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READER TIP: How to Put Your LED Holiday Lights to Use Year Round

by Yuka Yoneda, 01/13/10

led holiday lights, led lights, led christmas lights, how to reuse led holiday lights, diy, sustainable design, green design, energy efficient lighting

If you made the switch from traditional energy-sucking holiday lights to efficient LED ones this year, we applaud you. But we also know that they aren’t the cheapest thing in the world. That’s why were were absolutely delighted to receive this clever tip from reader SleepySyrup that lets you leverage your LED light investment into something that can provide you with light year-round instead of just around the holidays:

“A string of LED holiday lights, combined with a two-dollar socket adapter from your local home-improvement store, can transform a lamp or overhead light into an eco-friendly light source. A 50-bulb string uses less than 5 watts of electricity, and, this time of year, they can be had for a fraction of the price of a commercial LED bulb.”

Thanks SleepySyrup! And to all of our other readers, if you have a tip that you want to see on Inhabitat, use this form to let us know about it. Remember, sticking to our guidelines means you have a better chance at seeing your submission published.

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IKEA Unveils New Line of Solar-Powered Lighting

by Diane Pham, 01/11/10

sustainable design, green design, ikea, solar powered lighting, home, interiors, garden lights, energy efficient lighting

Now there’s no excuse not to bring solar power into your life – in just a few weeks IKEA will be stocking their shelves with a new line of solar-powered summer night lighting! Dubbed SOLIG, the collection ranges from the practical to the decorative and features energy-efficient LED bulbs. Best of all, these new lamps are not only fun, funky, and earth-friendly — they’re affordable as well!


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The New California Craftsmen Going Green in Stride

by Rebecca Paul, 01/09/10

pendent

The New California Craftsmen have begun to make a name for themselves on the Los Angeles design scene, thinking up one-of-a-kind creations made from re-purposed scraps and found materials. Collaborators since first meeting in art school years ago, James Cerasani and Justin Murphy pride themselves on their uncanny ability to design just about anything from, well… anything! From bent wood pendent lights to sculptural steel plant walls, their portfolio is chalk full of inventive and inspiring pieces.


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Greenspotlight: Hanging Streetlight Planters Appear in the Netherlands

by Yuka Yoneda, 01/07/10

BYTR GREENSPOTLIGHT, BYTR GREENSPOTLIGHT, eindhoven, netherlands, greenlight, hanging light, lighting, city light, street lightPhoto Credit: Ernie Buts

Some of design’s most satisfying moments occur when two seemingly unrelated objects are married effectively into something that is much more than the sum of its parts. That’s exactly what happened on a small pedestrian street in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, which was dotted with numerous lampposts and small planters that were serving more as clutter than as functional objects. Addressing the issue elegantly, design firm BYTR suggested combining the problematic obstacles into unique, floating streetlights with lush, living lampshades. The design, simply called the GREENSPOTLIGHT, was an instant hit. Who wouldn’t prefer these leafy light fixtures hanging overhead to awkward posts and pots blocking your way on a narrow path?



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100% Recycled Cardboard Interior is Totally Tubular

100% Recycled Cardboard Interior is Totally Tubular

The British menswear label Smithfield recently teamed up with furniture designer Peter Masters to create an eclectic and 100% recycled interior for their new Manchester shop. The dynamic space uses mailing tubes and shipping boxes as elements of digital-age styling, recycling them into incredible wall coverings, light fixtures, hanging sculptures, and clothing displays.


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World’s Largest LED Project Completed in Abu Dhabi

World’s Largest LED Project Completed in Abu Dhabi

If you think your neighbor’s holiday lighting spectacle is an exercise in excess, wait till you see the world’s largest LED project, recently completed in Abu Dhabi. Created by Asymptote Architecture with lighting design by Arup, The Yas Hotel is a wrapped with a sparkling shell composed of more than 5,300 diamond-shaped panels bristling with over 5,000 LED fixtures. The curvilinear field of lights is capable of running color-changing light sequences and can even display low-res three-dimensional videos.


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LED Sparks Create Energy Efficient Light Sculptures

LED Sparks Create Energy Efficient Light Sculptures

What if you could design your own lighting fixture in the time that it takes to unscrew a light bulb? That’s the premise behind Daniel Becker’s Spark system, a series of energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be linked together to form beautiful light sculptures.


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Living Light Sculpture Maps Seoul’s Air Quality

Living Light Sculpture Maps Seoul’s Air Quality

Seoul, South Korea is filled with blinding light-up displays and headache-inducing neon screens. But residents of the city who want to see these displays put to good use need only take a trip to the World Cup Stadium’s Peace Park, which is where this beautiful Living Light sculpture blooms. The permanent outdoor pavilion and glass canopy projects up-to-the minnute information about local air quality, and locals can send it a text message to receive a report from anywhere.


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Hangeliers: Clothes Hanger Chandeliers by Organelle Design

Hangeliers: Clothes Hanger Chandeliers by Organelle Design

Clothes hangers are clogging our landfills at a rate of nearly 8 billion per year. We’ve recently brought you designers who have been developing brilliant ways to tackle the problem through eco-friendly materials and innovative new designs. Now industrial designers Alex Witko and Courtney Hunt at Organelle Design have hit upon another great idea — Hangeliers, wonderful chandeliers made from off-the-shelf plastic and wood hangers.


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Rocking Chair Uses Motion to Power Attached OLED Lamp

Rocking Chair Uses Motion to Power Attached OLED Lamp

The serene back-and-forth movement of a rocking chair is nothing if not relaxing. It can also be useful and productive, according to Rochus Jacob. The designer’s Murakami Chair, a winner in designboom’s Green Life competition, uses the kinetic energy produced by rocking to power an attached OLED lamp.


