Happy Friday, MNN readers. I've been on Fire Island this week relaxing, cramming in quality outdoor time before Mother Nature turns the air conditioning on, and, of course, tracking green home tidbits from around the World Wide interwebs. As you'll see below, it's an eclectic link lineup as always. Enjoy and I'll see you on Monday. 

 

Dwell picks up a good new read: The Nontoxic Housecleaning Guide by Amy Kolb Noyes. 

Natural Home breaks out the baking soda for a thorough, nontoxic bathtub cleaning. 

The Guardian tests out the new line of LED light bulbs from Philips. What did they think? Crazy expensive but powerful and highly effective. 

Ecofriend sits down at Mingling Wang's Oxygen of Green, a coffee table/air purifier that incorporates soil-less air plants into its striking modern design. 

TreeHugger gets its slideshow on with "Clever and Crazy Recycled Design Ideas from Latin America." 

The New York Times goes shopping for a very glamorous household staple, trash cans, with industrial designer Scott Henderson. 

Gliving heads down under for a visit to Aussie architect Alexander Michael's Kangaroo Valley House, a stunning space that seamlessly invites the outdoors in. 

UnBeige picks up this delightful little tidbit from UK tabloid, The Sun: Actor and green building poster boy Brad Pitt has spent £50,000 designing a deluxe habitat for his kids' pet gerbils. Hmmm..

The Los Angeles Times steps inside artist Kenny Scharf's "funky low-water oasis" with a very Pee Wee Herman-goes-to-the-flea-market decor scheme. Outside, Scharf explains his landscaping agenda: "I disconnected my sprinkler system years ago and ripped out the lawn. I'm against lawns in Los Angeles. I think they're a waste of water. 

Inhabitat loves (and so do I) Sungho Lee's "LED Pin" a nifty clothespin shaped clip-on LED lamp.  

The San Francisco Chronicle checks in with the city's progressive new mandatory composting program.

Dornob digs a gorgeous kitchen remodel that incorporates vintage wooden tea crates. 

Apartment Therapy LA gets cheap n' crafty with a post on a super cool DIY cinderblock planter.