Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We will be back in a few days! Until then, enjoy browsing our archives for modern eco inspiration!

Last Minute Eco Ornaments

Time to put the final trimming on your tree before your holiday guests arrive? Use resources that you likely have around your home, such as loose buttons, to create quick last minute touches for your festive soiree.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Edible Cones

When in search of storage for small favors, rather than purchase paper cones, which will more than likely end up in the trash, organize your treats in edible waffle cones. Fill each waffle cone with small tasty favors, such as roasted nuts. Rest one cone at each place setting for an inexpensive and relatively waste-free favor option that is just as simple as it is sweet.

Photo: Food Network

Cranberry Ice Cubes

Add some festive color to your holiday bar display without the need to add extra waste. Sprinkle loose (compost-friendly) cranberries in your ice cube trays prior to freezing. Once frozen, fill all your ice buckets with these very merry ice cubes for an extra pop of holiday cheer.

Photo: Country Living

Cranberry Place Cards

There is no need to waste tons of money (and resources) in order to add a splash of festive color to your holiday table setting. Handfuls of cranberries (which can be cooked or composted after serving a decorative use) offer beautiful bursts of red to any tabletop. Fill small glasses and votive holders with cranberries as well as simple handwritten notes for instant holiday place cards. For an added pop of color sprinkle loose cranberries down the center of your table or around your holiday centerpiece.

Photo: Country Living

Elegant Recycled Holiday Décor

While cleaning up before your holiday guests arrive, be sure to think twice before tossing old magazines. With just a few easy steps you can transform these glossy pages into glittery decorative tabletop trees.

Photo: Martha Stewart

DIY Eco Ornaments

Create a unique holiday tree with these quick (and compostable) DIY ornaments. First, preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gather a variety of citrus fruits – including oranges, lemons, tangerines, blood oranges, grapefruits and the like – and cut into thin slices (be sure to discard any seeds). Spread the slices across the baking sheet and bake until they are dried out (about two to three hours), being sure to flip the fruit every half hour. Once the ornaments are completely dry and cool, pierce them with paper clips or ornament hooks.

Photos: Whole Foods & Whole Living 

Recycled Greeting Card Gift Tags

Too many holiday greeting cards left over from last year? Before you toss them into the trash consider reusing them to create charming DIY gift tags. The festive artwork will add an extra dose of holiday cheer to all of your presents this season.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Nostalgic Ornaments

Put old seed packets to good use this holiday by transforming them into colorful eco-friendly ornaments. Don’t have any lying around? Look to online retailers and local botanical gardens for vintage seed packets that contain unique heirloom seeds (as well as beautifully nostalgic artwork). Come January consider putting the packets aside until the warm weather months when the seeds can be added to your garden.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Silver and Gold

Beat the winter blues this year with an eco-chic bouquet made from silver, gold and ivory-hued vintage brooches. After your ceremony set the bouquet in a festive vase to display with your holiday décor.

Photo: Emmaline Bride

Post-Holiday Clean Up

Now that the autumn holidays are over take some time to reorganize your cleaning supplies in preparation for the winter entertaining season. Tidy up closets and cabinet shelves with a collection of convenient see-through storage canisters. Reused and recycled glass jars, such as Mason jars, jelly jars and spaghetti-sauce jars, serve as easy and inexpensive green storage receptacles for sponges, cloths and other basic cleaning supplies.

Photo: Whole Living 

Natural Harvest-Inspired Accents

No need to toss too-long tablecloths when prepping your Thanksgiving table setting. With a bit of twine and some natural harvest-inspired accents, such as dried slices of citrus fruits, pesky linens can easily be draped to fit any sized table.

Photo: Martha Stewart 

Heart-Healthy Favors

Treat your Thanksgiving guests to some heart-healthy favors this year by creating cones made from reclaimed fabric remnants, which can then be filled with nuts or other small snacks.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Archive Love: Ferns: Crisp Tabletop Decor

When dreaming up their tabletop aesthetic, many hostesses immediately imagine brightly colored blooming flowers as part of the repertoire. However, fresh green ferns lend a light, crisp tropical feel to any table. When using ferns aim to keep things simple. Just a few sprigs of fern look modern when paired with glass containers, clean white linens and just a few earth-colored accents, such as a burlap runner.

