How to Build Eco-friendly Furniture

By learning to build your own eco-friendly furniture, you're doing twice as much good for your family and the environment. Whether it's choosing sustainable woods and supplies, or choosing low-VOC paints and varnishes, the end result is well worth the effort. Follow these steps as you build eco-friendly furniture for your home or office.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Look for sustainable materials when choosing wood to build your furniture. This means products from either a wood farm or a mill where trees are continually being planted in place of the harvested ones. Sustainability is essential to keeping wildlife and environment stable in the future.

2. Watch out for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the products that you use. When you build eco-friendly furniture, it's important to take into consideration every component that goes into a finished piece. Glues and stains often contain harsh chemicals that can cause respiratory distress over time, so choose green versions of these products that have a low toxicity rating.

3. Choose sustainable, organic fabrics. When deciding on fabrics to cover that new sofa or end table, choose organic cottons and bamboos that are easily replenished. Vintage fabrics are also a good choice; they not only show off your style but let you recycle in the process.

4. Understand different types of furniture materials. Bamboo, for instance, has a tendency to split, so you need to roll the wood into a saw as opposed to pushing it through to prevent splitting or tearing. Hemp fabric is another thing you need to be careful with. Always wash hemp fabric before use to pre-shrink it and strip it of some of the natural oils that come from the production process.

Tips & Warnings

• Bamboo is a popular green building material because it can replenish itself over a matter of months instead of years. Reclaimed wood, or wood that was used for another purpose, is another smart choice. You not only get a great deal, but you're recycling in the process.