If you're looking to install a new driveway, walkway, patio, or any other exterior surface, you should seriously consider using a permeable (porous) material. Permeable surfaces allow for water runoff and drainage on site, which helps alleviate municipal storm systems, cools the ambient air temperature, and provides a natural way of filtering and watering local vegetation. At the recent GreenBuild conference, we saw this nice collection of porous pavements by Presto Geosystems, which comes in a nice variety of textures, colors and price points. More

We've been on the hunt for an inexpensive an easy to use energy management system for awhile. At GreenBuild we were impressed with Verve Living Systems, a wireless home control system. It's self-powering, uses less materials and can even be less expensive than a standard electrical layout. Did we mentioned it's used in all the Make It Right Foundation homes? It's got that going for it, too! More

Cork is a fantastically eco-friendly material: it's renewable and sustainbly harvested, anti-bacterial, moisture repellent, slip resistant, soft underfoot and non-allergenic. So it's no surprise someone finally decided to turn it into a yoga mat. Korq mats help your sun salutations with one of nature's best materials, not PVC. More

If anyone knows how to do LEED affordably, it's Make It Right — Brad Pitts' foundation to build safe, sustainable and affordable homes for the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. Three Make It Right team members were at last week's GreenBuild and gave an insightful presentation on how to build LEED Platinum homes for less than traditional houses. Check out their tips, after the jump! More

One of the most eye-catching booths at this year's GreenBuild, was the Native Trails display. At the show they had a gorgeous collection of reclaimed wood vanity cabinets paired with hand-hammered recycled copper vessels. We met with the founder of Native Trails, Naomi Neilson Howard, and found out some pretty cool details about the company and their beautiful fixtures. More

We've written about IdeaPaint a few times — it's a great alternative to interactive surfaces such as chalk and magnetic paint. IdeaPaint is a single-coat paint that can transform any surface into a dry-erase surface and since our last posts, the company has upped its green-cred by getting GREENGUARD certified. Find out what makes IdeaPaint so awesome, after the jump. More

In recent years flipping homes has gotten a bad rep, but it hasn't completely disappeared. Last week we met with Oakland-based designer Mila Zelkha, owner of renovation and real estate company, Mint Condition Homes. Through her company, Mila works to painstakingly and thoughtfully restore vintage bank-owned properties into quality, eco-friendly homes for first time home buyers. Her work is bright and beautiful and not only gives new life to abandoned properties, but also improves the quality of the neighborhood and uplifts it's residents. More

When green building expert, Alex Wilson, was getting ready to announce his publication's favorite products of the year, he emphasized his concern that water shortages are looming. When we look at green building and products, we need to not only be aware of energy efficiency, but also water efficiency. Next to petroleum, water is soon to be one of our scarce natural resources and should be carefully preserved as such. After the jump we've highlighted trends seen at GreenBuild to reuse and conserve water at home. More

One of the highlights of last week's GreenBuild, was a meeting I had with Jay Bolus, the vice president of technical operations and director of science for McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). He has done Cradle to Cradle consulting work for companies like Method, Replenish, Herman Miller, and is a great resource on evaluating healthy materials and products for the home. More

Last week I spent a few days at one of the best eco-focused conferences around, GreenBuild. Held this year in Chicago, the event was vast and overwhelming to say the least. I attended several inspiring seminars and walked the expo floor for hours on the hunt for great green building products. There was a lot out there, so I've created a list of the best and most exciting things at the show, that are actually available for use in your home, right now. More