Sustainable Furniture
The most sustainable pieces of furniture are items that are pre-loved
What is sustainable furniture?
Nowadays, 90% of furniture is mass-produced overseas, and this has a negative impact on the environment. Countries are suffering deforestation which affects climate change. Often modern furniture is made with low-quality materials and contain nasty chemicals like formaldehyde, which affects our health and the workers who made those pieces. Our tendency to chuck out furniture because it’s no longer trendy, or it has fallen apart too soon, contributes to landfill waste.
Buying sustainable is about resetting the way we think of furniture. We need to avoid ‘fast’ furniture, and instead purchase quality. This might be something that is brand new, but made in the UK or Europe, from sustainable materials. Furniture that will last the test of time, both in terms of style and construction. Tomorrow’s antiques, if you like. Or it might be buying antique and vintage pieces, which still enables you to create a look unique to you.
New furniture
When buying new furniture, it is important to avoid mass-produced brands. There are many fine craftsmen in the UK who make furniture with care and consideration, using sustainable materials.
Often made to order, pieces can be customised to your colour, style and dimensions. It’s an amazing feeling to have a piece made just for you and that is in proportion to the space it sits within. It’s well worth the extra wait too.
Many furniture makers are producing pieces made from recycled and sustainable materials.
Period and antique furniture
Antique furniture is hand crafted, built from solid wood, probably made in Britain. It will easily outlast mass-produced furniture, and you will generally pick up an antique piece for a fraction of buying a similar quality item new.
Older pieces tend to have lovely details and ooze character and charm. They can easily be paired with ultra modern furniture, for a stylish eclectic look. A period dining table looks amazing with ultra modern chairs. For a more modern look, there is also a lot of mid-century furniture to be found on the Island.
Outdated or scruffy furniture can be reupholstered or painted, turning it into something that looks fresh again. Whether a valuable antique piece, or something saved from a skip, reutilising an item of pre-owned furniture is completely sustainable. It saves the energy needed to manufacture something new, and stops something going to landfill.
On the Isle of Wight, house clearance is in abundance, and there are lots of antique shops, so picking up some gorgeous period pieces is easy and need not cost the earth.
Vintage and secondhand furniture
Vintage and secondhand furniture is considerably cheaper than new and is immediately available. Older pieces are better made and bring character, uniqueness and style to a room. To reuse something is kinder to the planet.
Secondhand furniture has become the pinnacle of style as people discover how chic their home can be, whilst being eco-friendly in their purchases. Buying second hand furniture takes you into a world of opportunities and prevents something ending up in landfill.
Funk up an ordinary piece by painting it a bold colour. It’s easy to paint furniture yourself, and there are lots of furniture paints readily available. A couple of coats, then finished with wax, and you can transform something very quickly. Or Ziboh Interiors can offer that service for you. Dizzy Duck Designs makes some fabulous stencils perfect for furniture.
Search on WightBay, or in the numerous second furniture outlets. WightBay is full of lovely items, and there are also a number of charity shops on the Island with large warehouses dedicated to large goods like furniture.
It can be a very inexpensive way of furnishing your home, and it will be utterly unique. Time and effort are sometimes required to source secondhand furniture, but this is a fun part of the journey.
Reupholstery
A way to completely transform a room is to reupholster your sofa or headboard. If it’s good quality underneath, then it’s far better to recover it in a new fabric.
For something unique, try a bold patterned cotton print for your sofa, accented with some plain velvet scatter cushions in bright colours. Add detailing with contract piping or deep buttoning.
Perhaps you’ve inherited an old chair you loved from the family home you grew up in, but it doesn’t work in your more modern home. Breathe new life into it with a new fabric. A traditional armchair can look absolutely stunning in a modern pattern.
New upholstery
If you need to buy, new then British handcrafted upholstery cannot be beaten. Constructed using traditional methods, it will outlast the mass produced sofas and chairs available in high street retailers. Even those cheap retail park retailers whose products are made in the UK. The construction methods and materials used cannot be compared.
The upholstery ranges I offer mainly come from two manufacturers, based in the Cotswolds and in Warwickshire. You can choose any fabric you like, but I always guide people towards opting for something sustainable.
Custom-made furniture
Sometimes it’s not always possible to find exactly what you’re looking for. It might be that a room has an awkward space, or you need built-in furniture to maximise storage capacity. In these instances it may be worth commissioning a bespoke piece.
This is particularly useful if you want something fitted – built-in units either side of a chimney breast, for example.
It is such a satisfying way of buying furniture, as you speak with the cabinet maker directly, see examples of their craftsmanship, and work together to come up with something utterly unique for you.
