Eco-friendly wood bed, chair and tabletop accessories
Why It's Good:
Good-looking wood pieces, like this global-chic bed (pictured left, bottom), classic straight-back chair (pictured left, top) and these sublime mango-wood accessories (pictured right), play well with other décor styles and are capable of reinventing your domain over and over again. If home furniture designers are going to taketh from the environment, they should also giveth back. With these quality items—simply carved to flatter the wood—we think they have.
Why It's Green:
The Legian Bed from High Fashion Home is constructed of high-quality mahogany from well-managed forests (not illegally logged), causing no harm to fragile habitats, local water sources or the indigenous community. (Note: Mahogany wood is becoming increasingly rare. We generally avoid endangered woods, but at least this was responsibly harvested.) Pot Luck Studios’ collection of trays, bowls and tabletop items is made from rapidly growing handcrafted mango wood, ethically produced in Jaipur, India. Design Workshop's Scroll Back chair is reclaimed teak, either recovered from a demolition landfill, a deconstruction project or even underwater.
Where To Get It:
Click on the product names to purchase directly, or for buying information. For the reclaimed teak chair, you can also call 888-831-3176 for information. For the bed, you can also call 888-685-3838 to order. For a complete listing of FSC-certified wood funiture sources, go to www.certifiedwood.org and www.fsc-info.org.
Good Wood for a Green and Gorgeous Home
When shopping for wood furniture and decor, I have three rules. 1) Buy used, or partially used. There's nothing more eco-chic than an antique—the styles are singular, and reusing them is basically unimpeachable from an eco point-of-view. Anything composed from reclaimed or recycled wood is a great option, too, and you often get that lovely, worn texture that says "character," like on this lovely Reclaimed Teak Chair, $330, available at an e-tailer we love called Green With Glamour.
2) If buying new, avoid wood veneer on plywood or particleboard, which can pollute indoor air quality with formaldehyde gas for years after being manufactured.
3) Finally, for new items, go for solid wood, which, fortunately, is easy to identify as eco-friendly or not: Just look for the Forest Stewardship Council label. The FSC is international nonprofit organization backed by groups such as Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club and the Rainforest Action Network. FSC certification is how I can be sure the wood came from sustainably maintained forests, like with this stunning Legian Bed, $3,299 for the queen. Sometimes it's a question of knowing which are the "good woods," like the sustainable, fast-growing mango wood that was carved to make this amazing Wood Pedestal Bowl, $36 for the small (not available online, click here for stores near your, or call 1-800-442-8157 for information). For a list of other good woods, click here.
By the way, it's really green to buy from local designers, eliminating dollar- and gas-costly shipping. Sometimes, however, when it comes to new stylish, sustainable solid wood pieces for our homes that aren't from around the way, we can fall hard. Sort of like a tree.—Julie Fowler