Country Causal Living Room. Photo courtesy of Eco-FriendlyModernLiving.
Always looking for green decorating ideas, I decided to focus this post on where we spend the most time at home – living room, which for many of us doubles as the family room.
It’s where we watch television, play games, and generally relax. Spending some much time in the living room, we should also make sure that it’s as healthy and comfortable as it is beautiful.
If you are either planning on redecorating or buying furniture for the first time, then you should really read this post. I found four great online eco-furniture and accessory outlets that are really worth looking at for their ranges of styles and selection. They are: Eco-FriendlyModernLiving, American Eco Furniture, EcoChoices, and GreenSofas.com.
Eco-FriendlyModernLiving
Bali Wing Chair by Eco-FriendlyModernLiving.
Eco-FriendlyModernLiving has one of biggest and eclectic collections of environmentally-friendly furniture on the web, ranging from categories including sustainable, bamboo, modern, reclaimed wood, and colonial.
The company talks about its materials, saying, “The woods used by our manufacturer are either from tree species that are grown specifically for the wood carving industry such as bamboo and rubber trees or from recycled wood which is 75 to 150 years old.”
I have favorite pieces from each of their collections. The piece that I like best from the sustainable collection is the Bali Wing Chair, which feature rattan (palm) and rattan peel in a herringbone weave.
Zuo Unico Chaise from Eco-FriendlyModernLiving.
The chairs’ seats have hardwood corner blocked frames with elasticized fabric spring decks that make them very comfortable. Another great feature is that the cushion and pillow covers are removable. The seat covers can be ordered in leather, faux leather, and a number of fabrics including linen.
The modern collection ranges from futuristic to more contemporary modern, contrasting between styles like the Zuo Modern Unico Chaise ottoman and the Chestfield Sofa.
Chestfield Sofa from Eco-FriendlyModernLiving.
The Unico Chaise features leatherette covered cushions (coming in either black or white) on a painted sliver steel seat and an ottoman frame sitting on top of solid steel chrome legs. In contrast, the Chestfield Sofa has a full bulkier style, and is made from soft genuine leather all over. This sofa also comes in black or white.
One of my favorite collections from the company is the reclaimed wood, which is made with a combination of antique pine from old buildings and sustainable new wood harvested from regional forests in the Southern California region.
Library Bookcase from Eco-FriendlyModernLiving.
One of my favorite pieces from this collection is the Library Bookcase with the glass doors and drawer. It comes in six different colors – white wash, walnut, stripped pine, light brown, dark brown, and golden oak.
Eco-FriendlyModernLiving also has furnishings for other areas of the home including the dining area, bedroom, office, bar, and outdoor.
The company adds that all of its furniture is 100 percent solid wood construction, and all of the environmentally-friendly furniture is 100 percent hand-crafted in Southern California.
American Eco Furniture
American Eco Furniture is another company that has a great selection. The furniture is handcrafted in the United States using fair labor practices, and made of lumber from sustainably harvested forests. In addition, the company says that it also uses materials that are from reclaimed, recycled, and repurposed sources.
One of my favorite pieces from American Eco Furniture is their McCoy Reclining Sofa, which has a beautiful old fashioned country casual look that’s great for an informal living room or family room.
The McCoy sofa is benchcrafted by Amish craftsmen and made with solid hardwood. The materials are domestically sourced, and don’t contain: veneer, plywood, particle board, pressed wood, or MDF (medium density fiberboard).
Geneva Rocking Chair from American Eco Furniture.
The sofa is also highly customizable, coming several woods including: brown maple, cherry, walnut, and red oak. The finishes include: unfinished, natural, painted, espresso, and Asbury brown. And the upholstery can come in either an assortment of leathers or an assortment of solid and print fabrics.
Another great item from the collection is the Geneva Rocking Chair which also has a beautiful old fashioned look. It’s made entirely of solid kiln dried wood harvested in the American heartland and benchcrafted by Amish craftsmen. It also has a padded seat and headrest that comes in the same assortment of leathers and fabrics as the McCoy sofa.
