Green Options

[Freshly stained dresser. Photo by Lenore MacLeod-Bickley]

We’ve all got pieces of furniture that look like they’re on the way out. When I first moved to Atlanta, a friend gave me a coffee table. I had no money and very little furniture, so I was grateful even though the table was sort of…well…it was ugly, alright? It was an ugly, ugly table. Rather than pitch it, I decided to give it a fresh coat of white paint and try my hand at a mosaic. We still have that little coffee table living out on the front porch! It’s a little bit dusty at the moment, but I’ll show you a picture if you promise not to judge my housekeeping skills:

I came across The Weld House today, and love the concept - new furniture made from reclaimed sheet metal. Joel Hester’s studio makes furniture from 20+ year-old cars, and the products are beautiful.

Before:

After:

Cool. He’s located in Texas, and for handmade piece of art, the prices are actually quite resonable. Check out the website for more information.

Throughout the years, my husband and I have inherited some interesting pieces of furnture.  None of them would be considered antiques, and some are just hand-me-downs that we took without really knowing why.  Two of these pieces of furntire were in our art/guest room, and every time we looked at them we wondered what we could do to make them more appealing.  We realized that the answer was to sand them down and stain them, which definitely did the trick!

Since the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 1800’s, there has been an uneasy relationship between good design and mass-production. In recent years, another concern has crept into the dialogue: sustainability. And for most buyers, inexpensive, easily-obtained — and disposable — furniture seems to carry the day.

But Seattle-based furniture design company Meyer Wells is interested in bringing craftsmanship [...]

I’m reading a book about wood. The title is “Wood,” by Harvey Green. It’s written a bit like the slightly more popular and accessible books by a different author titled “Salt” and “Cod” by Mark Kurlansky. But “Wood” is about our use of wood in home construction, furniture, machinery, packaging, religion—everything. In this book, the author makes many interesting observations, like the fact that although the saw was developed independently in many parts of the world and they are strikingly similar, some cultures designed saws to cut on the push stroke (Western) and others to cut on the pull stroke (Eastern). I think this is fascinating.

He also writes about a time in our past when almost everyone had some knowledge of working with wood because everyday activities like farming, cooking, cleaning traveling, required implements that needed to be made out of wood.

Now that I have read it, this seems so obvious. Back in Laura Ingalls’ time, you couldn’t just go to the store and buy everything you needed like we can today (alas, Mr. Oleson’s store was well stocked but not like what you can find at Wal-Mart). Still, what a cool common bond they all had. I feel a little envious of what seems like a really artistic skill, but then I think that this is sort of how computers are for us today. Almost everyone has to have some knowledge of a computer interface in order to help get our jobs done (supposedly) faster and more efficiently.

A modern take on a Victorian classic, the Cleo sofa is just one in a collection of completely sustainable and modern furniture.  Greener Lifestyles, based in Seattle, WA doesn’t believe you have to sacrifice your health, the environment or good design for well-made, long lasting pieces for your home.  Priding themselves on impeccible craftsmenship and attention to detail with 100% sustainability their goal, they’re always searching for the best non-toxic materials.  

Responsibly harvested FSC-certified wood is used for the frame, while sustainably harvested rubber tree sap is turned into their biodegradable and mold, mite and mildew-resisting latex cushions.  Anti-microbial and naturally fire-retardant organic wool is used with organic cotton for all cushion batting. 

Editor’s note: You might expect a post about an event called NEOCON to appear on Red, Green & Blue, but, as our friends at GreenBuildingTalk point out, NEOCON is a trade show for interior furnishings (with no particular ideological leanings, we’re guessing). The show took place in GBT’s hometown of Chicago, so they got a first-hand look at NEOCON’s green offerings. This post was originally published on Tuesday, June 17, 2008.

The National Exposition of Contract Interior Furnishings (NEOCON) was held this past week in Chicago, and GreenBuildingTalk was there to check out the unique combination of over 1,200 residential and commercial showrooms and exhibits. With our goal of discovering new green products, Josh and I made our way through the maze of office furniture, flooring, wallcoverings, and hundreds of chairs.

Amidst the legions of chairs, our first discovery was RealForm Technology’s plant-based polyurethane foams, products used for seating applications. The polyurethane foams contain 20% bio-based content, and the company’s laboratory trials have achieved even higher Bio-Polyol substitution, foams capable of being molded for any type of furniture, including sofas. RealForm’s Realbio foam product is leading the way in eco-friendly furniture foam, and is one to keep an eye on.

So I wouldn’t say we were incredibly green this weekend, but we were relatively green.

[...]

When we order a new piece of furniture or new piece of technology for our home, it comes delivered in a box large enough for kids to build a fort in (what I did in an old refrigerator box once). There’s so much packaging that you have to call your trash service and request a special “large load” pick-up. I am ashamed to bring home a plastic bag from the grocery store

[...]

Looking for the ultimate way to accessorize your home in an environmentally-friendly manner? Look no further than the Cardboard Chair company; a modern design company specializing in, well, chairs completely made of cardboard.

Each of the designs contains a minimum of 30% recycled fiber and are free of all formaldehyde/urea. In terms of strength, even the largest of people can be supported. If you happen to spill on your fine paper furniture, a [...]