Many manufacturers, large and small, are jumping on the green bandwagon and producing upholstered furniture with more than just style and your comfort in mind.  The following companies adhere to sustainable practices, use eco-friendly materials and most manufacture their furnishings here in the USA.

So, whether you’re looking for new living room furniture with clean contemporary lines or something a bit more traditional, opt for pieces that incorporate reclaimed or FSC-certified woods, plant-based foam cushions (as opposed to conventional petroleum-based ones) and/or natural fabrics.

• BKIND3 uses linen & recycled cotton fabrics and some soy-based foam.
• Cisco Brothers uses FSC-certified hardwoods and offers natural upholstery.
• Crate & Barrel has incorporated FSC-certified wood frames, soy and corn-based cushions, into 50+ styles of their upholstered furniture.
• EcoBalanza handcrafts their furniture using FSC-certified woods, natural latex cushions, organic cotton & wool batting, and natural & recycled content fabrics.
• Lee Industries‘ naturalLee line is made with FSC-certified wood frames, soy-based cushions, recycled fiber pillows, natural fabrics and water-based stains (furniture pictured above).
• MetroSofa builds their newly restored, unique furniture utilizing old and antique wood frames.
• RC Green creates furniture with certified & reclaimed woods, low or no VOC finishes, natural fabrics, water-based glues, and soy/latex/recycled foam.
• Rowe’s EcoRowe line & La-Z-Boy‘s EcoComfort line  have incorporated some eco-friendly production practices and materials into their pieces.
• The Sofa Company‘s custom sofas are made from FSC-certified woods, jute webbing, water-based stains & glues, soy-based cushions and even recycled steel.

Hardwood floors are not only very appealing, but they are durable, easy-to-clean and long-lasting.  Whether you need new flooring for a historic property or a new build, hardwood flooring is a great option for many rooms in your home.  The best flooring is made from sustainably-harvested woods with finishes that won’t compromise indoor air quality.

By choosing these products (from local dealers), you’ll be supporting the green economy and keeping clean air inside your home.  Be sure to avoid wood flooring originating from the rainforest, unless it is FSC-certified, to guarantee against devastating deforestation.

• EcoTimber (based in the USA) manufactures gorgeous hardwood flooring from FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) trees, as well as FSC-certified reclaimed wood (from fallen trees, antique wood or furniture scraps) sourced from forests in the USA and abroad.  Floors are finished without harmful urea-formaldehyde (an ingredient commonly found in conventional products).  This company offers decades-long warranties!  (pictured above)
• Smith & Fong’s Durapalm flooring is made from reclaimed coconut or sugar palm trees that are past their fruit-bearing years.  This unique flooring product is available pre-finished or unfinished and is free of urea-formaldehyde.
• Kährs, a Swedish company, manufactures beautiful hardwood flooring from FSC-certified or PEFC-certified (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) sources.  This eco-conscious company uses an entirely solvent-free production process and uses the most environmental-friendly stains and finishes.

Another great option for sustainable hardwood flooring is that which is made from reclaimed wood.  This AMAZING-looking wood is sourced from historic buildings and barns, old wine barrels, and even from the bottom of lakes and rivers.  Check out my earlier posts here and also here to find a local supplier of reclaimed wood flooring.

photo courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com

If you’re replacing your old windows with new energy-efficient ones, don’t throw them away!   You can donate them to architectural salvage yards or use them for new projects.  I’ve compiled a list of amazing things you can do with them that will add instant character to your home.

Use old windows as:

• Dividers between interior rooms where a cut-out in the wall exists.  It’ll give you privacy in each space without blocking sunlight that normally passes through the rooms.  If you install hinges on the wall edge, you can open them when desired.
• New glass door fronts for kitchen or bath cabinetry.  They look great all cleaned up!
• A window in a faux ruin wall (like the one pictured above) which used left-over bricks to create a garden room.
• A tabletop sitting atop 4 legs.  To give a finished look, add some trim between the legs just below the window tabletop.
• A mini greenhouse!
• Decorative screens when 3 old windows are hinged together.
• A headboard or wall art.  You can paint something on the glass or attach a scenic print to the backside of the frame (with or without the glass).

photos courtesy of re-nest.com and robojunker.com

I have been amazed by the array of recycled glass objects (vases, pitchers, wall art, ornaments, home accessories, cheese plates, sculptures, lighting, even jewelry) that look like beautiful pieces of art.  Sometimes the new objects retain the character of the original glass bottles, while other times, the glass has been melted down to reveal completely new forms.

