Eco Friendly Home Furniture Design Ideas

If anyone knows color – its Pantone. Every year, the Pantone Color Institute announces the color for the upcoming year based on trend indicators related everything from fashion to art, music to film and of course, interior office and home design.

Last year, the color was Honeysuckle Rose – a bright and fun pink that managed to show up on the runway and in the homes of millions of people wanting to add a splash of color to their room. This vibrant and engaging reddish orange shade calls to mind deep citrus saturation and summer beach parties.

Executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, Leatrice Eiseman explains the allure of Tangerine Tango.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Your wedding announcement or invitation can set the tone for your environmentally friendly wedding. There are many options today for 100% recycled, partially recycled or completely tree free papers from wedding invitation suppliers. Use paper that has a high-recycled content or is made from an alternative fiber, such as hemp or bamboo. Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, the energy equivalent of 380 gallons of oil, and keeps almost 60 pounds of pollutants out of the atmosphere.

Most large printers still use traditional printing methods, but there’s no harm in asking if yours would be willing to try soy- or vegetable-based inks.

Use online invites for the surrounding events: the bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, etc. If you need to update your guests about the wedding happenings, toss the paper newsletter for an email version.

Check out this beautiful new eco-home in the UK which shows off the latest energy saving and efficient technologies. This type of vaulted construction was used for the first time in Spain in 1382, and its known as the Catalan vault system. It boasts a low arch made of bricks, with different levels being used to maintain its strength without requiring additional support structures. It was designed by Richard Hawkes as one of the first zero carbon houses in the UK.

The house is harnessing solar energy to generate all its own electricity and thermal energy. The building demonstrates how contemporary design can celebrate local materials and crafts and integrate new technologies to produce a highly sustainable building that sits lightly on the Earth.

There is a trend lately, in the UK and North America, to make more new homes energy efficient – with more and more of them achieving the lofty title of zero carbon! Let’s hope this trend continues.

We love innovation, and this inflatable paper sofa is the very definition of innovation!

This crazy (and somewhat fragile looking) couch is made from 100% recycled paper dunnage bags and its outfitted with a metal rack and rubber straps. You could bring this inflatable seating with you anywhere while its flat, you just inflate it at your destination! Each section can be personalized with a pen – which might lead to something great, or something awful, depending on your artistic abilities.

Perfect for the backyard, camping site, vacation spots or wherever you want to lounge outdoors. The traditional southern style rope hammock is now available in a durable and comfortable recycled netting that starts out as soda bottles! Each hammock is hand-woven at a rural Virginia production facility. These expertly formulated ropes are guaranteed to last for several seasons of use. The Recycled Enviro-Fiber Hammock invites you to luxuriously lounge in your backyard while also helping the environment that you enjoy so much.

Theo Kamecke has taken the common circuit board to great new heights with this stunning collection of furniture pieces. He’s made a series of incredible boxes and chests made from reclaimed circuit boards, and they have already sold to people like Aliens-creator HR Giger and Avatar director James Cameron.

“Either you get it or you don’t, either you like it or you don’t,” Kamecke explains. “I like to think that I am trying to make something comfortable and beautiful,” explains Kamecke, who uses vintage boards from the 60s. “You don’t need to understand much about computers to appreciate this.”

Have you ever wondered what happens to the scraps of wood that flooring, furniture, and other lumber manufacturers leave behind? A lot of that wood is dropped off at a landfill, ground or burned. Clearly the disposing of wood using those methods has their own set of unique negative environmental impacts. But, what if there was a way to save that wood while also contributing to the growing eco-friendly interior design movement? Staybull Flooring is a company that does just that.

Staybull Flooring recycled flooring is composed of the leftover strips of lumber that were previously discarded. But, wait? Isn’t recycled flooring…you know…like old? Understandably, when people normally think of recycled wood flooring, the first thought that comes to mind is a rustic looking, country style home. It’s easy to see why. The old, worn look of antique flooring does give traditional interiors a desirable rustic look.

Homes and businesses that are aiming for a modern or contemporary look can now infuse their interior with a dynamic and versatile solid wood floor. The invention of an eco-friendly flooring product like Staybull shows that there are companies out there that are still creating innovative solutions that alleviate the environmental pressures that, in the past, went ignored. The more awareness we can bring to this kind of recycling effort the more board feet of lumber we can spare from being burned, or left to rot in landfills.

