Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes



Key Takeaways



Table of Contents



Introduction: Why Sustainable Home Decor Matters

Making your home look nice feels good. We all want a space that feels comfy and shows our style. But lately, lots of us are also thinking more about our planet and how our choices affect it. This is where sustainable home decor comes in.

More and more people are looking for things for their homes that are made in a good way for the Earth. They want to know where things come from and how they were made. People are becoming more aware that their shopping choices, like picking out a new sofa or a cute vase, can help reduce carbon footprint home. [1] This growing interest in sustainable home decor is part of a bigger trend where shoppers want products that are good for both people and the planet. [2]

Sustainable home decor means making your home beautiful while also being kind to the environment. It's about choosing items that are made from materials that can be easily replaced or that have been used before. It also means thinking about how things are made and what happens to them when you don't need them anymore. This approach lets you have a lovely home that matches your style and helps the Earth at the same time.

This blog post is a guide to help you make eco-friendly choices for your home. We'll explore exactly what sustainable home decor means and why it's important, especially for helping to reduce carbon footprint home. We'll look at different types of materials and how things are made. We'll also show you simple ways to bring sustainable home decor into your space, like using plant-based materials home, choosing products made from bioplastics (and understanding tricky parts like PLA plastic recycling), getting creative with upcycling ideas for home, and aiming for a zero-waste living approach in your decorating.



The Importance of Sustainable Home Decor

Why should we care about choosing sustainable home decor? Well, our homes are filled with things – furniture, rugs, pictures, little decorative items. Where do these things come from, and what happens to them when we're done with them? Looking closely shows us that the way many home goods are made and used isn't great for our planet.

Think about where the stuff for our homes comes from. To get materials for conventional furniture and decor, companies might cut down forests in ways that aren't good for nature (unsustainable logging). They might dig up the earth (mining) or use oil (petroleum) to make plastics. These actions use up our natural resources too quickly and can hurt important places where animals and plants live. [3]

Making these items also takes a lot of energy, often from burning fossil fuels like coal or gas. This process creates waste and puts pollution into the air. Plus, many glues, paints, and finishes used on furniture and decor contain chemicals called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). These chemicals can make the air inside your home less healthy and aren't good for the environment either. [3], [4]

There's also a big problem with waste. Furniture and decor items often don't last very long, maybe because they aren't built well or because styles change. When people are done with them, it's hard to reuse or recycle many of these items. Because of this, a huge amount of furniture and home goods get thrown away and end up in landfills every year. This takes up lots of space and the items sit there for a very, very long time. [5]

Choosing sustainable home decor is a way to fight against these problems. When you choose sustainable options, you are supporting ideas like the circular economy products model. A circular economy aims to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. [6] This means focusing on making things that last, can be fixed, can be recycled easily, or are made from things that have already been recycled or can grow back quickly. This approach reduces the need to take new resources from the Earth and helps keep waste out of landfills. [3], [5], [6]

Making sustainable choices in your home decoration fits perfectly with trying to live a zero-waste living lifestyle. It encourages you to pick items that are designed to last a long time and have a small impact on the planet from when they are made to when they are no longer needed. [6] This includes thinking about what happens to the product at the very end of its life. Can it be composted? Can it be easily taken apart and recycled?

Besides helping the planet, sustainable choices can also be better for your health. By avoiding products with harmful chemicals like VOCs, you can improve the air quality inside your home, which is good for you and your family. Making conscious choices about your decor is a clear way you can help reduce carbon footprint home and create a healthier living space.



Sustainable Materials for Home

So, what exactly makes a piece of decor sustainable? It's mostly about the materials used and how the product is made.