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Panasonic’s New LED Bulbs Shine for 19 Years

Panasonic’s New LED Bulbs Shine for 19 Years

Despite lasting longer and being more efficient than both incandescent and CFL bulbs, LEDs haven’t caught on because of their sky-high prices. But now Panasonic wants to bring LEDs to the mainstream — at least in Japan — with a 60-watt household bulb that the company claims can last up to 19 years, or 40 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

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LED Clip Light Transforms any Object Into a Lamp

LED Clip Light Transforms any Object Into a Lamp

Wow those around you by transforming any old household object into a lamp with this “LED Pin” by Korean designer Sungho Lee. To create this subtle, yet awe-inspiring illuminating accent Lee stylized and whitewashed the form of a traditional clothespin. The refreshing take on a familiar design successfully turns the object’s dollar-store stigma into a museum store find, but it’s the techy twist that makes it even more notable.


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Rewritable Chalkboard Lamps by John Beck

Rewritable Chalkboard Lamps by John Beck

Today is the first day back to school for kids all over the country, and now you can get in the back-to-school mood with a rewritable ‘chalkboard’ lamp. With John Beck’s ingenious lighting solution, all you have to do to get some “mood lighting” is to scribble whatever you feel like on these fun lighting fixtures. Made of 95% recycled steel, they’re …

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IS IT GREEN?: The Compact Fluorescent Light

IS IT GREEN?: The Compact Fluorescent Light

Shortly after Al Gore debuted An Inconvenient Truth the general public started giving a damn about climate change — at least superficially. And in a massive wave of effort to show off our new enviro-consciousness, every apartment, townhouse and megamansion from Norway to New Zealand swapped their incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps. Watt for watt, there’s no question whether or not CFLs save energy as compared to their predecessors. But with the concerns of toxic mercury and the recent developments in LED technology, CFLs may not be the smartest choice for long-term sustainability. Read on for our in-depth report!


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OLED Breakthrough Yields 75% More Efficient Lights

OLED Breakthrough Yields 75% More Efficient Lights

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently announced a breakthrough in OLED technology that shatters all prior efficiency standards, reducing the ultra-thin lights’ energy consumption by 75%! That’s no small number – the development stands to raise the bar for energy efficient lighting by leaps and bounds. Literally (and figuratively) a cool technology, we are already enamored by the skinny profile of organic light emitting diodes, and we can’t wait to see their further integration into our everyday appliances.


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Remote-Controlled LED Light Bulbs Offer 7 Shades of White

Remote-Controlled LED Light Bulbs Offer 7 Shades of White

Energy-efficient LED light bulbs may be more expensive than CFL’s, but Sharp’s new DL-L60AV LED could be worth the high cost. The tricked-out bulb comes with a remote control that features a dimming function as well as the ability to select seven different shades of white… so your guests can never complain that they don’t like the ambiance.


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Transformable LED Trask Lights from MIO

Transformable LED Trask Lights from MIO

Philadelphia-based design team MIO has upped the ante for end-user creativity yet again with the introduction of their first LED light fixture. Called Trask because it can switch from being “track” or “task” lighting, the function of this ingenious flatpack lighting system is completely up to you! The modular units can form everything from desk lamps to linkable suspension lights, giving this eco-centric product the option to snake its way across your entire room.


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Sweater ‘Sleeve’ Lamp by Sara Ebert

Sweater ‘Sleeve’ Lamp by Sara Ebert

Would you believe that this eye-catching lamp was made for under one dollar? ‘Sleeve’ by Sara Ebert is a lampshade made from a Salvation Army sweater and a discarded apple juice bottle. Showcased as part of Pratt’s ‘Design for a Dollar’ exhibit at ICFF 2009, ‘Sleeve’ was crafted with an eye toward minimizing energy, labor, materials, and transportation costs and waste. It’s beautiful, smart, and straightforward–exactly the way good design should be.

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Pratt Students Design For One Dollar

Pratt Students Design For One Dollar

Far and away our favorite exhibit at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair was Design For A Dollar. With one dollar to work with, students from the Pratt Institute of Design in NYC were challenged to design something worthwhile. Through the design process not only did the students from the Department of Industrial Design learn the meaning of a dollar, but many incorporated cast-off items upcycled into new and intriguing designs. 80 undergraduate and graduate students entered the contest and 15 of the best designs were chosen to exhibit at ICFF this year. Here we highlight our favorites for their eco-friendly design, creative reuse and their affordability.



DRIP PLATE by Catherine Merrick
The Drip Plate by Catherine Merrick is an ingenious reuse of an antique ceramic plate. Originally featuring a winter scene in blue, Merrick renewed the thrift store find by dripping wax onto the plate and then sandblasting the rest away to create a new design. The diner will ponder while cleaning his plate, what the design used to be. The cost depends on the price of the plate and patience of the shopper.

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Stunning Stamen Chandeliers Made From Toothpicks

Stunning Stamen Chandeliers Made From Toothpicks

Designed by Daisuke Hiraiwa, these elegant echidna-esque Stamen chandeliers elevate an everyday material into brilliant expressions of found design. Each one is created by gluing hundreds of toothpicks together to form a flexible disc that gives their bristling points a fluid form. The pointillist pendant lamps recently debuted at ICFF 2009, where they wowed onlookers with their complex folding curves and innovative use of materials.

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LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!

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