Even though Kermit said “It’s not easy being green,” being a shade, a tint, or a tone of green isn’t too hard. When my quilting studio at home was built, we couldn’t go all green, but taking a cue from the green effort at C&T, here’s what we did do:

We used cork tile for the floors. Cork comes from cork oak trees and the bark is harvested every 9–15 years, so the trees are not cut down. Cork flooring is made from the waste left over from the making of cork bottle stoppers, so it’s a very ecologically friendly material.

The lights in the studio are full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs. These lights duplicate sunlight so you’re able to see colors accurately. Because the bulbs are fluorescent they are very efficient and long lasting. I’ve had mine for over six years and haven’t had to replace them yet. The studio gets lots of natural light, so I only need to turn on the lights at night or when it’s overcast during the day.

I store my thread and small notions in a recycled card catalog. When libraries replaced their old card catalogs with computers, all the old wooden file drawers and cabinets were removed. Often made of oak, the cabinets and drawers are not only very handy, but remind me of happy hours spent in public libraries. My unit was cut in half so that it could also be a window seat—that is if it wasn’t always covered with stuff.

I store rulers, papers, drawings and other flat things in a recycled flat file. These drawers are often found in architect’s offices. Along with the card catalog, we found these drawers at an architectural salvage yard. My DH built the files into a worktable. The top of the unit is half light table and half cork-topped. The bottom has cubby holes for miscellaneous storage (they also double as a convenient kitty hiding place).

 

When it came time to find handles and knobs for some of the drawers and cabinet doors, I used old wooden spools. The spools still had some thread on them and I liked the color so I coated them with a water-based sealer to protect them.

How are you being green? Let us know.