The rocking chair is also free of materials including: veneer, plywood, particle board, pressed wood, or MDF (medium density fiberboard).These chairs are assembled in Ohio.
Mission Viejo Coffee Table from American Eco Furniture.
Another great piece from the collection that’s made with the same craftsmanship is the Mission Viejo Coffee Table. It features two doors and three dovetail drawers for storage, all with diamond shaped knobs.
The coffee table is made of solid wood. It comes in the same wood and finish selections as the rocking chair and sofa, and is also free of all of the previously mentioned chemically-treated wood materials.
American Eco Furniture also has furnishings from other areas of the home, including the dining room, bedroom, and outdoors.
EcoChoices
EcoChoices is another great place for sofas, though like the other outlets they also have furnishings for other rooms like the bedroom, but also accessories for household living like kitchenware, bathroom items, linens, towels, carpets, apparel, jewelry, etc.
For the living room, EcoChoices has a variety of customizable sofas, loveseats, and armchairs in its Organic Dallas Terra Club Collection. The furniture in this collection features contemporary, handcrafted environmentally-friendly, non-toxic materials.
Organic Dallas Terra Hemp Club Sofa from EcoChoices.
The furniture is upholstered with organic hemp fabric and wood construction that is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.
EcoCoices also says that the cushions are made from 100 percent natural latex foam from rubber that’s made from the sap of rainforest rubber trees. The company also promises that the rubber will outlast all toxic synthetic petroleum-based urethane foams by at least 20 years or more.
In addition, the company applies several layers of pure organic cotton batting for cushioning and then secures everything with a barrier wrap of organic sheeting. Finally the pieces are upholstered with heavy hemp fabrics. There are also hardwood maple feet that come in four finishes – natural, mahogany, walnut, and ebony.
Also a really nice piece in the collection is the Organic Dallas Terra Hemp Club Sofa, which can be selected in a plethora of hemp fabric weaves and colors, including: toffee, artichoke, leek, espresso, chalk, charcoal, natural, and peacock.
The wood trim can be selected from the options previously mentioned, and the sofa is also customizable in terms of sleeper options – no sleeper, sleeper with mattress, and sleeper with latex mattress.
Other great pieces are the Organic Dallas Terra Hemp Club Armchair, Loveseat, and Sectional Sofa. All of the pieces are customizable with all of the above options in terms of fabrics and wood trim. All of the furniture is manufactured in the United States and made-to-order.
GreenSofas.com
GreenSofas.com is another great company, which as its name implies, specializes solely in making sofas using only environmentally friendly materials. The sofas range in styles from traditional to transitional to modern.
Janelle Modern Sofa from GreenSofas.com.
All of the sofas are made with frames using only FSC certified wood and with springs constructed of 100 percent recycled steel.
In addition, the company says that it uses only 100 percent solvent-free, water-based glues on all its furniture.
GreenSofas explains that its “adhesives emit little or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), unlike conventional glue products, making them less smelly and far safer for use in the home,” adding that, “Water-based glues do not negatively impact indoor air quality.”
GreenSofas also talks about the materials used in its cushions and fabrics. In making the cushions, the company says, “We do not use any down as we are sensitive to the ethical treatment of animals. Our standard eco-cushion is a multi-layer, soy-based foam wrapped in recycled fibers.”
The company adds that the cushions have 100 percent latex cores made from sustainably harvested sap from rubber trees. The cushions create a resilient material that doesn’t produce fumes like traditional foams. GreenSofas also says the “natural latex cushions have a lifetime warranty against loss of shape and are not treated with any flame retardants.”
The cushions are also made of biodegradable materials, like the fabrics which are made from natural fibers. The company uses natural cotton, hemp, and linen for its sofas. The cotton colors include: white, natural, flaxen, rust olive, navy, and graphite. The hemp colors include: fern, coal, coca, and earth. And the linen colors include: vanilla, malt, pesto, and avocado.
GreenSofas also has another great feature which is a “Green Gard fabric protection (which is water-based, ozone friendly, phosphate free and carcinogen free) that comes with a five year warranty against stains, rips, tears, and burns.” It guarantees the furniture up to $25,000.
Reader comments and input are always welcomed!