For those with a green thumb and a love of unexpected outdoor decor, try making a “living wall.” A wall-mounted garden is also a great solution for plant-lovers with limited outdoor space.

Learn how to make a wall mounted garden:

It’s the craftsmanship…that patina, the solid wood (laminate? No dice.), the nostalgic fonts, the character, and of course, feeling like you are privy to a little slice of history. There are countless reasons for integrating salvaged items into your home – even the contemporary ones. But how and where to start? Restoring a House in the City by Ingrid Abramovitch offers the following tips to help you choose the cream of the crop and avoid the duds.

• Lighting: Got an old lamp or chandelier that needs some TLC to make it presentable?  Antique lighting specialists can rewire lamps, while chandeliers must be taken apart and each piece scrubbed. Lighting dealers can track down replacement parts.
• Plumbing: The antique toilet and faucet may look cool, but keep in mind that that fixtures and fittings have changed over the years. Make sure pieces will work with your building code, and current bathroom condition. Antique tubs and radiators are a great find, just make sure they’re not cracked.
• Hardware: Keep an eye out for hinges, bolts, switch plates, doorknobs, drawer pulls, house numbers, bell buttons, casement fasteners, etc. The smallest details can make a big difference. If you come across a piece you love, but it’s too rusted, companies like Al Bar Wilmette Platers in Wilmette, IL can clean and polish it to new-like condition.
• Millwork: Antique woodwork, often crafted from old-growth lumber, which is generally harder and long-lasting, can be tracked down through salvage and antique dealers. Look online or in the phone book under antiques, salvage, junk or demolition contractors.
• Reclaimed Stone, Tile and Brick: Not only are recycled construction materials a greener way to build, they have a look that can’t be recreated with modern technology.  Source antique stone, vintage tile and brick for building or landscaping at architectural salvage yards, or check out nonprofits, such as Build It Green! NYC, which provides salvaged materials at low cost.

Barbara Flanagan is the author of Flanagan’s Smart Home: The 98 Essentials for Starting Out, Starting Over, Scaling Back

Purge the clutter. Outfit your home with care: The 34 essential kitchen tools. The 9 essential cleaning and fixing products. The 13, and only 13, things a bedroom needs to make it a haven of rest and privacy. Each item has been field-tested and rated for its environmental, social, and aesthetic impact.

Tell me about the genesis of Flanagan’s Smart Home.
A: When I moved down from three stories of Victorian manse to a little cottage, after a divorce, I spent many days paring down my possessions. At the same time I was moving my mother to a continuing care apartment and my children off to college. What we all had in common, all three generations of us, was the need to live smaller and smarter by limiting our chattel to lovable things that worked well for many reasons. For this book, I decided to narrow down those reasons and seek out the ideal products, doing the homework for people who’ll want to ask the same question I did: What do I really need to live a good, comfortable life? In other words, I wrote the book I wish I could have bought a few years ago.

Can you give me an estimate of how many products and items of furniture you tested that didn’t make the cut?
A: Whoa, lots. I checked out thousands of images, and tested hundreds of products in showrooms, trade shows, stores, and homes of friends. Then I tested the finalists—like the low-voltage electric blanket, kitchen knife, microfiber cleaning products, and many others–over months, under heavy use, at home.

You write about product design, but you’re also a product designer yourself. Can you tell me about some of the products you’ve created?
A: I’ve designed several products for the MoMA Store www.momastore.org (NY’s Museum of Modern Art), and my new company, Flanagan LLC, is launching its first two desktop product this year. www.barbaraflanagan.com The MoMA stores in NYC and Japan will introduce one of them. My favorite product to date, however, is the Shondelier, a custom bathroom chandelier (illuminated remotely) containing a rainhead shower—that looks unnecessarily glamorous and dangerous at the same time.

From where you’re sitting right now, what items from the book can you see? (Are you sitting on one?)
A: Yes, I’m in my studio now, sitting on an excellent, solid maple chair from a 1950s Philadelphia catering hall (I had it painted half black, half not). I like it better than my fancy Aeron chair, actually. If took my laptop in the kitchen/dining room, I’d see the trusty microwave, toaster oven, electric kettle, dining table and dining chairs. Also, one white cat strolling over it all like she owns it.

In retrospect, are there any items you wish you had included?
A: One reviewer was incensed that I’d omitted a toilet plunger. He’s right, but house plumbing works, so I forgot. I should thank him for taking the book to heart.

What are you reading at the moment?
A: The UPS bible of shipping regulations and rates. Surprisingly thick. As an entrepreneur, I need to know lots of numbers and rules.

What’s your favorite snack to eat while writing?
A: No snacking while writing! That’s naughty and bad for the keyboard. I only snack while procrastinating.

What’s your preferred procrastination method?
A: Snacking. On 35-calorie rice cakes. If cheesecake is unavailable.

If you were to write a memoir, what would be its title?
A: If I’m So Smart How Come I’m Not______?

What’s your secret ambition?
A: Having an exhibit of my sculpture and drawings, with an art opening, white wine, and people I don’t know milling around looking at the stuff like it’s art. So this fall I worked really hard, had a show, sold a piece, and it was that dream come true. Actually better! My new secret ambition is to be less ambitious for a couple weeks.