A sustainable material for home decor usually has one or more helpful features:

  • It can be replaced easily: Think about plants that grow back quickly, like bamboo or cotton.
  • It's made from recycled stuff: Like turning old plastic bottles or glass into new items.
  • It can be recycled itself: Meaning it can be turned into something new after you're done with it.
  • It can break down naturally: Some materials can go back into the earth, like compost. (But, as we'll see, this isn't always simple!) [3], [7]
  • It lasts a long time: Durable items don't need to be replaced often, which saves resources.
  • It comes from responsible sources: Like wood from forests that are managed carefully so they don't disappear.

Plant-Based Materials

Let's look at some great plant-based materials home that are popular in sustainable decor:

  • Bamboo: This is a type of grass that grows super fast. It's strong and can be used for furniture, flooring, and decorative items. Because it grows so quickly, harvesting it doesn't use up resources in the same way as cutting down slow-growing trees. [3]
  • Cork: This comes from the bark of cork oak trees. The bark can be harvested without cutting down the tree, and it grows back! It's soft, light, and great for things like coasters, mats, and even wall coverings. [7]
  • Organic Cotton: Regular cotton farming often uses lots of water and pesticides. Organic cotton is grown without harmful chemicals, which is better for the environment and the farmers. It's used for textiles like cushion covers, throws, and rugs. [7]
  • Hemp: Like bamboo, hemp grows quickly and needs less water and no pesticides compared to cotton. It's strong and durable, used for fabrics and ropes. [7]
  • Jute: This is a natural fiber that's strong and rough. It's often used for rugs, baskets, and bags. It's a rapidly renewable plant fiber. [7]
  • Wood: Wood can be sustainable if it's sourced correctly. Look for reclaimed wood (wood that's been used before, like from old buildings or furniture) or wood with certifications like FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). FSC means the wood comes from forests that are managed responsibly, caring for the environment, wildlife, and the people who work there. [3]

Bioplastics: Benefits and Recycling Challenges

Now, let's talk about something newer: bioplastics. These are a fascinating and growing category of materials. Bioplastics are different from regular plastics because they are made from living things that can grow back (renewable biomass sources), instead of from oil, which is a fossil fuel and will run out one day. [8] Think about materials made from corn starch, sugarcane, potato starch, or even algae.

There are several benefits of bioplastics. One big one is that they can have a lower carbon footprint when they are made compared to traditional plastics because growing plants often absorbs carbon dioxide. [8], [9] They also help us rely less on limited fossil fuels.

A very common type of bioplastic you might hear about is corn-based plastic, also known as PLA (Polylactic Acid). PLA is made from the starches in plants like corn or sugarcane. [8] It's being used more and more in packaging (like food containers), fabrics, and even in newer technologies like 3D printing, which allows for making detailed, unique sustainable home decor items. [9] PLA objects can be printed easily on a 3D printer plant (a factory using 3D printers).

However, it's important to understand the truth about PLA plastic recycling. While PLA is technically a type of plastic and is technically recyclable, it's not as simple as putting it in your regular recycling bin at home. PLA requires special industrial facilities that can process it correctly. [10] These special recycling places are not common yet, especially not mixed in with places that recycle typical plastics like those used for water bottles (PET) or milk jugs (HDPE).

If PLA gets mixed into the regular recycling stream, it can actually cause problems. It's different chemically from petroleum-based plastics, and it can contaminate the batch, meaning the whole load might not be able to be recycled. [10] This is a big challenge for making PLA part of the widespread circular economy products system right now.

What about composting corn-based plastic or PLA? PLA can break down into natural materials like water and carbon dioxide, but it usually needs very specific conditions. Most PLA requires the high heat and lots of tiny living things (microbes) that you find in commercial or industrial composting facilities. [10], [11] These are large-scale composting sites, not the compost pile you might have in your backyard. It's very important to know that standard home composting conditions are usually not hot enough or active enough for PLA to break down properly in a reasonable amount of time. [10], [11] So, while it's often called biodegradable, you need to know where it can biodegrade.

