Does 2024 have you thinking about eco-friendly materials, time-tested materials like stone, hardwood and metals, or about reusing Grandma’s sideboard?
“Reduce, reuse and recycle” are pillars of an eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle, according to Architectural Digest.com. The website said buying local is a great way to shift to an eco-friendly model. Not only does it support the community and economy, but also you’re more than likely to be buying directly from the item’s maker, the website said.
Houseplants not only bring the outdoors inside, but they also add a touch of nature and green to spaces, acting as a mood booster while providing natural air filtration to help keep the indoor air fresher.
Recycling, upcycling and using pieces that have either been passed down or found at yard sales or antique shops is another way to be a sustainable consumer and homeowner.
“Things like antiques are eco-friendly because they are being reused. Keep them in their natural state, restore wood and metals and use them in your home,” said Pam Lazor, an interior designer and owner of Casa Double L Interior Design in Riegelsville.
Discarded or upcycled items can be restored and repurposed to meet your needs while adding something unique to your home’s interior.
Lazor said mixing old and new pieces or incorporating pieces with different histories and stories is a great way to think about sustainable practices.
“You can have contemporary furniture with beautiful old floors, doors and hardware,” she said.
“The interior should relate to the person that lives there,” Lazor said.
She cautions clients to be careful about chemical treatments and preservatives when sourcing wood, new items or when having a piece restored.
“Be aware of what goes into the restoration of things,” she said.
Metal, stone and hardwoods are enduring and classic materials. Salvaged materials like concrete and lumber boards, upcycled or recycled materials from older or old structures are other ways to approach creating an eco-friendly home with its own stories to share.
Consider reupholstering solid pieces of furniture from days gone by. While good furniture is worth mending, repairing and recovering, it’s also a lesson in patience because you won’t have the piece immediately.
A curated space is in keeping with today’s trend toward incorporating interesting pieces. These could be antiques passed down from earlier generations with family histories you are able to share or pieces you find at auctions, antiques shops, markets or estate sales, in which your home is the object’s next lifetime chapter.
“When you design a room you always want to incorporate the person into the home, and that inherently means telling a story. I have antiques in my home that all tell a story, and I use them all the time,” Lazor said.
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