The kitchen of the future was going to be so high-tech. Frigidaire’s Dream Kitchen of Tomorrow had it all; an IBM punch card recipe file, automatic dispensing and online TV ordering. And that’s not all – read on as we take a look at several extraordinary retro-futuristic kitchens to see how they’ve withstood the test of time.

Read the rest of The Kitchen of the Future Today

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Post tags: Green Building, green design, interior design, kitchen of the future, Products, sustainable design

You may remember that back in April we announced a design contest to do a virtual room makeover in Comcast Town. The prize was a collection of sweet new home entertainment electronics and a green room makeover by our editor-in-chief (and green designer extraordinaire) Jill Fehrenbacher.

Well, it is our sincerest pleasure to announce that the winner of the Comcast Town Interior Design Contest is… none other than Howard J Dudy! Howard delivered a stunning performance with the design of his own tropical paradise, complete with aquarium, beautiful hardwood floors, and a lovely palm tree. As winner of the Comcast Town Contest, Howard will receive a 40-inch Sony BRAVIA® HDTV, a Sony VAIO® AW laptop, and a Philips digital phone as well as a green room makeover worth up to $30,000, designed by our very own LEED-AP Jill Fehrenbacher! Stay tuned to see the process and result later this summer right here on Inhabitat.

Congratulations, Howard!

+ Comcast Town

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Post tags: comcast town, Competition, green design, interior design, sustainable design, winner

Thousands of you tested out your virtual home renovation skills in our Comcast Town Contest but only 4 talented apartment designs made the final cut. Now it’s time for your vote to decide the winner of a ginormous jackpot, including a 40-inch Sony BRAVIA® HDTV, a Sony VAIO® AW laptop and a Philips digital phone as well as a REAL room remodel worth up to $30,000 and done by our very own Jill Fehrenbacher! Will the winner be Bobventuri’s window-full minimalist room, Greenminute’s outdoor/indoor space, Howard J Dudy’s beachy lair or Adagio’s city loft apartment? Your vote decides!

Hurry! Voting ends on June 15th, 2009 so VOTE HERE NOW >

+ Comcast Town

+ Inhabitat’s Apartment in Comcast Town

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Post tags: comcast town contest, Green renovation, industrial design, interior design, room remodel, sustainable design

Have a vision for your dream apartment? Great – Comcast recently rolled Comcast Town, a blue-sky space to live out your wildest interior design dreams! It’s a bit like Google Sketchup, except that you can customize your virtual apartment with everything from Eames-like desk units and Aarnio-esque ball chairs to growing grass carpets, alien rugs… and… squirrel phones. Best of all, Comcast is hosting an online design competition for the best room, and the winner will receive a REAL room remodel to their actual house worth up to $30,000 and done by our very own Jill Fehrenbacher! Getting started is a snap – just check out the video above and head over to Comcast Town to create your dream apartment!

The contest deadline is Thursday May 14th at 11:59 PST, so submit your design today!

Comcast Town >

Read the rest of Create a Virtual Room in Comcast Town and Win a Real Remodel!

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Post tags: comcast town contest, Green renovation, industrial design, interior design, room remodel, sustainable design

For those who would love to grow more plants indoors, this new Lightpot by Studio Shulab may be just the thing you need. Half table lamp and half modern plant pot, the Lightpot features a telescoping LED light and shade, which raises up as the plant gets bigger. More fashionable than the Aerogarden, we could actually be proud to display this functional pot in our home. The Lightpot just debuted at IMM Cologne 2009 and we can’t wait to see it in stores.

+ Studio Shulab

Via Re-Nest and Designboom

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Post tags: energy efficient light, green design, indoor planters, interior design, led table lamp, lightpot, potted led lamp, sustainable design

A new West Elm store opened up in Manhattan last week, and the opening gala featured an incredible collection of one-of-a-kind cardboard furnishings crafted by acclaimed designer and event producer David Stark. Constructed from recycled West Elm packaging materials and catalogs, the objects were auctioned off in a silent auction with all the proceeds going to the Cooper Hewitt Museum, a museum devoted to historic and contemporary design.

Read the rest of David Stark’s Incredible Recycled Cardboard Creations

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Post tags: Art, cardboard furniture, green design, green furnishings, interior design, packaging reuse, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, west elm

One of fifty top entries in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Vincent Gerkens’ Blight offers a brilliant twist on staid venetian blinds. Rather than serving simply to block the sun’s rays, the design re-envisions blinds as sun-soaking solar panels that store energy during the day and illuminate your interiors at night.

Read the rest of Blight: Illuminating Solar Blinds Turn Night to Day

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Post tags: blight solar blinds, green design, greener gadgets design competition, illuminating blinds, interior design, photovoltaic blinds, renewable energy, sustainable design