Building Tomorrow’s Playgrounds: Climate-Resilient Designs for Every Forecast
Play spaces must adapt to account for climate change. Discover how innovative design can create safer, more sustainable playgrounds for every community.
Design
Design is where imagination meets materials, where aesthetics meet responsibility, and where everyday objects become reflections of our values. In this category, we explore the creative practices shaping more sustainable ways of living — from architecture and interiors to fashion, craft, and digital innovation.
Our design stories highlight both the beauty and the complexity of creating in an age of environmental limits. We feature work from artists, designers, and studios experimenting with low-impact processes, circularity, cultural heritage, and new forms of expression deeply informed by place and ecology.
Whether you’re here for visual inspiration, thoughtful critiques, or an insider’s view of ethical creative industries, this section showcases design as an active force in shaping a more sustainable future.
Is Aging in Place the Ultimate Sustainable Housing Solution?
Discover how aging in place can reduce waste, preserve resources and create a safer, more sustainable home for the future.
What Interior Designers Do for Sustainable Homes
Interior designers shape waste, toxins, and energy use. Here’s what they do, what you get, and questions to ask for a truly sustainable interior.
What Is Green Warehousing? (And How to Achieve It)
With specific strategies, any warehouse can reduce its carbon footprint.
Buying Gifts for Makers Without More Waste
The best gifts for makers are the ones that get used for years, not admired for a week and forgotten in a drawer.
The Environmental Impact of Home Saunas
A closer look at the environmental impact of home saunas, from electricity and materials to durability, maintenance, and whether long-term use justifies the footprint.
How to Refresh a Room Without Creating More Waste
A lower-waste room refresh starts with restraint. Decorative wall panels can help in some cases, but sustainability depends on materials, durability, and avoiding needless rip-outs.
Phishing Is a Hidden Business Waste Stream
Phishing wastes time, money, storage, and trust. Here’s how better email security fits into a lower-friction, more resilient digital workplace.
Eco-Friendly Medieval Decor, Without the Fantasy
Medieval-inspired decor is not inherently sustainable. Here is how to borrow the look with less waste, better materials, and more honesty.
Seasonal Decor Without the Seasonal Waste
Seasonal decorating does not have to mean seasonal waste. Here is how to build lower-waste traditions with reuse, restraint, and durable design.
Sustainable Materials That Improve Home Maintenance
Sustainable home materials can reduce repairs, waste, and upkeep. Here’s how to choose durable options that hold up over time.
EV Charging Stations: Wildflower Surrounds & Biodiversity
EV charging stations with wildflower plots can improve the environmental impact of these roadside stations and help offset the negatives. Let’s discuss.
Sustainable Waterfront Design Beyond Treated Wood
Floating docks can reduce waterfront disruption and chemical leaching, but materials like HDPE have trade-offs. Here’s how to assess them.
Tackling Water Scarcity at Home
A practical guide to tackling water scarcity at home with smarter habits, leak fixes, rainwater capture, better garden choices, and lower-waste systems.
The Zero-Waste Vanity: Why Brands Are Returning to Glass
Glass packaging can reduce plastic waste and protect product integrity. Here’s when glass helps most—and what “ethical” really looks like.
Healthier Indoor Air Without the Hype
Indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air. Here’s a practical, low-drama guide to ventilation, moisture control, filtration, and safer habits.
How Nondestructive Testing Affects Life Cycles and Waste
Nondestructive testing can verify an item’s condition before and after it reaches consumers or goes into service, revealing the most effective way to handle it.
Designing a Kitchen That Ages Well: Why Material Choice Is Your First Decision
Designing a kitchen? Don’t start with colors or cabinet styles. Material choices determine how your kitchen will look, feel, and function for years to come. Learn why prioritizing durability is the key to a space that ages gracefully.
Sustainable Barrier Materials: What Actually Works
A practical guide to barrier packaging: coatings, films, paper, and bioplastics—what’s recyclable, what’s compostable, and what’s greenwash.
The Industries That Will Benefit Most From Electric Cars
Whilst there is no denying the positive impact that electric cars have on the environment, they also benefit various industries, to profit and productivity.
Right to Repair Phones: Repair vs Replace Guide
What phone right to repair really means, what blocks repairs, how to decide repair vs replace, and practical steps to cut e-waste and cost.
A Guide to Sustainable Interior Design
Sustainable interior design made practical: low-tox materials, energy-smart upgrades, ethical sourcing, and circular choices for healthier, lower-carbon homes.
How to Curate an Eco-Chic Home That Feels as Lavish as a Five-Star Hotel
Being intentional about home decor isn’t about restriction. The approach is more about turning a living space into a healthy sanctuary.
Jerusalem in Paint: How Art Shapes Place Memory
Cityscape art can anchor memory and belonging. Why paintings of Jerusalem resonate across distance, generations, and changing definitions of home.
Art as Memory: How Cultural Craft Preserves Identity
In a disposable world, cultural craft preserves memory, identity, and continuity. Why sustaining culture matters as much as sustaining ecosystems.
Prefab vs. Modular Building: What is the Difference?
Today we look at prefab vs. modular construction methods, discussing the key differences in design, cost, time, aesethetics, and environmental considerations.
Grey Textured Rugs for a Cozy, Washable Bedroom
Grey textured rugs are a versatile and stylish addition to any bedroom. They can add warmth and texture to your space while also providing practical benefits.
How to Choose the Right Interior Doors
Interior doors play a crucial role in home decor and day-to-day comfort, and they have an environmental footprint, too. Let’s discuss.
7 Strategies for Incorporating Biophilic Design in Green-Centered Environments
Biophilic design incorporates natural elements into spaces where you live, work and learn, using features such as greenery, natural light, water and organic forms. This approach enhances overall well-being while boosting productivity and creativity. It also supports environmental sustainability by reducing energy use, mitigating urban heat and promoting biodiversity. Biophilic design can create environments that … Read more
How to Add a Touch of Luxury Without Overdoing Your Interiors
True luxury lies in balance and the impeccable quality of a few carefully selected items. Let’s look at some techniques that will transform your interior.
The Effortless Elegance of Premium Acrylic Stools
Acrylic stools, in particular, have become a favorite among interior designers who value clarity and style.
Key Factors to Consider Before Choosing Sconces for the Bathroom
This article explains the most important things to keep in mind before choosing the best sconces for your bathroom.
‘Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives’ debuts Nov. 13
The Bruce Museum invites visitors to explore the hidden world of ants in new science exhibition
5 Kitchen Lighting Ideas for a Brighter, Modern Look
Most kitchens are either too bright or too dim. These lighting strategies fix common problems—better visibility, less glare, and spaces that actually feel good.
What Makes a Tile Truly Eco-Friendly?
As conscious consumers and eco-minded designers look closer at every material choice, the story of ceramic tile becomes both inspiring and complex.
Sustainable Reading Spaces: An Eco-Friendly Home Library
Sustainable Reading Spaces: How to Design an Eco-Friendly Home Library Have you ever dreamed about living in a Barnes & Noble, a Waterstones, or a Kinokuniya? If one of your life goals is to live in a bookstore, consider creating your very own library at home. Having a personal library has always been a symbol … Read more