It's not easy being green, but with innovative design, it's getting a whole lot easier.

The new crop of environmentally conscious products on display at the Green Products Expo last week gave us hope that things are getting greener in 2010. Each exhibitor in attendance at the expo strives to find eco-conscious ways in which to produce, improve and/or deliver the products and services we use everyday.

Here are some of the innovative green products on display at the show:

Recylced Materials
Building suppliers like EcoStar, make slate and shake roofing tiles, among other things, from 80 percent recycled materials. The synthetic products look amazingly real, divert millions of pounds of waste from piling up in our landfills, come with a 50-year labor and material warranty and contribute to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requirements for tax credits. Just check out how amazing they look (above), which just goes to prove it's all in the re-thinking.

Pick up a brush: Painted doors offer a quick and easy interior update.


We've all dreamed of living in a bright white house with a front door painted red at some point in our lives life, right? Surely, I'm not the only one?

Painted front doors have been a fast and easy way to add curb appeal to a house for years, but when is the last time you were advised to paint your interior doors?

Your ShelterPop editors have been falling head over heels for bold, colored doors on the inside of our homes. Take a look at our favorites and tell me you're not ready to pick up a paintbrush too:

The Look: When juxtaposed with a black-and-white, paisley wallpaper, this neon green sings. It works well with the teak-colored wood flooring and cabinetry leading into the kitchen.

The Color: Try Behr Grape Green 400B-5.

Tips To Try It: Watch out for varied shades of wood, as lime green and brown/tan are a difficult match. Steer clear of mixing lime with pine or cherry, as it can create a retro aesthetic.

Sick of winter? Then think of summer-flowering bulbs and get happy.

One of my favorite winter thoughts: Lilies blooming on my tiny terrace.


I often procrastinate when ordering bulbs and find myself buried in snow by the time I think about next season's garden. This is why I love summer bulbs: not only do they extend the show by many months, but I can buy and plant them in the spring. I can then forget about them until, just a few months late, I get to watch them bloom. The best part? They are very easy to grow.

Lilies are my first choice for summer flowers. They are beautiful, smell good, and if well chosen, can bloom from June through September, at least in my 6b zone. I buy mainly from two sources, The Lily Garden and Brent and Becky's Bulbs.The first is for more specialized lilies. The latter is for steady favorites and has good prices. The packages usually arrive in early April or timed for your USDA zone.

I am a sucker for the martagons (or Turk's cap style lily), with nodding flowers and delicately recurved petals. It is one of the most feminine and beautiful flower shapes I know. My favorite over the last couple of years has been Lilium "Seafarer", a rich apricot with a deeper ruby ribbing on the back of the tilted petals. Blooming in June, it is lightly scented, with the perfume becoming stronger in the evenings. It looks stunning against any green backdrop.

This Portuguese house bears a striking resemblance to a famous cartoon home.

"Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. They're the modern Stone Age family. From the town of Bedrock, they're a page right out of history." We all remember the song and the hit TV show that chronicled the lives of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.

The homes of America's Winter 2010 Olympic athletes.

For the last week or two, the magical mountains in Whistler, British Columbia have been home to the international posse of 2010 Winter Olympians. In just a few days, the athletes will pack up their Olympic dreams and medals and head home. ShelterPop thought it might be interesting to see where home is for a few of our favorite American athletes, who have achieved Olympic greatness in Vancouver. Here's what we found:


Apolo Ohno
Olympic short track speed skater Apolo Ohno may have won the Dancing With the Stars reality TV competition in 2007, but his Olympic career will be his enduring and most impressive legacy. With his bronze medal win in the 1000m short track competition in Vancouver, the soul patch-sporting skating wunderkin became the most medal winning American Winter Olympic athlete of all time earning an undeniably impressive two gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

Presumably Ohno will keep and display his myriad and many Olympic medals at his home in South Jordan, UT, a bedroom community just south of Salt Lake City. Property records show that Ohno bought the suburban residence in July 2006 for an undisclosed amount of money and listing information shows the two-story brick-built traditional has four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms in 4,467 square feet. Other features include a three-car garage, gourmet kitchen, and outdoor fireplace and a 21-speaker surround sound system.

This season, go bold with vertical stripes in the bathroom, bedroom or living area.

Although striped walls are nothing new, we've noticed an uptick in the trend this year. Perhaps the popularity of the look has stemmed from the striped revolution in fashion? Stripes are no longer reserved for nautical decor and coastal settings. Why not get vertical with a few of your rooms? The result will lift your spirits (and ceiling heights!) faster than you can say "Stripe me!" Here's how to get the look:

In your bedroom
By pairing this striped wallpaper with oil paintings, antique furniture and a spindled, four-poster bed, this bedroom can easily be mistaken for a Parisian bed-and-breakfast getaway (and you know we love a good bed and breakfast!). Notice how the homeowner has used black and white curtains to blend in with the wallpaper, creating a seamless perspective for the eye: It's genius!

Paloma Picasso's Moroccan mansion is a world of relaxation and inspiration.

Paloma Picasso's name should sound familiar to you -- she's the daughter of the legendary painter Pablo Picasso. Paloma is also an artist in her own right: She's been designing jewelry for Tiffany & Co. for 30 years.

Paloma Picasso and her husband Eric Thévenet come to their Marrakech, Morocco home for a month or two several times a year for relaxation. The couple recently opened the doors of their luxurious house to Harper's Bazaar and photographer Christopher Sturman. Picasso's home is what you might expect from a modern, glamorous artist and fashion legend: It's chic, artsy and full of inspiration.

Although it is picture-perfect today, the mansion needed some TLC when it was first purchased. The couple removed overgrown shrubbery, added a glass roof and renovated the patio with a simple dish-shaped fountain and simple geometric bricks (right).

Let's go inside and take a look at the finished space, shall we?

Take a look at the photo and read through the clues. Can you figure out which celebrity lives here?


What 20-something country-pop queen recently purchased her first home in a luxury condo complex in downtown Nashville that includes 3 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a double height living room and a wrap around terrace?

Hints:

1. She wrote a famous song about her famous ex-boyfriend.

2. The singer/songwriter recently made her acting debut on the silver screen.

3. She pals around with fellow country music star Kellie Pickler.

4. She has appeared on more than a dozen magazine covers including Rolling Stone, Blender, Glamour and Seventeen.


Want the answer? Get it here!

Brooks Brothers is bringing its iconic look to the home.

Watch out Ralph Lauren: Last week, a spokesman for the menswear powerhouse Brooks Brothers told The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Runway blog that the company is planning to launch a home furnishings line in the fall.

The fabrics and striped patterns seen in Brooks Brothers clothing will be the inspiration for the pillows, towels, sheets and lampshades in the line. WSJ notes that the 192-year-old company has had these items for a while; however, they were not for sale, rather they were props used in displays, catalog shoots or fashion presentations.

I've been singing vinegar's praises for years, and I recently realized I've left out sooo many of the other hardworkers in my pantry. This one's for you, Pantry!:

1) Lemonade
To clean and deodorize, pour a few scoops of dry sugar-free lemonade (or Tang!) into your dishwasher detergent compartment and run an empty cycle. You may not notice the difference, but next time your child crawls into the dishwasher during a game of hide-and-seek, you'll be the best mom ever.