It especially felt great to receive this award because I really admire Lisa’s blog. She has a great eye for style and she writes in a thoughtful way that makes her blog interesting.

When receiving this award the rules are to:

1. Thank and link back to the person giving you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Pay the award forward to 10 great bloggers
4. Contact those 10 bloggers & let them know they won the award

Okay, now for the seven things about me. Yikes! This is personal… but still fun.

1) I love animals! Obviously because at one time we had four pets: Lacey (14 year old cat), Jackson (13 year old dog), Pika (5 year old dog), and Leroy (4 year old cat). Unfortunately in 2010 we lost Lacey and Jackson to cancer. We still have a lot of fun with Pika and Leroy though. Check out this video of them that I shot with my iPhone the other night. It’s posted on YouTube at: Pika vs. Leroy

2) My heart and soul can be found wandering around the mountains… this is where I feel at home. My honey and I spend a lot of time camping, hiking, biking, and skiing in the great Rockies that are outside our back door in sunny Colorado. This is me and Jackson taking in the scenery in southern Colorado…

Now that winter is here I love skiing too. Here I am on a back country hut trip near Vail pass. It was oh so peaceful that day…

3) I’m a wanna-be DIYer. Some of my projects work swimmingly and others… not so much. One of the projects I’m most proud of was a kitchen make-over I did (with the help of my Dad) in my old place in Denver.

 4) I’m an avid cyclist. I learned to ride a bike at a very young age (once again with the help of my Dad) and it is still my first passion when it comes to outdoor activities. My first choice is to jump on the road bike but I also really enjoy mountain biking (as long as the trail isn’t uber-technical and difficult).

5) My favorite Christmas gift this year was the Kindle. My honey gave it to me and I love it! Just finished “Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” and it was an amazing book.

6) My brain never seems to stop and some of the random thoughts that can be heard going through my head include, “Why oh why do people serve their dinner party guests out of Tupperware?”… “What is it about being post 35 that makes that soft layer so hard to lose?”… “I want to be outside instead of sitting at my desk.”… “Why would the builder put that there? (i.e. light switches in the middle of the wall, dining room light fixtures that are off center, etc.) … “I really really don’t like mini blinds” … “If I won the lottery I would….” well you know how the story goes.

7) I enjoy starting the day very early in the morning and watching the sun hit the face of the foothills outside the front of our house. They turn the most wonderful shade of pink at just the right time of day. All is quiet and my coffee tastes divine. This is when I have my greatest inspirations.

Now I am fortunate to pass this award along to ten other very stylish bloggers. Be sure to pay them a visit too!

1. Colour Me Happy
2. AtticMag
3. Veranda Interiors
4. The Lettered Cottage
5. Pure Style Home
6. Bryn Alexandra
7. Centsational Girl
8. Little Green Notebook
9. Good Life of Design
10. Razmataz

I’m a huge fan of all of Sarah Richardson’s projects but one in particular resonates with me because it has such easy comfortable style. Her farmhouse and country retreat outside of Toronto is my dream home. Lots of space, rustic yet elegant style with the perfect amount of warm colors throughout. I could move right in! Do you think she would mind me, my honey and his bikes, and the gaggle of animals that follow behind?

Sarah Richardson’s farmhouse all decked out for the holidays is featured in this month’s Canadian House & Home, check it out:

If I was her friend… I’d hang out in this living room and drink a glass of wine next to the fire and talk about design.

Leroy, Jackson, and Pika would have a ball playing in the snow in the orchard. I hope she doesn’t mind a little bit of yellow snow… oh but that would ruin the ambiance so I guess they would have to stay at home. I wouldn’t mind leaving them behind, I would be at Sarah Richardson’s house!

I think I’ll see if I can find a copy of this magazine. It’s times like these that I wish I lived in Canada!

The Ekokook is a sustainable kitchen, and by sustainable it is more than just energy efficient and made of recycled products, that truly defines reuse and respect of our environment. The Ekokook kitchen from Faltazi uses three built-in microplants to recycle water and break down waste.  Based on its various compartments there is a zone for washing, food storage (both dry and cold), prep tables appear from what seems to be with George Jetson ease, a steam oven (yes you can cook with steam and I’m not talking the steamers of vegetables we currently nuke in the microwave), a gas burner, and there is a hood used for extraction. This kitchen by design is efficient, compact, and supports the concept of  cradle-to-cradle by reusing every resource.

Will the kitchen of the future look like this? Probably not. Will the kitchen of the future incorporate the concept and function of the Ekokook? I hope so and would like to say most definitely. While I’m not sure how quickly it will hit the mainstream you can bet on finding elements of this design in cutting edge European homes first and it will eventually find its way to the United States in homes that are “off-the-grid”. In time some of these elements, I hope, will find their way into everyday appliances, fixtures, and features of the modern day kitchen (of the future). Do I want my own kitchen to look like this? Absolutely not, though I would be more than open and willing to incorporate some of the same functionality.

I like the words that Faltazi uses to describe this kitchen as stated in the July/August/10  issue of icon (an ASID magazine and newsletter for those of you that are not familiar), “All the air, water, wind and sun that reach a habitat must be seen as scarce resources to be captured and used.” This is so true despite the fact that some live in areas that they may not feel the affects of our dwindling natural resources the fact is…they are dwindling, and quickly dwindling. Faltazi goes on to say, “Each drop of water must be collected and used to the utmost before being evacuated to external networks.” Quite insightful and highly interesting. If you are a bit of a gadget geek like me and you often find yourself with your eyes wide and mouth open in amazement at what technology can do today you really should check out more information on the Ekokook at www.ekokook.com (tip, select EN for English on the left toolbar of the website).

At the end of the day Faltazi has incorporated some of the elements we have available to us today, such as recycling and composting, and taken it a few steps further by making all components convenient, compact, and at hand. With the Ekokook concept and design no longer can a person say that recycling, reusing, and being environmentally responsible isn’t convenient.

I get this aesthetically but as a person that has spent many hours in corporate meetings… not ideal for comfort. But maybe that is the point and it will make a person pay attention during the meetings. Pretty but not practical…even for the impromptu meeting.

The following table is my favorite of the lot but still beyond my flavor of design. For some reason this doesn’t feel new and it seems we have seen this before.

I appreciate the following for their pure design and construction but once again cannot envision sitting in either for more than a few moments. 

And last but not least it is George Jetson’s office chair. Space age and interesting and probably somewhat comfortable but not my first pick (it looks kind of cheap).

For a person that absolutely adored the Jetsons as a child and can even consider watching an episode or two as an adult,  I cannot picture myself using any of these items in a space. I like more warmth and comfort. All of these pieces are beautiful for their aesthetic, line, and simplicity, but I’m more of a practical person and designer so I think I’ll pass on the People’s Choices for this year.

For more from NeoCon 2010 go to: http://contract-network.com/2010/goExpo/public/index.php