Nest is said to be as the world’s first learning thermostat, equipped with “smart” features and an attractive design. Here’s why Nest has piqued our interest.

Usability and Design Nest does not require users to mess with a bunch of different settings and punching multiple buttons. You can set the temperature by turning the outer ring. After you have the right temperature, push the ring, it clicks and you’re done.

There’s very little programming when it comes to Nest because of its learning features. You only have to set up the thermostat during your first couple times of use, after that it will learn your daily settings and automatically adhere to them.

Nest also has motion-tracking sensors that detect if people are in a room. If you’re always out on a Friday night, Nest will learn that and automatically switch to an “auto away” setting every Friday.

Energy Conservation According to the New York Times, about half of residential energy consumed is for heating and cooling.

“Each degree cooler a house is kept in a heating season (winter), or warmer in a cooling season (summer), translates to a 5 percent energy saving. So shifting consumption patterns, say, four degrees on average can mean energy savings of 20 percent, experts say. Since the average home spends $1,000 to $1,500 a year on heating and cooling, that would translate to $200 to $300 in lower energy bills. It would also mean fewer power plants built and lower carbon emissions.” – New York Times

Most people get up and adjust the thermostat multiple times a day. Nest solves that problem by adjusting and learning our habits so we don’t forget and leave the thermostat running for hours on end anymore. Nest costs double the price of most thermostats, $249, but according to Tony Fadell, Nest will pay for itself in a year in energy-savings.

By Julienne Lin.

“OK here it is, I cleaned it up and cannot believe I left a beer bottle on the counter…Oh well, it is craft beer. I have a Herman Miller Executive Series desk that I use as a side table, because I really work at my old drafting table, set level as a standing desk. At 42″ it is just a bit narrow for my Macbook and 24 inch monitor, along with Joey Roth’s ceramic speakers (below left). On the side is my beloved 1968 Contempra phone in bright orange, designed by John Tyson and a Canadian classic (below right). On the shelf to the side is part of my camera collection; I tried to sell my six polaroids on eBay and couldn’t get fifty bucks. The Nelson perch chair in front is really for show; when I have to sit I use the hard metal drafting chair to the right, it is more comfortable.

Next time: no beer, and some wire management work.”

Credit: Portrait of Lloyd Alter Chris Young for The New York Times

What do you listen to while you work? It depends. If I’m working away on something that’s totally work-related (we’re talking lengthy emails, reviewing contracts, doing selects from photo shoots) it needs to be dead quiet. But if I’m writing my syndicated column Do Just One Thing or the manuscript for a new book, I have to have music on. It drains out any distractions and lets me focus on the creative writing at hand.

My iTunes account tells me what I’ve been listening to a lot lately: tons of classical music (but traditional and more modern compositions from Philip Glass) and the whole album “Ivory Tower” from Gonzales is fantastic, too. I also found a lot of songs from the “September Issue” documentary to be fun to listen to. But I also have my fun music: I’m a closet Westlife fan, so I think I have all of their albums. And who does not love a little Madonna in their life, right?

How do you listen? I’m boring. I have a run-of-the-mill iPod with some noise cancellation headphones. I have a iPod docking station that can be a stereo, but I never, ever use it. I prefer to drown out the sounds completely in my head.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I get a lot of my inspiration for work and to clear the mind from runway shows. I sit there and watch all of them online—Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani, Ralph, DKNY, etc. It’s fascinating to watch the shows and see how they pair up music to the feel and look of their latest collections. There are never runway music notes for the shows, but thank God for active YouTube comments who figure out what it is and share the information. Usually, one or two good leads on iTunes will lead to more recommendations and finds.

Does music influence your work? Our new Danny Seo Kids line is a good example. I remember hearing the song “Over the Rainbow” when Etoys.com existed.  It was such a heartfelt commercial with beautiful black/white imagery.   The Hawaiian artist Israel “IZ” Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole recorded it with a simple ukulele. The innocence of the song—a children’s song—was inspiration to create beautiful kids towels that were fun and spirited and that celebrated the youthful innocence of kids today.

We often want to design kids products to look like smaller version of grown-up things, but this reminds me kids don’t want to be dressed like adults, so we kept it young and totally different from our regular home products.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? The right response is probably some indie band or critically loved darling nobody has heard of, right? But in reality, I think the right and true answer is NKOTBSB—yep, the marriage of New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys. The reason is simple: I started my work when I was a teenager in 1989 when NKOTB was popular….then my work grew into lifestyle and books when BSB gained popularity (and even Kevin Richardson of the BSB ended up being a client at one point). And now, I’m all grown up with a business where these “boys” are now men and have found a way to retain their popularity without trying to grasp onto their childhood. So, yeah: NKOTBSB.

