The Navy 111 Chair - from recycled bottles

What does Coca-Cola, Interior Design and the Environment have in common?

After four years of research, design and materials testing, Coca Cola and Emeco have given birth to the fabulous Navy 111 Chair.  What great news for us interior decorator loving folks?  It is a remake of the ultra modern and classic Navy Chair made in 1944 only this time, it has been designed to use materials that have already been though at least one round of use - plastic Coke bottles.  The Navy 111 Chair is expected to keep 3 million PET bottles out of the landfills each year.  What is PET you say?  It is the common way of saying thermoplastic polymer resin (and the polymer family) which is mostly used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers and some engineering resins that are combined with glass fiber. Much better to put those PET bottles into something that is usable - rather than the landfills, which are growing taller each hour of the day.  Not only is the chair made of re-used plastic materials, but it's super durable and functions outdoors as well. Beat that, Pepsi.  

Check out the chair for yourself - sold a Design Within Reach  http://www.dwr.com/home.do
Or, if you'd like - go to the DSW home page and read all about the Navy 111 Chair promotion.

Stamped & Stained Concrete

Concrete has an impressive record for strength, durability, and cost effectiveness in a variety of applications including floors, walkways, patios and driveways. Concrete floors are found in many residential settings, from high-rise condominiums to basements. Interior concrete is most commonly covered with carpet, hardwood sleepers, tile or other flooring materials.

A popular alternative to covering concrete is to make the surface more decorative and functional. Concrete can be treated with stains or pigments to create a rich variety of hues and textures, or it can be stamped with patterns to mimic natural surfaces from flag stone to pavers and brick. The result is an astonishing floor finish with the durability, economy, and practicality of concrete.

Decorative finishes can be applied to existing or new slabs. Finishes can last the lifetime of the concrete and are durable, sanitary, and easy to maintain. A wide range of patterns are possible. The treatment may be as simple as coloring walkways to match architectural features or to better blend with the landscape. If the look of natural materials is preferred, a slab might be stamped to create the appearance of slate or granite, complete with subtle color shifts, surface texture, and real grout placed in the formed joints between the pavers. A stained and scored surface can replicate terra cotta tile, or present a colorful palette of intersecting shapes.

Concrete Surfacing & Pigments

An increasingly popular application for concrete surfacing and pigments involves interior concrete countertops and decorative amenities. To create the beautiful colors, a pigment is applied at the time the concrete is placed. A rich and pure pigment may also be added in the concrete batch from the start. Integral pigments are widely used for concrete countertops, caps and other applications where other forms of coloring techniques would be less successful. Pricing is usually per pound of material and varies for each color. A special design mix such as White Portland cement may be necessary to achieve certain colors and can have a significant impact on the pricing of the overall project, so colors must be chosen judiciously.