In an effort to increase and prolong the natural life of our environment, many activities of both individuals and business entities are now gearing up towards eco-friendly ideas. Every aspect of our lives is connected to way of how we could save the life of our planet, and choosing eco-friendly furniture is just one way of contributing. This article will further explain the differences and advantages of eco-friendly furniture as compared with other kinds of home furnishings. Through the end of this article, readers will gain some tips on how to find eco-friendly and economical furniture.

Pieces of furniture that are made from organic resources such as wood, timber, grasses and other natural materials are what we refer to as eco-friendly furniture. Wicker furniture such as tables made of flat timber, wooden cabinets and seating furniture such as wicker bar stools are just some of the best samples of eco-friendly items. Eco-friendly products are made from organic materials, meaning, by the end of its service, furniture pieces will just decompose without compromising the environment’s sustainability.

Another method of determining if a furniture is eco-friendly or not is by scrutinizing its production process. Are the processes in manufacturing detrimental to environment? Are there any toxic materials produced during the production process? If your answer to either of the questions is yes, the furniture is not qualified as an eco-friendly furniture.

Simple actions such as using eco-friendly products are great way in which we can contribute to saving the mother Earth. Nature friendly actions are geared towards lifestyle improvements while leaving our natural surroundings untouched and free from any harm. By choosing eco-friendly furniture, you were not only saving environment but also creating a specific style for your home decoration. By opting for wicker furniture, wooden and bamboo based furnishings, you are already one-step closer to a casual and comfortable home living. The choice of furniture to be incorporated within your existing home furnishings can interpret and give personality to your home.

Choosing eco-friendly furniture does not necessarily mean being limited to the nature-loving character. In today’s market, there are many variations of furniture to choose from. Such variety allows people to create contemporary, modern, classical or casual home decoration depending on their preference. Using the colors of nature makes a design that is always pleasing to our eyes, just as nature relaxes everyone.

Since more people are now concerned about sustainability, the market of eco-friendly furniture rises swiftly. Being a market-driven product, eco-friendly furniture can now be found anywhere whether in virtual or physical stores, just like how usual furniture is sold in the market. Buyers can pick their preferred style, construction material and some added features. Some actual furniture shops are providing their customers the opportunity to customize their chosen furniture.

The awareness about eco-friendly furniture still needs some more marketing. For those who are not yet very familiar with this kind of furniture, don’t be confused with wood furniture making as cause of deforestation because responsible manufacturers of eco-friendly furniture do plant and grow their resource materials, then replace those trees with new ones in order to avoid shortage of materials in the future. They plant and grow trees intended for harvesting and manufacture production.

Given all that, it is now up to you to decide when should you begin your contribution to saving our planet. Be eco-friendly in whatever you do. Choose eco-friendly furniture if you have the chance to do so.

Sustainable Industries has released their Top 10 Green Building Products 2010 guide. This list assists companies see which products should be used in their eco-friendly building. The top 10 products were chosen from more than 100 entries and were evaluated on several different criteria including environmental performance, design aesthetic, and compatibility with the USGBC’s LEED rating system.

Top 10 Green Building Products 2010

AQUS Greywater System – Sioan Valve Co.
Acrovyn 4000 – Construction Specialties Inc.
Control4 Energy Management System – Control4 Energy
Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard – QA Graphics
Energy Recovery Ventilator – Building Performance Equipment
Second Glass – Second Glass
Strand Poplar Flooring – Eco Timber
Ultimate Pervious Pavement – Evolution Paving Resources
Warmboard – Warmboard Inc.
Solatube Daylighting Systems – Solatube International

The Mountain Magnolia Collection is a collection of fine furniture handcrafted from sustainable forests and inspired by the Mountain Magnolia Inn. The collection is designed by Gary Lowe, president of Gary Lowe Designs, Ltd. and Genesis Designs, LLC. He is a well-known furniture designer who has done work for some of the top furniture makers in the world. Each piece in the collection is lovingly made by Philip Yoder, an Amish furniture maker, of Belfield Furniture Company and other Amish craftsmen in Holmes County, Ohio.

The collection is unique not only in its design and its eco-friendly creation, but in the exceptional value it represents. Its craftsmanship and design are at par with the finest furniture available anywhere. The Amish team use only locally grown hardwoods from forests which are sustainable. In Ohio, where forest acreage has doubled in the past 60 years, there is a move to certify all private and public forests as “sustainable,” according to the Plain Dealer. It’s a way for the State’s forestry owners to make more money on the wood products they sell, and more importantly ensure that there are still trees to harvest and process in the years to come.

Check out their great Amish designed furniture here.