DANNY’S PLAYLIST

Sad Song, Blake Lewis

Destroy Everything You Touch, Ladytron

Closer, Westlife

Loaded, Seal

Knight Moves, Gonzales

Time to Pretend, MGMT

Don’t Forget About Me (When I’m Gone), Glass Tiger

Symphony No. 3, II, Philip Glass

Blow, Ke$ha

Uprising, Muse
Images: Amy Feezor

1. Samsung Replenish: At the Sprint table several devices were displayed showing off the new Green ID pack including the new Samsung Replenish.
2. SodaStream: We enjoyed sipping some delicious pear soda from the new Fizz machine from SodaStream. How is SodaStream green? All SodaStream soda makers come with reusable bottles that last up to 3 years! Great for staying hydrated at your desk.
3. HP EliteBook Notebook Computers: These unibody aluminum laptops with built in energy monitoring software cut a sharp figure and reminded us of a more boxy MacBook Pro.
4. The 4th Bin: We’re not going to lie, it was the vintage mobile phone that brought us to The 4th Bin table to learn about their electronic recycling services they offer in NYC.
5. Philips LED Lighting: At Philips we checked out the Imageo CandleLights and the new color changing lights.
6. ThinkEco Modlet: The Modlet by ThinkEco helps you to be aware of your energy consumption by simply plugging your electronics into the Modlet device and using the PC software to track and monitor (Mac software is coming soon).
7. Camileo BW10: In addition to showing off their laptops and mobile monitor, Toshiba also had the new Camileo BW10 on display, a tiny waterproof HD camcorder that records in full 1080p.
8. Pixi Lighting: These LED lights offered quite a soft glow which reminded us of the warm glow of incandescent bulbs.

By Joelle Alcaidinho.

2. “Take a Dip,” $125.00 Each terrarium from Brooklyn-based Twig contains a spirited scene using miniature figurines—like this swimmer from the 1920s sporting a smart striped bathing suit.  Get it: Twig

3. Three Itty Bitty Terrariums, $16.20 Perk up any corner of your workspace with one of these easy-to-maintain picks, each of which includes a small succulent. Get it: Tortoise Loves Donkey

4. “Manatee” San Francisco’s Katie Goldman Macdonald created this glass vessel to mirror the soft curves of a sea cow. Get info: Botany Factory

5. Glass Greenhouses, $34.99 – $119.99 These simple house-shaped terrariums can double as protective cases for dried plants and other decorative objects. Get it: westelm.com

Want more product picks? Check out my various collections and random finds on Pinterest.

Images linked to their sources within the numbered text

A few years ago, looking for new markets for its sustainably harvested wood, the Swedish forestry company Södra developed Durapulp, a mix of wood pulp and polylactide, or PLA, the thermoplastic made from corn or sugarcane. They consulted with the architectural firm Claesson Koivisto Rune, who developed a prize-winning chair out of the stuff, and who then approached a sceptical Magnus Wästberg, who wondered about the virtues of mixing paper and electrical wiring. But with modern low-voltage LEDs, the old preconceptions no longer apply, and the result is the DuraPulp lamp,(formally the Claesson Koivisto Rune w101, nice that he names it after the designers!) which combines the strength of the material with a folded origami-like form that gives it rigidity.

Above: Magnus Wästberg holds the durapulp material that is pressed and cut into the lamps. There are 4 thin uninsulated copper wires laid in between the layers; a heavy power supply base makes it stable and supplies power to the LED lamps in the head. Rip those two things out and you can toss the thing on a compost heap.

There are so many things to love about this kind of thinking. LEDs reduce the voltage and amperage of the light to the point that the wires are barely there, and can be safely embedded in paper. A lumber company finds another use for the pulp that is often a byproduct of softwood lumber production. A designer figures out how to shape it for strength and form. The result is an attractive, effective and affordable product that at the end of its life is compostable. It’s the best example of sustainable design that I saw at this year’s ICFF.

Sweden is really far north, and the winters are long and dark. It’s not surprising that Swedes get philosophical about light; one sees it in their architecture, in the colours they use in interior design. In 2008 Wästberg even wrote a manifesto for his new company, titled Lamps for A Neanderthal Man, (pdf download here), in which he quotes the famous Swedish author and playwright August Strindberg: “The electric light will make people work themselves to death.”

He had a point; I wonder what he would have thought about computers. But now that we can work anywhere at any time, we need greener, healthier and more efficient tools that have a lower impact on our environment. The Durapulp lamp is a good example.

More at Wästberg

1. Turn off The Lights: When leaving the room, turn off the light. We know, simple right? It’s even better if you can keep the overhead off and use a small low light task lamp by your desk instead. It will ease eye strain without heating up your space which might require fans to help regulate temperature.

2. Power Down: My laptop goes to sleep when I tell it to turn off. It isn’t really off unless I get into the start menu and then an additional sub menu to tell it to power down completely. Yes, it will take a few seconds longer to start back up, but really, what in life is so pressing that 20 extra seconds is so important? It will also help you remember to install regular updates and let scans run upon closing or starting.