Sustainable Manufacturing & Certifications

Beyond just the materials, how things are made also matters. Sustainable manufacturing means making products in a way that is good for the environment and the people making them. This includes:

  • Using less energy and water in the factory. Ideally, using clean energy like solar or wind power. [12]
  • Making less waste during production and handling the waste responsiblely – reusing, recycling, or composting it. [3], [12]
  • Not using harmful chemicals in making the product or in the finishes applied to it. [4]
  • Making sure workers are treated fairly and have safe places to work. [12]

Looking for Certifications can help you find products made sustainably. Certifications like B Corp (for social and environmental performance), Cradle to Cradle (meaning materials can be reused in new products), and GREENGUARD (for low chemical emissions, good for indoor air quality) tell you that a company has met certain standards for sustainability and ethical practices. [4], [12]



Finding Sustainable Home Decor

The good news is, you can find sustainable home decor options for almost anything you need to make your space beautiful! From big pieces of furniture to small decorative touches, eco-friendly choices are becoming more available.

Let's look at some common items and their sustainable versions:

Eco-Friendly & Biodegradable Planters

Plants are a wonderful way to bring life and fresh air into your home. Choosing the right pot or planter for your plants can also be a sustainable decision. You can find many eco-friendly planters now.

  • Recycled Plastic: Instead of buying new plastic pots made from oil, you can find planters made from recycled plastic. This gives old plastic a new life and keeps it out of landfills. These are durable and lightweight. [7]
  • Ceramics and Terracotta: These are natural materials made from clay. Terracotta pots are simple and porous, good for plant roots. Ceramic pots can be glazed and come in many colors. Making them does use energy for firing in a kiln, so look for those made locally or by companies using more energy-efficient methods if possible. [7] Pots near me made by local potters might be a good option.
  • Natural Fibers: Planters can be made from materials like coir (from coconut husks), felted wool, or woven jute and hemp. These often have a lovely natural look. [7]
  • Biodegradable Planters: These are designed to break down, often after being planted directly into a larger pot or the ground. Materials include pressed coir, cardboard, or certain bioplastics like PLA. As discussed before, while PLA is a bioplastic, it often needs industrial composting to break down fully. [10], [11] Natural fiber or cardboard biodegradable planters are more likely to break down in home compost or simply planted outside. These biodegradable planters help reduce the need for conventional plastic pots that are often just thrown away.

If you're looking for a snake plant pot or pots for fall container plants, fall flowers for pots, fall plants for pots, or winter plants for pots, you can find sustainable options for all of them. Even for outdoor use like fall window boxes or outdoor christmas planters, look for materials that will last or are made from recycled goods.

Eco-Friendly Vases

Vases are perfect for displaying flowers or just adding a pop of color or texture. Finding eco-friendly vases is easy too.

Other Sustainable Decor Items

Let's look at other popular categories for making your home beautiful:

When looking for sustainable home decor, don't just look at the Material. Think about the whole journey of the product.

  • Supply Chain: How are materials sourced? How are products made? Does the company provide information about this?
  • Transparency: Does the brand openly share information about their environmental and social practices? [13]
  • Certifications: Look for credible certifications that confirm sustainable materials or ethical production. [12], [4]
  • Durability and Lifespan: Is this product made to last? Can it be repaired if needed? What options are there for recycling or disposal at the end of its life? [6]

By asking these questions, you can make more informed choices that truly support sustainability.



Upcycling Ideas for Home

Creating a sustainable home decor space isn't just about buying new eco-friendly products. A really important part is using what you already have or finding things that someone else no longer needs. This is where practices like upcycling ideas for home and buying second-hand become incredibly valuable.

Think of it as a change in how you think about decorating. Instead of always needing to buy brand new, you try to make the most of existing items and reduce the overall demand for new things to be produced. This aligns perfectly with zero-waste living – trying to send as little as possible to the landfill.

Upcycling ideas for home is a fantastic way to do this. Upcycling means taking items that might be considered trash or old and unwanted, and turning them into something new that is often more useful or beautiful than the original item. [6] It's like giving old things a makeover and a new purpose.