These handcrafted works of art add a touch of whimsy and a shimmer of light to any decor.

• Ideas on Legs (pictured here):  Afton, Virginia
• Melting Grounds:  Portland, Oregon
• Reborn Glass:  Cape Coral, Florida
• Wolf Art Glass:  Austin, Texas

Tumbled recycled glass can also be used out of doors in fire-pits, fountains, fish ponds, pathways and as colorful mulch!  Read my earlier post here about the many uses in the landscape.

In Part I of this series on eco-friendly outdoor furniture, I focused on those made with reclaimed wine barrels and other sustainable woods.  Here, innovative creations made from recycled skis, snowboards and HDPE plastic are highlighted.

1. Green Mountain Ski Furniture out of Waterbury Center, Vermont, offers an extensive line of durable outdoor furnishings.  They accept donated skis and boards and will create a custom piece just for you from your very own equipment.
2. Reeski, based in Aspen, Colorado, recycles about 12,000 pounds of skis and snowboards annually to create cool picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and benches.  They offer custom-made products too.
3. Vermont Ski Recyclers out of Morrisville, Vermont, also saves tons of industry discards from becoming solid waste.  Their line includes tables, chairs, barstools, even a settee!
4. Made-in-the-USA, the mod recycled plastic furnishings that Loll Designs creates are durable, easy-to-care-for and stylish. (pictured here).
5. Recycled milk jugs and detergent bottles are used to make the wide assortment of furniture that Poly-Wood, Inc. offers. Classic Adirondack chairs, benches, rockers, and tables are available in many color choices.

Looking for some artful, yet functional pieces to spruce up your backyard this summer?  In this particular post in my series of earth-friendly outdoor furniture, I’ll focus on cool collections made from reclaimed winebarrels, watertanks and barnwood.  Other options include FSC-certified furniture where the wood is harvested from well-managed forests.  From patio dining sets to Adirondack chairs, you’ll find a wide array of outdoor furnishings made from eco-friendly materials.

• Northern California’s Whit McLeod Handcrafted Furniture creates Arts and Crafts style masterpieces, like the bench pictured here, from salvaged wood.
• Reforest Teak offers a unique collection of outdoor furnishings made from sustainably-harvested teak.
• Tennessee-based 11th Hour Furniture specializes in hand-crafted, custom-made furniture for the home and garden.  They use FSC-certified reclaimed and local woods finished with eco-friendly stains.
• Rocky Mountain Cabin Decor features a wide assortment of amazing outdoor furniture and accessories made from reclaimed barnwood and other interesting woods.
• For a list of resources for wonderful wine barrel furniture suitable for the outdoors too, see my earlier post here.

Love the feeling of warmth and sunshine that emanates from the Napa Valley and other wine-producing regions?  One way to bring that sensation home is to incorporate furniture made from reclaimed wine barrels.  The barrels are typically made from the finest oak trees and are free from knots and defects.  During the course of many years in the wine-making process, the oak barrels absorb the deep, rich color of the wine.  The end product is perfectly-aged wood that beautifully accents kitchens, wine cellars and even outdoor spaces.

Whether you’re searching for tables, chairs, a wine rack or other accents/accessories, benches, planters, or even a guitar stand, you can find unique pieces handcrafted from wine barrel wood.  The artists at these small companies are sure to impress you with their artful work:

• WineBarrelFurniture
• Wine Barrel Furniture and Things
• Wine Garden Designs (pictured here)
• Wine Barrel Creations

Straw, a waste by-product of, most notably, the wheat industry has been gaining in popularity for use in the green building industry, and for good reason.   It’s long been an environmental issue to dispose of straw, the remaining by-product of wheat grain after it is harvested.  Typically, it has been burned which causes serious air pollution problems.

Here’s where eco-friendly strawboard panels come in. They can replace gypsum drywall which consumes much more energy to produce.  The studs aren’t even needed in some interior partition walls with these highly compressed straw panels!   Other applications include:  interior and exterior walls, load and non-bearing ceilings, roofing, doors, and flooring.  Also, since wheat is grown in the U.S. and around the world every year for food, it is a rapidly renewable resource.

Key features of strawboard panels include: affordability and reduction of sound transmission.  Plus, they’re also fire-, termite-, mold-, and impact-resistant.  Strawboard is similar to wood and can be sawn, drilled, routed, nailed, screwed, and glued.

Two companies manufacture strawboard panels here in the U.S.:

• Enviro Board Corp. of Sacramento, CA.
• Durra Building Systems, based in Whitewright, Texas.
• A similar product called  BIOFIBER™ wheat panels, made by Environ BioComposite, can be used for interior applications such as table surfaces, cabinetry, furniture, and decorative & architectural applications.

Source:  Toolbase.org

Spending a lot of time indoors this winter?  You may be realizing that some of your furnishings need replacing.  For those on a tight budget, there are several ways to spruce up your living room:  cover existing upholstered furniture with organic cotton slip covers; sand and re-paint or stain existing wood pieces (with natural and non-toxic products); or shop at consignment or thrift stores.  But for those who are seeking new furnishings, there’s still plenty of environmentally-friendly options.

• Crate & Barrel offers many styles that are made in the U.S.A, and use certified, kiln-dried hardwoods and soy-based polyfoam cushioning. Some models offer eight-way hand-tied springs (a sign of high quality).
• EcoBalanza creates non-toxic, sustainable furniture in its Seattle, Washington facility using FSC-certified wood, natural latex cushioning, organic & wool batting, natural fabrics, eight-way hand-tied recycled steel springs, and zero-VOC glues.
• The EcoComfort collection by La-Z-Boy uses natural, soy-based foam in the cushions and eco-friendly materials, such as recycled plastic bottles, in a wide selection of fabrics.
  
• RC Green (pictured above) by designer Robert Craymer, offers high-end furniture made in the U.S.A. with locally-sourced FSC-certified wood, recycled steel, non-toxic & formaldehyde-free stains & glues, soy or latex cushioning, and natural fabrics. His line can be found at Vivavi in New York City and through trade professionals (prices are not for the faint-of-heart!).
• Viesso’s cool, customizable furniture is made in Los Angeles, CA with FSC-certified and locally-sourced woods, natural latex cushioning, recycled or natural fabrics, and water-based glues & stains. The furniture can be seen at its LA showroom and ordered online by consumers or trade professionals.
• Zola Furniture is hand-made at the company’s facility in Bend, Oregon and is sold through interior designers. They use only the finest low-impact, sustainably produced, natural, organic and recyclable materials and offer a huge selection of eco-friendly fabrics.

This part of my series on eco-friendly makeovers, I’ll focus on another substantial element in any kitchen or bathroom:  cabinetry.  Whether you’re looking for something sleek and streamlined, or cabinets with a traditional flair, the green options available today will modernize and beautify these much-used rooms.

• Alter Eco’s featured material is bamboo due to its ‘aesthetic appeal, its structural integrity and its environmental benefits’.  Currently, its custom cabinetry is available exclusively in the San Francisco Bay area.
• New York-based Breathe Easy Cabinetry uses responsibly-harvested solid wood, formaldehyde-free plywood boxes, and non-toxic water-based glues and finishes.
• Reclaimed barn wood makes beautiful, timeless kitchen islands.  Recently, I admired some wonderful pieces while visiting Cherry Acres Furniture in the quaint town of Lititz, PA.  They also handcraft kitchen tables.
• Codfish Park Designs, of Madison, NJ utilizes North American hardwoods, eco-friendly plywood, and low-VOC finishes in its custom cabinetry.
• Citilog, based in NJ, uses reclaimed wood to build its custom cabinetry (pictured here).  Upon request, they will even remove trees from your site to use in your project.
• Green Leaf Cabinetry’s semi-custom and custom cabinetry is made from FSC-certified wood and is finished with low-VOC paints and stain.  The company is out of Cleveland, Ohio.
• The doors and drawer faces at GreenTech Cabinetry are FSC-certified wood species; the drawer boxes are bamboo; and finishes are zero-VOC.
• Portland, Oregon’s Neil Kelly Cabinets uses FSC-certified woods, no-added formaldehyde agriboard case & drawer materials, and low VOC glues, adhesives and finishes.  Dealers are located in 26 states.
• Terra Cabinets crafts its stock and custom cabinetry with FSC-certified wood, bamboo and low-VOC and zero-VOC materials.
• Young Furniture offers, throughout the Northeast, unfinished cabinets in FSC-certified Maple, Poplar and Pine.