We’re finished! If you’ve followed us from the beginning this was a 20 week project after months of waiting on permits and we are DONE! For more about the process you can read this blog HERE and watch the video journey HERE but I wanted to give you a tour around the space and detail out all the things we bought and choices we made.

As is our goal in life, our goal in the studio was to create as eco friendly and non toxic of a space as we could. For us that means finding a balance of the right new products and used products, with what our budget could manage. Given an infinite budget and infinite research time there are other choices we might have made (I only say that to say this isn’t a ‘how to’ post but a ‘what we did’ post), but we were really happy with what we were able to achieve for the space, and we love everything we did!

CABINETS: As soon as I saw IKEA Kungsbacka cabinets I was sold! They blew the budget but the idea of using recycled materials anywhere kind of wins my heart. They use recycled plastic bottles and recycled wood, which I loved. New materials are sometimes overrated and any time something can be recycled or repurposed, I’m in. The countertops are quartz – we got them direct from a yard to save money and paired them with the cabinets. The solid wood shelves are custom but you can find similar ones on Etsy.

COOKWARE: We went with a combo of stainless steel pots and frying pans, and cast iron skillets to stay away from teflon and non stick, but I know not everyone loves or is used to cooking on cast iron.

ZERO WASTE ON THE GO: We’ve stocked the kitchen with a few things like glass jars you can take to go, shopping bags, a picnic basket, and a basket for the farmers market, to make eco friendly living possible while traveling. We included a few bulk bags like these for local shopping, or grabbing a breakfast pastry from a local bakery to eat on the deck!

CLEANERS: The spray cleaner and dishwasher soap in the kitchen are Biokleen and the hand soap is diluted Dr Bronners. Through the house they are all in repurposed Healthade kombucha bottles with new pump tops I found on Amazon – I love the brown glass and having a use for the old bottles.

TABLE: This was one of the places where ‘last minute’ got us.   We were going to reuse an old island and decided it didn’t work – I tried to shop for something used but couldn’t find the right thing so this is from Overstock.com. The chairs I found a few of used and then we matched them with a few new ones. 

SHEETS: For so many reasons I always want organic sheets – number one, we spend a lot of time in them. And wherever I can in life I like fair-trade too. I researched both values a few years ago for our home and found the option of SOL organics which hit both. They’re the best price I could find for organic and fairtrade so they’re in our main house and the studio too.

PILLOWS: We went with real down + cotton pillows from IKEA which are filled with ethically sourced down. Pillow covers are all Sol Organics. 

DUVETS: We chose one down duvet (we chose to use one we’ve had a long time in our home rather than buying new but if you’re buying new and want great ethical down I love (thecompnaystore.com) and one IKEA one filled with material made from recycled plastic bottles. It’s one place where the ‘best’ is a grey area. If you stay, you can take your pick! Duvet covers are Sol again.

BEDS: Both bed heads are second hand, the wooden one is one of my favorite pieces in the studio! Again, we chose to reuse mattresses that we’ve had in our home for a little while. The off gassing from products like mattresses decreases over time so this felt like the best low-toxic option for us. We did choose a new and fully non toxic, flame retardant free crib mattress which is the same one I purchased for our home and one of the best priced available from Babyletto. 

RUGS – The whole studio has a polished concrete floor so there are multiple rugs throughout the space. I purchase a second hand cow skin and some 100% wool/cotton second hand rugs on craigslist, and was also gifted a stunning one from Rugknots.com. I had no idea about them before this project but they source all their wool ethically which is important if I’m buying new wool, all their dyes are vegetable dyes and they are using profits to do good, you can read more on their site. You can use the code 15FORYOU for 15% off!

DRESSERS: All the dressers are used pieces I’ve collected over the last year.

ROCKING CHAIR: This is a used piece but you can find a similar one HERE.

BEDROOM LINE DRAWINGS: I talked about it on instagram but I bought art from one of my favorite artists who’s work I’ve loved for a long time to put in one of the bedrooms. You can find her work HERE and I asked her if she’d want to give a discount code and she’s offering 20% off with the code WHOLEFOOD – her art is incredible!

MACRAME PLANT HOLDER: Our friend Audra made me the stunning macrame plant holder in the master bedroom! (Shoot her a DM/comment on instagram HERE if you want a custom piece!)

CANVAS ART – I like knowing the story behind art, I can’t buy the big framed prints from Target. It’s just not art to me without a story. The two canvases including the large one in the living room are by a friend of my sister’s living in New York Myra Cargo.

CHAIRS: We went with IKEA for our chairs as they aren’t treated with any chemical flame retardant. They can be toxic and cause people health problems and we wanted the studio space to be as clean and non toxic as possible for family and guests. Ikea is also working on improving the standard of their cotton (which is a heavily GMO and sprayed crop typicallY) so while it’s not organic I knew I was doing a step better.

RUG: www.rugknots.com ethical wool (cos no it isn’t all ethical, google it at your own risk – I learned when I first bought allbirds shoes!) You can use the code 15FORYOU for 15% off your purchase!

CANVAS ART: I like knowing the story behind art, I can’t buy the big framed prints from Target. It’s just not art to me without a story. The two canvases including the large one in the living room are by a friend of my sister’s living in New York Myra Cargo. I got to create some recipes for her a few years back and she’s become an online friend since then. When she saw the space she reached out and offered two of her stunning canvases for us to use. It scared me to put them up, just a bit, because they so define the space, but then I remembered (a) that’s what art is for! but (b) it’s being defined by someone I believe in and who’s heart I love having in the space.

We also used original prints from when the studio was first built to frame on another wall of the main space. On another wall we had an extra pillow cover from West Elm so I used that on a small wall behind the door to tie in that corner with the rest of the space.

SOFA: A second hand piece I picked up a year ago and have been saving for when the space was complete. Shopping over a long stretch of time let’s you pick up pieces slowly rather than having to make do or fork out money later on new pieces. If you can do it I highly recommend it!

PILLOWS: Both the pillow fillings and the covers come from West Elm. West Elm has lots of different values that different products fall within. Some things are fair-trade, some are organic cotton, some are ‘artisan made’ We went for the 100% cotton or wool pillow covers and then ethical down pillow fillings. By 2020 all their cotton will be organic so I know I’m buying into a company that’s building that even where it’s not 100% organic. Read more about their commitments HERE.

SHAMPOO + CONDITIONER: I debated this one because using no toxic personal care products puts the price up massively per guest, but I really wanted everything in the studio to reflect our personal values so people traveling knew they could trust where they were staying. We have soap/shampoo bars from Sappo Hill  which is my favourite personally for shampoo but we’re also stocking the bathrooms with Plaine Products conditioner (find their subscription’s here), again my personal fave and packaged in aluminum containers that be refilled.

TOWELS: We chose Coyuchi for all our towels, I bought them a year in advance in a great sale! Again they’re organic cotton and fairtrade production.

SHOWER CURTAINS: This was probably the item I researched for the longest time! I really wanted to not go the plastic route and after many failed attempts I finally purchased THESE and they’re perfect. They absolutely keep the water in the bath, and are actually less prone to mold and mildew and the water doesn’t get trapped in plastic pockets. They also don’t billow in and stick to you the way that plastic ones I hate do!

If there’s anything I’ve left out feel free to leave me a comment on Instagram on my last post even if it’s unrelated – that’s the best way to get a quick answer! And if you’re trying to find ways to detox your home or make it more eco friendly check out these posts: