Good Ancestor Co

What sustainable design dreams are made of! Reclaimed wood, concrete floors, plaster walls and a view of nature in every direction. Our eyes and hearts definitely exploded when we walked into the incredible home of More info on her regenerative farming efforts coming soon. For now, we will drool over her dining room, and yes that view is real! 😍

Regenerative ranchers, farmers, gardeners… people who love soil, animals, fresh air and living with the land… those who fiercely love the earth and who are doing all they can to protect and regenerate it. These, are our people! Or at least people we strive to be like, want to be around, and to learn from. is one of these incredible people. She has been inspiring us for a while now with her activism and work in the regenerative space and recently we were thrilled to spend time with her at her incredible ranch learning her ways and philosophies. She is so wise and inspires us in many ways. We are working on a proper feature, but for now here are some behind the scenes shots of our time in her magical garden and from her land. And just wait for a glimpse into her unbelievable home 😍 It’s beyond a sustainable dream! Check back soon for more on 🤗

In search of inspiration for a project and ended up drooling over Nate Berkus & Jeremiah Brent’s incredible Montauk home!
Here are three sustainable elements that we love about this home : 1) “the wrapped walls in the family room were from a dock that was being demolished” 2) the fireplace in the great room was built out of beach rocks 3) “ they added 40 percent more native vegetation to the surrounding land”
PLUS all the natural woven materials which will always be an earth friendly choice 🙌🏽
So inspiring, as always and
Images by Richard Fousler
Edit from Elle Decor
Article via the portfolio of

Our little isn’t feeling AS little these days, now that we are finally enjoying our newly renovated spaces 🎉 For those of you who are new to our story, we have been renovating our nearly century old home for what feels like forever. The most recent project has been completely redesigning the old guest house and garage and connecting it our main house, so rather than two structures we are now have one happy home! We have been trying our best to design and build sustainably and plan to share more about this now that we are back to work after a summer spent focusing on family time ❤️ Building sustainably has definitely been a challenge and it has meant a lot of sacrifices. My (Rita here!) day job is luxury residential design sooo you can only imagine my list of wants from all those homes, but we are committed to minimal impact which has meant being diligent about souring from only mindful vendors, and reusing and repurposing whenever possible. Fortunately for our family the “imperfect” is what we embrace as our version of perfect! When working with repurposed materials you get all sorts of wabi sabi, like our concrete floors here. We opted to pull up the tiles that were installed on top to grind down and polish the slab, vs installing all new wood or vinyl flooring (which many people automatically think would be a must). Can’t tell you how many people when they first saw them (without furniture) asked “so what are you doing for the floors?” 😂🤣😬 And I’ll admit initially I saw the cracks and the “history” everywhere and wasn’t sure, but now that the whole picture is close to complete, I will say the floors are my favorite part. They feel amazing, I love their character, and I love that we didn’t need to purchase any new material! Long story short, my husband (Brogan who creates the content of substance on the site ❤️) was right! He is definitely saying “YES!” as he reads this. Speaking of reading, anyone still here?! I’m a rambler! If you are reading this we will buy a margarita 🍹 More house tips coming soon! 😘

Every decision when building or renovating a structure has a number of factors to consider from aesthetics, longevity, structural integrity and most of all cost. Metal Roofs 101 is a fast read that allow you to reinvision your next project with a sustainable metal top hat. We have broken down the reasons why metal is the most sustainable option using 7 key sustainability keystones. No matter the building style there is a light colored metal roof for it. Cheers to your new 50 year roof!

How scary is walking down the 🧴 sunscreen isle? If you are like us, it is completely overwhelming. Sunscreen decoded! The GA buyers guide is here to make your next purchase decision easier. All nicely packaged with a bow into a 5 minute read with pretty pictures. We dive into what the difference is between Mineral vs Chemical, what "Reef Safe" means, how skin tones are effected by sun exposure, why packaging matters and what we use in our house! Happy sun safe adventures.

Everyday (before last Thursday) I wondered what the difference between and is. Now, I know and you can too by clicking on our article. An enjoyable 5 min read!
The similarities blend with the differences but there are important distinctions that can affect the power of your purse! The power is in the nuance. Jump over for a quick EDU and you will know what to buy for your next picnic, hike or backyard campout.
Leave it better than you found it!