Here are some practical upcycling ideas for home decor:

  • Jars and Bottles into Vases/Storage: Empty glass jars (like mason jars, jam jars) and interesting bottles can be cleaned and used as unique vases, candle holders, or stylish storage for small items like pens, brushes, or kitchen utensils. Paint them, wrap them in twine, or leave them clear. This is a simple and effective way to reuse items that would otherwise end up in recycling or landfill. You could even use a clean hellvase (a type of vase) found at a second hand store for this. This is a classic upcycling ideas for home project.
  • Repurposing Furniture: An old dresser, chair, or table can be given a new life with some sanding, painting, or new hardware (like knobs or pulls). An old filing cabinet planter could become a unique outdoor planter. This saves the energy and resources needed to make a new piece of furniture and keeps the old one out of the landfill.
  • Salvaged Wood Projects: If you find old wooden planks or pallets (make sure they are safe and chemical-free), you can turn them into shelves, picture frames, or even unique wall art. Upcycling ideas for home with wood adds a rustic, characterful touch.
  • Textile Transformations: Old clothes, blankets, or curtains can be cut and sewn into new cushion covers, placemats, or even braided rugs. This is a great way to use up fabric scraps and give old textiles a new purpose instead of throwing them away. You could turn old fabric into covers for planters bss (bulk storage system planters, often used for nurseries). This is another great upcycling ideas for home.

The Benefits of upcycling ideas for home are huge:

  • Reduces Waste: You're diverting items from the trash bin. [6]
  • Conserves Resources: You're not using the raw materials and energy required to make new things.
  • Creates Unique Decor: Upcycled pieces often have a story and a one-of-a-kind look that you can't buy in a store.

Another fundamental practice for sustainable home decor is buying second-hand or vintage items. This means shopping at:

  • Charity shops or thrift stores
  • Antique stores
  • Flea markets
  • Online marketplaces for used goods (like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, etc.)

When you buy second-hand, you are giving an item a second life. This significantly reduces its environmental impact compared to buying new. The item doesn't need to be manufactured again, saving energy, water, and raw materials. It also helps keep that item out of the landfill. [5], [6] You might find a beautiful vintage rug, a unique lamp, a classic wooden chair, or interesting decorative objects like old royal haeger pottery or vaser (vases in Danish) that add character to your home. You could even find a vintage christmas vase or beautiful old tire planters to repurpose.

Both upcycling ideas for home and buying second-hand are core practices for achieving zero-waste living. They are direct ways to participate in the circular economy products model right within your own home, extending the life of products and materials instead of following the traditional take-make-dispose approach.



Supporting Canadian Sustainable Products

Choosing sustainable home decor can also involve thinking about where the products come from in terms of location. Supporting local artisans and businesses is often a more sustainable choice. When you buy locally made items, the distance they travel to get to your home is much shorter, which means fewer transportation emissions (the pollution from trucks, ships, or planes). [3] Buying local can also mean more transparency – you might even be able to meet the maker or learn directly about their production process and materials.

If you are in Canada, you can specifically look for and support Canadian sustainable products. This helps the Canadian economy and also means you're likely buying items that haven't traveled across the world.

Examples of Canadian sustainable products for your home could include:

  • Furniture makers using local, sustainably harvested Canadian wood.
  • Textile companies creating goods from fibers sourced or processed within Canada.
  • Potters making ceramics using local clays.
  • Retailers who focus on stocking Canadian-made eco-friendly goods.

To find Canadian sustainable products, you can search online for Canadian furniture designers, textile artists, or decor brands that emphasize sustainability. Look for online directories or articles that list eco-friendly Canadian businesses. Asking at local markets or independent home goods stores can also lead you to great finds.

While we don't have specific Canadian sources linked in our research here, taking the time to research and support businesses making Canadian sustainable products is a wonderful way to enhance your sustainable home decor efforts and support local initiatives.



