Designing a home is never easy and now we must all try to design greener homes to do our part for the environment and health of our families. When you design your home’s interior there is a lot you need to think about and consider apart from budget or style. You also need to think about what purpose each room will have, what materials to use, and even the layout of the furniture and how it will affect the flow of traffic.
Of course, you also want to design earth-friendly aspects into your home. With the climate crisis and pollution of plastic hitting headlines all over the world, it’s important to think about how our choices affect the environment.
This is especially true if you are decorating for rental properties. If you ever find yourself in need of information on interior design guides and other product and service reviews, sites like iPropertyManagement can help you get the help and guidance you need.
To help you design with “earth-friendly” in mind, here are a few ways for you to create a greener home.
Design Tips for a Greener Home
Decorate with Plants
Having plants around the house can instantly give you a home that is more friendly to the environment. Plants produce fresh air for your home and help purify the air of any toxins.
Apart from that, decorating your interiors with plants gives the feeling that the room is more vibrant and alive. It also provides an atmosphere that makes you feel more relaxed and comfortable in your own home.
To bring the outside into your home, you can decorate your house with spider plants, which are perhaps one of the easiest houseplants to take care of. It’s also one of the few houseplants that grow in a wide variety of environments.
Natural Lighting
First, maximize the natural light from the sun in order to illuminate your home. The use of natural lighting is also energy-efficient so be sure to open your curtains during the day to maximize natural light around your home. Additionally, try staying away from darker colors and use lighter colors to help the sunlight bounce around and light all corners of your home.
However, the best way to enhance natural light is with the use of decorative mirrors that not only enhance your design but contribute to a lower carbon footprint for your home.
Green Furniture
Furniture made from synthetic materials is usually a less expensive option, but most are full of toxins. For example, furniture frames made from particleboard or wood pulp are held together with binders and glues. Unfortunately, those are laced with VOC and other toxic chemicals. Moreover, these chemicals cause allergies, nausea, and other bad reactions for humans and pets.
Instead, find furniture built with the finer techniques of well-crafted wooden joints. Another point of greener furniture is to be cautious of the fillers in the cushions. Of course, this comes at a higher price, but there are less expensive alternatives. Excellent alternatives include shopping for furniture from flea markets and online websites for antique and vintage furniture.
Older furniture that uses well-crafted joints rather than glue and nails are better for your lungs and for the environment. So, until non-toxic furniture becomes the “norm” if you can’t afford the newer eco-friendly furniture, why not go on a treasure hunt for fine quality vintage furniture? We recommend that you start with the 1980s and go back to find the best eco-quality furniture at an affordable price. What’s really nice is your well-built vintage furniture will last decades longer than your neighbors brand new dining table from a cut-rate store. Guaranteed!
In addition to the earth-friendliness, just imagine the fun of combining older fine-quality furniture with your modern decor! That’s a happy and healthy design challenge.
Enjoy Your Greener Home!
These design ideas are easy-peasy ways to turn your home into an eco-friendly house. What’s also great about incorporating these easy ideas into your interior design is that they reduce your carbon footprint while beautifying the place you call home. That’s a win-win for everyone!
All images are courtesy of Canva.
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About the Author: Ashley Edwards
