[GREEN HOME] Tips on how to have green & sustainable home decor!

The difference between a house and a home is that the latter is a reflection of who you are and what you love. For the perfect home we all try to convert a house into a safe haven for our families by eliminating all possible domestic hazards and selecting the right decor items which ideally mirror our artistic tastes. Interior decor & furniture play a major role in transforming four walls into a home but that’s not the end of it. Furniture, for example, also plays an important part in securing our homes because usually the monsters aren’t under the bed but in the immediate environment around us. The type of furniture and interior decor plan we choose can actually allow for better indoor air quality & promote good health, save energy and money, and leave a greener footprint. In short, home decor is not only an artistic pursuit, but also impacts our health & our green footprint. So it is important to have sustainable home decor!

At UrbanMeisters, we shared with you plenty of information on how to have a green home:

How to make your house indoor pollution-free for kids to
room-by-room plant guide &
Special plant pot Airy that cleans air 8 times more effectively

Not just that. Because sustainability begins at home, we shared special features that help you maintain a sustainable home without any extra effort in your time-crunched lives:

However the actual trick lies in finding the right interior decor style to create that personal safe space. Fret not fellow UrbanMeisters for we are here to help! We have for you Emma again! She previously explained to us the importance of having a sustainable home and its proper management. In this second feature, she is stepping into the artistic zone of decoration to tell us about sustainable home decor. Her wonderful tips on creating the perfect sustainable home decor will stir up the green inside your house and of course readers, a little green goes a long way.

The Steps to a More Sustainable Home

Living in a sustainable home and doing whatever you can to help save Earth is one of the most important tasks of our time. Knowing the state that our planet is in at the moment and all the issues that come due to our energy consumption and raw material exploitation, it seems that only sustainable homes are the way to make a small, yet visible change in the world. And if we all did so, the overall impact would be palpable and could actually produce something good for everyone. Moreover, focusing on sustainability during your home decorating process also means you’ll be able to come up with more appealing and special décor that will separate your home from the others and make your guests enjoy every time they visit you. Therefore, here are some suggestions on how you can create a more sustainable home in a few easy, effective and interesting steps.

1. Sustainable bedroom

Furnishing is probably the biggest challenge you could face in your home and once you’re done with it, all you’re left with are the details and smaller tasks that can be done more easily. That’s why people pay so much attention to the process of furnishing and finding the right furniture for their sustainable home. Remember, it has to be eco-friendly and energy-efficient, but, luckily, since this trend is catching on, there are lots of options available to you, for each room of the house.

Source: ZenHaven

For instance, you can start with the bedroom – it’s a modern man’s sanctuary and an area where you and your significant other should be able to sleep, relax and recuperate after a hard day. So, pick an eco-friendly bed made from reclaimed wood, a comfortable organic mattress (like our favorite ecofriendly mattress brand Bruno or these all-natural ones from Zen Haven) and sustainable bedding made from materials such as rattan and enjoy your rest next to that special someone. Ultimately, decorate your bed with a few throw pillows or blankets made from eco-friendly alternatives to cotton – hemp, organic cotton, polyester and bamboo are just some of the options you have.

2. Sustainable living room

Source: Miss Amara

This is another important area of any home and a space where the family gathers and where you entertain your guests. Due to that, living rooms are often considered to be the focal points of your living space and if you really want to show the world how eco-friendly and sustainable you are, this is the spot to do so! Again, thanks to the constantly rising presence of sustainable materials in the modern furniture industry, you can easily furnish your entire living room using just sustainable pieces.

First of all, turn to recycled furniture because these are the best options you could find. Spend some time at your local flea market or browsing Craigslist and you’ll surely end up with enough furniture made from reclaimed wood – from coffee tables and TV stands to accent benches and cabinets. And if you’re handy, you can reupholster your old chairs, recliners, ottomans and sofas using eco-friendly materials and soy-based foam. This way, your entire living room with be furnished in sustainable and environmentally-aware manner.

3. Sustainable bathroom

This might seem tricky for some people, but that’s just because they aren’t able to think outside the box and find a way to introduce sustainability and eco-friendliness into small spaces such as the bathroom. However, if you know that this is where you find your balance and restore inner peace, you’ll understand why turning your bathroom into a sustainable sanctuary is a must. The options here aren’t as versatile and interesting as they were in the bedroom and living room, but you can still make it work.

So, the first thing you need to do is install a low-flow toilet, shower head and faucet that are going to minimize the amount of water you spend day after day. Don’t worry, these models are just as effective as the regular ones, but much more sustainable. Alternatively, you can turn your old toilet into a low-flow one on your own and get the same results. After that, replace all your light bulbs: most people prefer illuminated bathrooms and spend a ton of energy this way, yet LED bulbs make a huge change. Finally, ditch all the chemicals and cleaning supplies that are harmful to you and the environment and switch to home-made products – you’d be surprised what you can do with borax, soda, vinegar, salt and water! Learn from a real-life UrbanMeister, who is a global-citizen like us and makes her own DIY non-toxic cleaner or get yourself some eco-cleaning products from Common Good.

4. Start small, finish strong

Once you introduce sustainability into these rooms, it’s time to go on and find a way to do the same in other spaces you have – the kitchen, kids’ room, dining room, etc. It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t do everything at once and ultimately can’t make your entire home completely eco-friendly at once, so starting small and going one step at a time makes much more sense in the long run. Being with a few simple things: combine sustainable furniture with a new and appealing jute rug to create a nice balance in the bedroom, or add a luxurious leather sofa to your living room, but be sure to enhance its effect with an eco-friendly bamboo blanket.

When moving onto the kitchen, there are several things you need to focus on – the materials, the lighting and the open space. Cabinets made from second-hand wood and a stone or even wooden countertop will not only look amazing, but also minimize the need for new raw materials for companies producing kitchen furniture. As for the lighting, stick to the aforementioned LED bulbs that have been proven so effective in your bathroom, and keep your windows open as much as possible in order to let the fresh air in – this will save a ton of money on temperature regulation and also make your kitchen area much more enjoyable. Finally, when introducing sustainability in your kids’ room, be sure to include only the most eco-friendly furniture you can find and materials that will protect our planet as well as the health of your children.

5. Where to find inspiration?

Source: MissAmara

Finding inspiration for sustainable home decoration is quite easy nowadays due to the amount of content available on the Internet. With so many people getting interested in this approach to interior decoration, the number of usable online ideas is only getting bigger and bigger every day. This way, sustainability can reach wider audience and inspire others to join in the fight for preserving Mother Earth.

On the other hand, you can always turn to your parents and grandparents who used to live in a more peaceful time when eco-friendliness wasn’t a concern, and they can give you valuable advice on how to use recycled furniture and reclaimed wood, as well as guide you through the process of reupholstering your chairs and sofas.

6. Add a few details

In the end, you can use all of these ideas and still elevate the level of eco-friendliness in your home by adding green decorations all over your home, making it cozier and definitely more sustainable. But, again, remember to keep it smart and simple and try not to overdo it – adding just a few small pieces here and there, letting the fresh air in through open windows, using natural materials and opting for no-VOC paint that won’t harm you or your immediate surroundings when you’re repainting your walls is quite enough.

UrbanMeisters, whatever your style may be – minimalistic, eclectic or traditional – your house is a space that will reflect it. So why not make it reflect the greenie in you? After all #greeningiswinning!