Eco-designing Your Bedroom

With the emerging trend in environment consciousness, home furniture has become one area where eco-design has found practical approach.  It is a fact that the demand for wood based products is soaring together with a growing population.  But the density of trees that support such products have not kept pace so that you now more denuded and balding forests than before.  If you are a homeowner on the market for bedroom sets for a warm and cozy wood rich bedroom but are concerned about the ecological destruction of trees, then it pays to consider only eco-designed furniture.

Going Second Hand

Some of the most robust furniture sets are beds.  Antique Chinese, colonial and Victorians beds crafted using hardwoods dating back 50-100 years back are often easy to spot and are carried by noted antique furniture dealers but they can cost a fortune.  But even 5-10 year old second hand furnishings crafted well are excellent choices for discounted bedroom furniture that can deliver value for the money.  If they lasted for so long, you can expect them to last as much in their new abodes. Hardwood furniture are known to last a lifetime that eventually become heirloom items and antiques.  Moreover, you can be sure that no new trees have been felled to produce them which means you have done your share in conserving mother earth’s dwindling forest reserves.

Going for Sustainable Wood

While natural forests are increasingly getting protected around the planet, there are sustainable tree plantations that have been earmarked for commercial logging with hardwood and softwood variants that continuously get replanted every year over the last 25-30 years and harvested for their timber.  Most are teakwood and pines and furniture or wood products made from them often carry a government seal or mark of approval as ecology-friendly products. 

As of 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council of FSC has been on the forefront of developing sustainable forest development projects and one of its programs is to identify wood products that have been sourced only from programs.  So if you buy your bedroom sets made of wood marked with the FSC certifying seal, that means, no natural or residual forests have been logged for your wood furniture.

Going for Recycled Wood

The concerned homeowner can also go for cheaper furniture made of recycled or reclaimed wood. These are your furniture that use veneered plywood or particle boards and are also stamped as eco-friendly products with the “SmartWood Rediscovered” label from the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program.