Creating a Beautiful, Earth-Friendly Home

We've covered a lot of ground about making your home a more beautiful and sustainable place. We've seen how traditional home decor choices can unfortunately harm the environment, using up resources and creating a lot of waste. And we've explored why choosing sustainable alternatives is so important for our planet and even our health.

We've learned about wonderful plant-based materials home like bamboo, cork, and organic cotton that grow back quickly or are farmed without harmful chemicals. We also looked at exciting new materials like bioplastics, including corn-based plastic or PLA. While these offer benefits like using fewer fossil fuels, it's key to remember that PLA plastic recycling and composting need special facilities that aren't everywhere yet.

Beyond buying new, we discovered the power of creativity and reuse. Simple upcycling ideas for home, like turning jars into vases or painting old furniture, let you make unique pieces while reducing waste. Shopping second-hand is another powerful way to give items a new life and keep them out of landfills.

Remember, transitioning to sustainable home decor doesn't have to happen overnight. It's a journey, and every single choice you make matters. Choosing one item made from recycled materials, upcycling a piece of furniture instead of buying new, or simply deciding to buy plants to improve your air quality are all steps in the right direction.

By making conscious decisions about the items you bring into your home, you're not just decorating; you're actively contributing to a healthier planet. You are supporting the principles of zero-waste living and doing your part to reduce carbon footprint home.

Feel good about the choices you make. Take pride in creating a living space that is not only beautiful and comfortable for you and your family but is also kind to the Earth. Your sustainable home is a reflection of your values and a positive step towards a more sustainable future for everyone. Keep exploring, keep creating, and enjoy your beautiful, earth-friendly home!



FAQ

  • What does sustainable home decor mean?
    It means decorating your home using products made from environmentally friendly materials, produced ethically, designed to last, and often sourced second-hand or upcycled to reduce waste.
  • Are bioplastics always environmentally friendly?
    Bioplastics like PLA have benefits as they use renewable resources. However, their end-of-life (recycling or composting) often requires special industrial facilities, which aren't widely available, making proper disposal challenging.
  • How can I start decorating sustainably on a budget?
    Focus on upcycling items you already own, shop at thrift stores and second-hand markets, and make small, conscious choices for new purchases, prioritizing durability and materials like recycled glass or natural fibers.
  • Why is buying second-hand decor sustainable?
    Buying second-hand gives existing items a new life, preventing them from ending up in landfills and reducing the need for new production, which saves resources and energy.
Back to blog

More from ConceptEarth

View all

  • Announcing Datamaran Harbor: The New Community ...

    Announcing Datamaran Harbor: The New Community Platform for Corporate Sustainability Professionals Estimated Reading Time: ~6 minutes Key Takeaways Datamaran Harbor is a brand-new **community platform** specifically designed for **sustainability professionals**....

    Announcing Datamaran Harbor: The New Community ...

    Announcing Datamaran Harbor: The New Community Platform for Corporate Sustainability Professionals Estimated Reading Time: ~6 minutes Key Takeaways Datamaran Harbor is a brand-new **community platform** specifically designed for **sustainability professionals**....

  • The RBC anti-greenwashing law connection: Under...

    The RBC anti-greenwashing law connection: Understanding the climate retreat controversy Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key Takeaways RBC made changes to its climate plans, which critics call a climate retreat....

    The RBC anti-greenwashing law connection: Under...

    The RBC anti-greenwashing law connection: Understanding the climate retreat controversy Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key Takeaways RBC made changes to its climate plans, which critics call a climate retreat....

  • Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

    Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your ...

    Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Estimated reading time: 12 minutes Key Takeaways Choosing sustainable home decor helps you create a beautiful space...

    Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your ...

    Guide to Sustainable Home Decor: Beautify Your Space & Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Estimated reading time: 12 minutes Key Takeaways Choosing sustainable home decor helps you create a beautiful space...

1 3
View all

Subscribe to our Newsletter