Now that spring is here (even peeking its head out in the frozen eastern reaches of the U.S.), home projects are swirling around in our heads and making it onto “to do” lists.Want to do something in your backyard that gives you and perhaps visitors more space? Studio Shed could be a perfect solution. This American company produces well-designed, prefabricated backyard structures made with recycled, sustainable materials and production techniques. Affordably priced, these single room structures can be used as…

Let’s face it. Home decorating is always about finding the latest and greatest thing that you fall in love with. And if you’re into Made in America, the choices, thankfully, are becoming a big broader. A San Jose, California company called Fireclay Tile makes beautiful glass tiles. Handmade by northern California artisans, they use 100 percent locally sourced recycled glass. It’s all part of the company’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices. These lovely tiles are available in 40 colors, with…

When it comes to new or stylish furniture, cardboard isn’t your first thought But KARTON is bucking this perception. Karton’s recycled cardboard furniture includes everything from their Paperpedic bed, chests of drawers, TV units, room partitions, even cardboard animals that can be decorated and painted. And, as the video shows, it can stand up to the toughest tests for strength. Made by Stange Design, a German company that’s been designing and producing cardboard furniture for 30 years, each piece of…

One of the good things about technology is the way it can be used to help us understand our environment better, and those little marvels called satellites are really great at this sort of thing. As well as spying on us of course.

Costa Rica is well known for its biodiversity, its rainforests and its growing commitment to sustainability. Now it can boast a unique hillside home that floats among the clouds. Casa Flotanta, built on a steep hillside slope by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture, does what seems impossible. This 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) two-bedroom home is built on large stilts to minimize its environmental impact. It’s constructed mainly from modular units that were built from galvanized steel and finished in…