New Compost Bin Inventory has arrived! Restocked in finish. Composters and countertops rejoice. If you need another one, or your friends have been asking where to get one like yours the limited inventory is ready. Your plants will thank you too!
Tell your friends how great you feel when composting with your kids and send them to us!

In our book there is nothing more chic than design that connects effortlessly with nature. We recently stayed at on Isla Holbox and fell in love with their artistic use of natural materials, along with their thoughtfully minimal aesthetic. Their respect for the environment paired with elegant design was our version of ultimate luxury! Thank you for making your love for the earth into such a beautiful experience!

We are so grateful that you guys have been loving our Compost Bins! Especially the Calico color way which is now sold out! Not to worry, per your wonderful inquiries we have opened up a preorder just for this special finish. Preorder will be open until June 30th and then allow 4-6 weeks for production and shipping. Thank you again for your support and for doing good for the earth… in style of course 😘

Happy World Environment Day! Instead of giving you 20 things to do, how about an easy summer style 3! Here are 3 awesome movies you can add to your watch list this summer… they are all family friendly (last one is more for the kids;) educational & entertaining:

1. Kiss The Ground , Regenerative Agriculture (this is an absolute MUST See!)

2. Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story
3. FernGully - The Last Rainforest (bc the 90s are back and this is Brogan’s favorite childhood movie;)!

Summer parties are just around the corner and it always pains us to see piles of uneaten & leftover food tossed into the trash. This can be quickly solved by putting out a separate box or bin labeled “compost” for your guests to empty into and that you can transfer to your own outdoor system. At the bar if you want the experience to be super chic, look how gorgeous our bin is at the cocktail station 😍 Both the bartender and guests will feel good giving peels and extra garnishing back to the earth 🌍🌱 Parties are a great way to share your values with your community and also will make the drinks that much sweeter 🍹🥂 Cheers to that! photo & styling by the lovely Kymberly Lawyer

Progress shot! Our little is slowly skipping towards the finish line! (definitely picking daisies along the way) Sustainable design has meant sacrificing often and using less… for example for floors we chose to use brick that we reclaimed from our backyard and simply sanded & polished our concrete floors in the back (which is now our living room, laundry room and primary suite). They are not flawless floors, they have imperfections and character and history and memories embedded into every foot, and we love them! We will be giving a little tour of the sustainable elements soon… for now I couldn’t help but to capture the 10 minute moment the sun finally showed up this morning. Which also meant no cleaning or styling for the 📸 sooo you’re gonna have to be cool with wabi sabi style 😜

Designing “sustainably” is unfortunately never easy and typically requires some sacrifices, especially if you are an interior designer who wants to create new & unique spaces while trying to meet the needs of your clients. We strive for our designs to have little to no footprint but its never perfect… it’s usually just a balance. That doesn’t mean we aren’t always working towards perfectly sustainable, (and even regenerative!) spaces, but it’s a process getting there. For now, we can share some elements in this fresh guest space that we can celebrate as 🌎 approved! We opted to minimize waste by using our clients existing headboard and paired it with a vintage reclaimed stump… we sourced a light fixture made out of renewable rattan and a vintage pillow to top off organic bed linens. Oh and I spy our handwoven Parisienne Basket, perfect for pool & beach outings! (Only a couple left in shop!) 😎 PS we are always in search of brands, especially furniture vendors, that are truly earth conscious and making the world better… if you have any favorites please share! Would love to hear how you design with the earth in mind ❤️ Photo

Our Sale is live.
Get yours before it is gone with 20% off by using the code MothersDay20 at checkout!

Every successful person has a nurturing and loving mother. We celebrate the incredible women who have shaped us into who we are. Grounded on the , committed to and filled with great lessons and fun! Happy Mother's Day to all the super moms out there!

This Sunday remember to also celebrate the best mama of all, our shared Mother Earth! 🌎 ❤️ She so generously holds us, nurtures us and unconditionally gives us everything we need to thrive. So please give her a big hug (something like this will do 🥰) and say thanks… there’s no doubt she needs all the love and gratitude she can get right about now.

