To furnish your home in an eco-friendly way, choose second-hand furniture from vintage shops or flea markets, or opt for sustainable furniture made from FSC-certified wood or recycled materials. Use creativity to restore and repaint existing furniture – perhaps donated by a relative – instead of buying new. Also, choose organic fabrics and natural dyes for curtains and bed linens and use energy-efficient LED lighting.
Furnishing your home in an eco-friendly way is a growing need for an ever-increasing number of people. And, in addition to the choice of sustainable furniturealso includes the purchase of second handa praiseworthy practice that prevents furniture that still looks interesting from sadly ending up in landfill. This passion for vintage and modern, fortunately, also finds space in furniture magazines, where recycled objects become protagonists. Not just a choice dictated by the wallet: also and above all a decision of Recycle respectful and sustainable towards theenvironment. In this article we focus on providing useful tips on how to make your home more eco-friendly, more green.
How to furnish your home in an eco-friendly way
Furnishing your home in an eco-friendly way is a rewarding – and in many ways economical – way to reduce your environmental impact and create the most sustainable environment possible. There are different ways to do this: from simply recycling other people’s furniture to purchasing it from second-hand furniture stores. Again, with a minimum of familiarity with the bricolageyou can make them yourself from recycled materials. If you still want to buy them, choose the sustainable furniture made from natural materials. For example, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood, bamboo, bamboo cane.
Second hand
Why focus on second hand is quite intuitive. Giving new life to an old piece of furniture allows to reduce the demand and the new production. A useful slowdown for the protection of green areas such as Burma, Asia, Africa and South America, often upset by a constant action of deforestation. Buying recycled furniture is an ecological act in favor of the environment itself.
Choose a second hand furniture produces the activation of a series of actions, starting from the restoration and painting of the same. A solid and resistant piece of furniture, made with quality materials, is able to face other new seasons of its long life. And this is precisely the concept of the reuse and the relooking of second-hand furniture, in open contrast with modern products that are almost always assembled or created with cheap materials. Destined to last a short time with a significant environmental impact.
The production of the past provided products of the highest quality with the aim of being passed down from house to house, from generation to generation. An experience that contrasts with the current times that are crossed at high speed, even when it comes to the house and its furnishings: cheap and often disposable. Choosing a second-hand piece of furniture, in addition to counteracting this harmful trend, allows you to give a warmer look to the house thanks to the unique charm of “lived-in” wardrobes, sideboards, and coffee tables.
Sustainable furniture
On the subject of eco-friendly furnitureit is important to clarify that what are sustainable materials. This is the definition given to raw materials that can offer green alternatives, as they are characterized by a lower ecological footprint than “conventional” ones. In essence, these are materials that are produced, used and disposed of with a minimal or even positive environmental impact. In other words, they are designed to reduce the impact on the environment throughout their life cycle, from production to use and disposal.
They are produced using renewable resources; their production involves low consumption of energy and natural resources; they are biodegradable or compostable and can be easily recycled or reused. These materials include the aforementioned FSC-certified wood, bamboo, cork, organic cotton, wool, recycled glass, recycled steel, natural stone, bioplastic and PET.
How to make your home more eco-friendly?
But that’s not all, for those who wonder what needs to be done make your home greenwe can answer that textiles and furnishing accessories can also do their part. For example, when it comes to curtains, carpets and bed linen, you could prefer fabrics made with natural and organic fibres (cotton, linen or hemp). When it comes to paint (even the paint spread on the walls is decorative), prefer water-based products and furniture finishes with low VOC (volatile organic compounds) content, to reduce the emission of harmful substances into the indoor air. Lighting plays a fundamental role: opt for energy-efficient LED lamps, which consume less energy and last longer than traditional light bulbs.
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Source: www.greenstyle.it