3. Unplug: Don’t need it? Then don’t plug it in! Sure there’s devices that kill all power to things, but really, why bother with a whole new device when you can just unplug the ones you have. Props to those who have their power bars near the top of the table to make this act easy!

4. Do Long Downloads, Updates, Backups & Housekeeping Overnight: Often when our computers are on for a long while (say a marathon of WoW) things can get a little toasty. Try doing most of your long maintenance work overnight when no one has to be in the room (which means no extra fans or AC). The lights can be off to keep things cool and the screen can even go to sleep, far more earth friendly than finding random chat partners while you do a little disc cleanup!

5. Multi-Task: Doing more in less time is the ultimate way to accomplish the most amount of work in the smallest time possible. Try working on your paper for school while you’re burning the latest season of True Blood to DVD. Synch your iPod for the latest update while checking your email… you get the idea. If we could, we’d multi-task our entire day into a few small minutes. Our new found free time would be spent in a hammock with a drink involving an umbrella!

Do yo have another simple way to save some energy and a little green in the process? Share your tips in the comments below!

Image: Flickr member Faster Panda Kill Kill licensed for use by Creative Commons

By Sarah Rae Trover

How do we do it?  Lots of ways. First, we are an EPA Green Power Partner which means we primarily utilize Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), followed by Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), to achieve the 100 percent green energy goal. Simply put, we now use energy harnessed from sunlight, wind or water. We also generate power from our own waste-burning Energy Center near the Herman Miller headquarters in Zeeland, Michigan.

But it’s not just using green energy. We are also trying to use less energy.  We’ve got a great team of employees who are brimming with ideas on how to conserve. John Kim blogged about some of their smart plans and how Herman Miller is making them a reality on Discover.

We’d love to hear from you about how you conserve energy at home. Any tips for the home office?

(And if you want to read more about Herman Miller going green check out the press release here.)

While we’re sure there are tons of ways you can optimize your home office to be environmentally friendly (share yours in the comments) here are a few tips.

1. Power down at the end of the day. Turning off a 75-watt desktop monitor can save up to 750 pounds of carbon emissions a year. We recommend plugging all your equipment into a single power strip and simply flipping the power switch on the strip when you’re done. A tip from the folks at Wired‘s How-To Wiki page, power down a printer before flipping the switch “as printers need to seal their cartridges before shutting off.”

2. Opt for eco-friendly electronics. The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool offers listings (similar to LEED for architecture) on the greenest computer equipment. There’s a EPEAT Quick Search Tool on their main page that lets you look at which products fit within what level of greeness — bronze, silver, or gold. You can then look at each product’s point spread from how they rated in the reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials to energy conservation to packaging. Lenovo’s ThinkVision L2251x computer monitor has the highest EPEAT rating, 21/25.

3. If you have to print, use recycled paper. Ideally, you should be doing all your work electronically, but for those times when you need to print something out use recycled paper, which saves thousands of trees a year. Wausau PaperExact Eco uses 100 percent post-consumer recycled content.

4. Buy used. Before you go buying new printers, keyboards, monitors, desks, chairs, and shelving for your home office, look through craigslist. You may find gently used items of what you were going to pay premium price for a fraction of the price. Plus, by buying something used you’ll be helping the environment by not having one more thing produced or put in the trash.

5. Install Deep Sleep This Mac OSX (does anyone know of a PC version?) widget puts your computer into hibernate mode, totally switching your system off, so that no power is being used. When you turn your computer back on, it won’t have to do a total restart, but rather it will be in the exact same state — same apps open, same tabs open in your browser window — as when it entered hibernation. You should eject all external devices before entering hibernation mode so they aren’t improperly ejected.

By Sonia Zjawinski”

Josh, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, says: “I saw your blog post about the use of color in offices and thought I would share mine! When my wife and I bought our house 2 years ago, this room used to have clouds painted on the a wall and the other walls were mint green. I needed an office (I do freelance video and design work) so I decided to go with a bit of a bold color. I already had a number of wood pieces and a white iMac so I decided to continue that color scheme with the addition of a moss green. The Eames circles on the wall added a bit of visual interest and the contrast between the white and green really makes it a fun room to work in. I updated the desk and storage units just two months ago when I got a new computer. I must be honest, when looking for desks I dreamed of having an Airia Desk or Enchord Desk (both fit the color scheme perfectly) but alas, my budget isn’t quite big enough for those purchases…yet.” You can see more images of the office in Josh’s flickr page.

What does his bulletin board look like? Clearly Danny has a lot on his plate and a single board couldn’t come close to containing all that he’s working on – so he installed three large burlap-covered boards in the corner of the room and created an inspiration wall. He used homasote, an environmentally-friendly material that is made from recyclable materials.