Photos: 100 Layer Cake

Archive Love: Rustic Mint Chandelier

Just because the long days of summer are slowly winding down doesn’t mean it is time to abandon the many natural décor “supplies” still available in your own backyard.  Create a rustic atmosphere by crafting a hanging chandelier made from small pots of mint or other fragrant herbs. Use clippings of the herbs as fresh garnishes for cocktails and entrées throughout the party.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Archive Love: Burlap Runners

In recent years burlap (a sustainable textile) has made a new name for itself in the world of décor and party design. Neutral burlap table runners lend to an elegant aesthetic when paired with vintage-inspired place settings and delicate votives.

Photos: The Wedding Chicks

Archive Love: Make a Wish

No need to blow out a candle to make a wish thanks to these wishbone napkin rings. To get the look simply wash and dry natural wishbones and coat each in a layer of metallic paint. This is an easy eco way to create a modern autumnal place setting.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Archive Love: Recycled Paper

When incorporating recycled paper into your party décor think of unique options that surpass bags of confetti. This lovely table setting features rippled placemats, napkin covers, chair accents and other small table accessories all crafted from reclaimed book pages.

Photos: Green Wedding Shoes

Archive Love: Sophisticated Earthy Decor

By selecting just a few well-edited accents, any hostess can create a party that is equally earthy and sophisticated. Natural wood accents, such as those pictured below, serve as unexpected, textural trivets while large potted herbs steal the spotlight as naturally stylish centerpieces. Trying to conserve paper? Consider neatly writing guests’ names on natural flat surfaces, such as smooth river rocks.

Photos: 100 Layer Cake

Archive Love: Autumn Eco Decor Inspiration

Although summer will long be our favorite season, growing up in the Northeast encourages a certain love of the changing seasons. In addition to cozy new scarves and crisp autumn air, September means fall-inspired party décor. Whether it is a laid-back potluck, a harvest celebration or a formal dinner party, take a cue from the natural world when creating your fall party aesthetic. Fresh mosses make for elegant table runners and woodland-inspired centerpieces that are simultaneously earthy and modern. However, a woodland theme can be incorporated into more than just a single centerpiece. Consider using natural elements such as bark and birch to create one-of-a-kind coasters, trivets and a multitude of other eco-chic accents.

Photos: Project Wedding & Martha Stewart & Once Wed

Archive Love: Custom Tea

Offer your guests a stylish (and eco) choice post-dinner by arranging reclaimed mason jars filled with varieties of organic teas around each table. To keep things custom, create colorful, one-of-a-kind tags for each bag.

Photo: Once Wed

Archive Love: A Glass Rainbow

We love the simplistic beauty found in a collection of assorted glass canisters. Whether you choose to display bottles in the same color family or to collect a mixture of jewel-toned pieces, the final look is certain to be one of modern sophistication. Before tossing used bottles or jars give them a second life. Does their color or shape make them worthy of a centerpiece display? If a search through your home doesn’t leave you with enough pieces to make a complete collection, browse for secondhand finds at local yard sales, flea markets and thrift shops, which are certain to carry unique glass pieces at budget-friendly prices.

Photos: Oh Joy

Archive Love: Recycled Cityscape

Hosting an affair in your favorite big city? Create your own modern eco cityscape on every table. Reused aluminum cans are the perfect vessels for the project. Begin by washing cans with warm, soapy water and allow them to fully air dry. For a skyscraper-feel, create a pattern of organized holes on all sides of each can. A non-petroleum-based votive will complete your urban-eco theme.

Photo: The Knot

Archive Love: Farm-Inspired Favors

Look to your local farmers’ market for favor inspiration. Although the many fruits, vegetables and other artisanal food products will add a burst of color to any centerpiece, consider the packaging as well. Small pint boxes, commonly used to store berries and tomatoes, are the perfect size to carry a miniature collection of favors for your guests. The bright colors of the reused boxes, as well as their instant association with the warm weather seasons, will give any table a fresh, summer look.

Photos: Elizabeth Anne Design

With autumn approaching, party décor will soon be making the shift from bright, seaside-inspired palettes to more earthy tones. As you begin to think about creative decorative touches for your fall affairs consider this idea, which transforms found natural elements into table-ready accents. Give thick pieces of fallen branches a second life as rustic place card holders and vases. When the party is done, compost the branches to help support your zero-waste party-planning efforts.

Photos: Once Wed

Archive Love: Farm Fresh Favors

Help support local agriculture by offering your guests seasonal produce, such as beautifully colored heirloom tomatoes, as favors. For a farm stand feel, arrange the produce in large baskets so that guests can take their time sorting through them. You can also supply guests with eco-friendly burlap bags, which they can use to carry home their produce, and then use again after your party.

Photos: Brides