Hey Momma Bears!
Here's to the women who taught us how to love, how to be strong, care for others and the planet.
In honor of all the Mom's we are running a sale starting now!
Ready, set, GO!
Use "MOTHERSDAY20" at checkout for 20% your cart!
XO
R&B

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

In celebration of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 that led to their independence and the introduction of Mexican culture into the US we would like to celebrate the hyper-local building style of Pueblo/Adobe construction.

It traces its roots back to Ancestral Puebloan people who first began building pueblo structures during the Pueblo I Period (750–900 CE). The foundational concepts were both physical and cosmological in nature. They were manufactured of sun-baked adobe bricks with structures rooted and designed with a focus on community and communal spaces intended to connect individuals, groups and families world views that recognize multiplicity, simultaneity, inclusiveness, and interconnectedness.

Connection has been a core tenet of humanity and throughout history it has been our best driver of positive collective betterment.

Whether it is new friends or new building practices remember to connect to people and your world. It is always the best way forward.

Viva!

Happy Earth Day today (and every day)!

I wanted to say my first Hello. I am Rita's attaché, Brogan.

Today we are kicking off a series of posts about products in the home building market that align with GA Values called

The kickoff is a product our house knows well.
**pitecture has created a , product to replace conventional extractive material based home insulation that is made from industrial H**p.
It is a fantastic product that is equal to or better than all other comparable insulation products in R-Value. It is amazingly easy to install and most of all, H**p is a sequestration plant. It pulls carbon out of the air to grow and returns it to the soil.
Have a look at the link below!

If more help like this is useful, we have put together a comprehensive list of products and brands that fit the Good Ancestor Values that live on the "Source List" page of our site.

Happy Friday! For all our local folks, we hope to see you today at for our pop up Spring sale! All of our GA goods are 15% off and we are so excited to talk about composting, gardening with native plants, and all things sustainable!
For those who can't make it, you can shop our outdoor dining setup and all our goodies on the GA site! Link in bio!

One more day until our Spring pop up sale at Montecito! We will be bringing back our beloved garden capsules that have everything you need to start on your garden. These make really good Mother's day gifts too! ⁠
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Alfresco dining the Good Ancestor way means recycled glassware, handmade organic linens, vintage silverware, and our beautiful ceramic vases for fresh flowers!

Shop our outdoor dining essentials on the GA site and at our upcoming pop up this Friday hosted by montecito! We are so excited to see you all!

Spring is here and that means it's time to get out in the garden! We will have these cute seed packets from and at our pop up event this Friday. Each wildflower blend attracts bees, butterflies and other beneficial bugs to your garden!

We are so excited to announce that we are having our second pop-up event hosted by the lovely ladies at in Montecito this Friday!
We designed and curated all of our GA goods to be multifunctional essentials for the home and will have everything for sale individually for you to style as you please. This lovely Spring tablescape will be available to shop in store and online on the site! Check the link in bio!

When designing the GA pieces we kept sustainability and multifunctionality in mind. The vessel and dish can be used in the bathroom for your soap and toothbrush, on your nightstand as a water cup and catchall for jewelry, or on our countertop to display fresh flowers! Take a look at the GA shop as a lot of our goods are now available to purchase individually so you can mix and match as you please!

Easter is just around the corner and we have some ideas for how to create a sustainable goodie basket for your little ones!
Here's a breakdown of our Good Ancestor approved basket:

1. Our Moroccan reed basket is the perfect size to house all the treats and can be used year round for toting around toys, snacks and more.
2. Once your natural basket is selected, fill it up with recycled crunchy paper, preserved moss, or shredded wood excelsior as we did!
3. We like to gift books, seed packets, and organic cotton or wool plush toys. But for any sweet treats and candy, make sure it's ethically produced!
4. Traditional plastic eggs are not good for the environment because they end up as trash and can't be recycled! Instead, opt for wood refillable eggs that your kids can decorate!

Later sunsets and warmer weather means outdoor entertaining is on the horizon! Our compost bin is an essential for your bar cart and drink stations. It's a convenient way to dispose of any fruit rinds or herb sprigs from your aperitifs all while looking so chic!

Stay tuned for some more al fresco dining inspiration coming your way!