Planet Luxe was proud to be a sponsor of the inaugural Your Future Home Green Interior Awards, held over the past few months.

We are thrilled to announce the winner of the Planet Luxe prize pack is Hare and Klein, who took out the Green Home Category, and were the runners up for the overall competition.

You can see more of their amazing entry on judge Jen Bishop’s website, Interiors Addict and view the winners of other categories too.

Thanks to Your Future Home for inviting Planet Luxe to be a part of such a wonderful new award!

Image of Green Home category winner Hare & Klein thanks to Interiors Addict.

In the interior design space, there are many awards to be won but the latest accolade on offer doesn’t just reward good design, it also rewards projects with a green theme.

The Your Future Home Green Interior Awards have been developed to put the spotlight on those consultants, designers and stylists who have taken the time to give their projects added kudos by being sustainable.

‘The ability to educate and create change in the way people look at interiors is a great responsibility and also an honour’ says Daphna Tal, a Sustainable Interior Design Consultant from Australian Living, the sustainable building agency behind this initiative.

‘There are many design awards out there but this one is different because it is 100% dedicated to green and sustainable outcomes and uses predominantly social media as its marketing outlet and voting platform.’

The awards have three judges – Daphna, together with Jen Bishop from Interiors Addict and Emine Mehmet, a sustainability thought leader, who will choose the top entries which will then be promoted via social media for the public to vote on.

Winners of the inaugural awards will receive a number of prizes from the sponsors, including Planet Luxe.

Enter the awards here

Joost's vertical garden as included in The Design Files Open House last year is a perfect example of how to include a sustainable, living wall into your home or office without any major structural requirements. LOVE IT!

Not buying bottled water.

I drink a lot of water and when I'm in the office it's easy to refill my reusable bottle. But when I'm out and about I do buy bottled water if I have forgotten my own water bottle. So - from now on I am going to always take my own water bottle. I have a couple of Sigg bottles - a 1.5 litre one for the office - and a smaller one that fits in the cup holder in my car. There are quite a few reusable bottle brands including these available from Alpine Life (also a Planet Luxe stockist).

Bottled water is a real luxury - and when we have such great tap water I know I should be drinking that instead. I mean the facts regarding the resources that go into the production of bottled water are pretty confronting. The following video covers it all! The Story of Bottled Water

LISTENING TO: Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen

READING: Beauty and the Beast by Ed McBain

For me greener living is a relative and evolving state. For several years I have been acting on some changes to enrich my life and make a difference to our world. The Planet Luxe products have been part of this action. I am now setting myself the challenge of adopting better habits in more of my daily choices regarding the way I live. I believe that reasonable comforts and conveniences need not be sacrificed when committing to greener living. I am starting with small and simple improvments.

BETTER HABIT #1: Refusing bags at the checkout - always not sometimes!

In 2009 I travelled to the African country of Rwanda and was amazed to learn that plastic bags have been banned there since September 2008. Rwanda takes its ban very seriously. We were warned that we could be fined for using the bags within the country and that our luggage could be searched at the border and even at police checkpoints throughout the country to make sure we were not carrying plastic bags. Prior to the ban, one-time use plastic bags plagued city streets and threatened the delicate environment. Today, Rwandan cities are almost litter-free and some of the cleanest in Africa.

The end is also coming for the plastic bag in Los Angeles USA where councillors have voted 13-1 to ban single use bags in the city.

LISTENING TO: Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine

READING: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom