on the roof


- Improves building's energy efficiency
- Processes airborne toxins and re-oxygenates the air
- Creates therapeutic and peaceful environments
- Total assembly warranted, from the deck up

I thought this video was interesting, there is tons of information on green roofs out there.





Links and Articles to check out:

-" Green Roofs are All the Rage"
-GreenRoofs.com"
-Chicago Green Roofs

-Lu

Green Decorating

I have recently moved into a new apt, and lately I have been on a constant hunt for creative ways to decorate my new home. Mitchell and I have a very wee budget (the poor college student kind), and according to certain Decor magazines, furniture & living stores decorating tastefully is NOT cheap. Thankfully, that is not at all the truth. With all of the resources out there, I am absolutely convinced that one does not need tons of moolah and NEW decor/furniture to make a space fabulous.

This is where fellow bloggers come in. The internet is full of creative people who are willing to share that creativity with us. They practically do all the work, they come up with a project, take pictures, give suggestions, write patterns, give us printable projects or step by step directions for us to DIY.

So here is my latest little project. I have to admit I am quite proud of this one, because when it comes to anything that has to do with fabric...I am absolutely clueless. But once again, someone else pretty much did all the work by giving me step by step directions :)


Fabric Panels/Canvas

This project was so simple to make and not expensive at all. Most of you have probably seen these before.
I had previously bought several 3 dollar canvas frames at Big Lots (woot woot, I love Big Lots), and so I thought they would be the perfect size for this project. I bought the fabric at a vintage/thrift store in Knoxvegas.

Fabric= A set of 4 hand towels for the price of six meager dollars. (My mom is making a pillow cover with the other two towels). and then I looked up how to make fabric panels online...and stumbled upon this source. (<--- so click on that link for better directions than I would probably give you ;) I'm pretty sure we've mentioned How About Orange before :)




When it comes to decorating, I am a strong believer that buying new isn't always the best option. There are already so many used but unique materials that can be salvaged out there. And there are plenty of creative people around us to tell us how to salvage them.

Happy Tuesday!

-Lu

"if it's yellow: let it mellow; if it's brown: let it drown"

Ok, so we're going to get dirty here at Lu n' Am. I want to talk about some bathroom etiquette, or rather - bathroom preferences.

You've probably heard this saying before: if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, let it drown. It's a saying that started in 60s, a product of the hippies and that mind set. It basically is encouraging the conservation of water and discouraging wasting water as much as possible. But I feel that this doesn't set really set too well for many people.

(Yumz...courtesy of jablife.)

Many people would find this disgusting. This motto was something I followed quite closely in my freshman year of college. I went to what some people would call a "hippie" college and signs with this motto could be found in many restrooms. I followed this until I heard of something called "backsplash." It's reminds me of backwash - the spit that is found in your drinks from getting your spit mixed in with your beverage while drinking. But backsplash sounds so much grosser - it's the pee splashing back onto your bottom. And not only is it pee...but it's someone else's pee if you are following this lovely motto. Ew, right?

So this conservation motto is really just a personal choice. For me, I will not flush if I am using a public restroom or in my own home. But for me the thing is, I don't really care if my own pee is "backsplashing." And in a public restroom, chances are the next person is going to flush the toilet and if they don't, well, that's their own personal choice.
~Am~

the solaleya

Another sensiblekitty source today...and this time it's for the Solaleya Homes.



These green circular homes rotate. They rotate according to your own specifications of whether you want more or less sunlight in the home. These homes kind of just boggle my mind. The modern world has become quite used to living in a linear fashion, but these Solaleya homes prove that living circularly is living better.
~Am~

"Green" Houses #2 (Lu)

Why can't humans live like hobbits? I've always thought their homes were ideal. Small, adorable, cozy, practically one with nature, and very very very environmentally friendly.


With...
-4 months of hard work
-1000-1500 man hours
-100% dedication
-maybe a few friends to kindly help you out
- £3,000 (roughly 6,000 dollars)
.... you could have this home!

This family did it! And proper respect to them for creating this beautiful, sustainable, environmentally friendly, affordable home.
Here are some of the key points to this construction and design that I have copied and pasted right from their website, which you should be sure to check out here: Low Impact Woodland Home

• Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
• Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring...)
• Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc
• 
  

Simply amazing.

-Lu

Your home is a container?

Why not use cargo containers as homes? This was most likely the very question an intelligent human being asked before creating these recycled homes. These are becoming more and more popular and they are indeed sustainable, affordable (depending on the architect), very creative, and you can live inside them.



Here are further links of different Container Home projects currently on the go:
-Container City
-SG Blocks
-Container Bay

-Lu-