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Look for pieces of furniture that have been built with certified sustainable wood. FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging and coordinating the development of forest management standards throughout the different bio-geographic regions of the U.S. Responsibly managed forests focus on replanting at least one tree in the place of each one that is cut down to regenerate the forest and never deplete it. By asking for furniture made from FSC wood, you create the demand that will help break the inertia of poorly managed resources.
Another great choice is buying furniture that is made from reclaimed wood. Entire companies are devoted to reclaiming the wood from vacant factories or other structures and reforming it into highly functional and elegant pieces of furniture. Beyond wood, also look for furniture that re-uses metals, plastics, and glass. Furniture made from bamboo is also a great option since bamboo is actually a grass and grows so quickly. Salvaged or vintage furniture is really the most eco-friendly of all, because no additional resources are needed to manufacture the piece. If you find one that you like and want to refinish it, just make sure to buy the new low or zero VOC paint or urethane to avoid the off-gassing from the Volatile Organic Compounds found in most non 'green' finishes that we have used for decades.
Make Sure the Furniture Goes with the Room
The size and ceiling height of a room both contribute to its scale, and one of the keys in selecting the right furniture is to understand the scale. Many people focus first on style, color, and texture, so scale is an often overlooked consideration during the furniture selection process. Avoid falling in love with just one piece and buying it before you look into the other pieces for the room.
If you have the opportunity to design an addition to your home, draw in the furniture to the scale of the floor plan or ask your architect to draw in the major pieces and even the side tables. You can easily find dimensions for every type of furniture online and if you are re-furnishing existing rooms, you can use the bright blue wide painters tape to quickly layout the sizes and see if your 'strategy' works before spending all of the money for the room. Then have some fun picking the style, color, and textures.
Refinishing out of Date Finishes
Repurposing an old chair or sofa is obviously more eco-friendly than buying a new piece, and many furniture shops and upholstery professionals across the country up the eco-ante with modern and eco-friendly fabrics. The balance of traditional furniture paired with modern, kicky fabrics feels really fresh right now.
More often than not, vintage furniture is a triple threat: better made, more personality, and less expensive than the mass produced items that we see everywhere. Almost 90 percent of what we throwaway could be recycled or reused, and furniture is no exception. If you have something that you don't want or if you are looking for something that you need, try out The Salvation Army, Goodwill stores, Ebay, Craigslist, flea markets, and even yard sales.
These are perfect places to unload or snap up a well priced table, sofa, or chair. If the lines of a particular piece of furniture appeal to you, remember that you can always update it with a fresh coat of low VOC paint and new fabric. Overall, key your eyes open for salvage shops, antique shops, and re-upholstery opportunities. Sand down and refinish an old piece rather than necessarily buy a new one. Often the older craftsmanship is better than newer techniques that involve glue over dovetail joints.
GREENandSAVE.com is a free resource for anyone that wants to save energy, money, and the environment. The articles, product reviews, online tools, and return on investment calculations are researched from a diverse range of public and private sector sources. Overall, the company is passionate about saving money as well as creating healthy homes, offices, and lifestyles.
Furniture is often an afterthought when trying to remain environmentally sustainable at home, however GREENandSAVE offers great detail on just how to go about Furnishing your home. They also offer great information on the paybacks for various Home Remodeling projects with their Return on Investment Table.
