If your home is starting to look a little dull and boring, it might be time to start thinking about redecorating. There are plenty of ways in which you can do this in a green and environmentally friendly way. Here are some of the best.
Buy Recycled Furniture
Why buy newly manufactured furniture when you can buy recycled, or upcycled, furniture instead? It’s cheaper, and it’s much more environmentally friendly. And just because the furniture isn’t brand new, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t great looking and comfortable. For example, you can buy an armchair made from a modified shopping trolley.
They also give your home an entirely new look. Think about it, you don’t often walk into a home and see upcycled furniture. So, having it in your home will make the rooms totally unique. You won’t have to put up with boring, shop bought furniture any longer. You can find upcycled furniture from designers and retailers that specialise in that kind of furniture.
Lay Cork Floors
The materials you use on your floors is something that you should give a lot of thought to. It will have a big impact on how sustainable your home is. If you ask me, the material you should be using is cork. Not many consider cork, but there are so many benefits to using it. It’s not a material you can afford to rule out as an option.
Firstly, cork is highly sustainable, much more so than any other flooring material that you might want to use. This is because you don’t have to cut down trees to use cork. You just strip the bark from cork oak trees and use that. The tree will then grow the bark back very quickly. They’re very sturdy as well; cork floors can last for decades.
Improve Your Lighting
Every home needs plenty of strong lighting options. It’s impossible to create a home out of a house if you don’t have the lighting solutions to do so. Firstly, you should take out all your old-fashioned light bulbs and replaced them with LED bulbs. LEDs are very energy efficient, and they also last a very long time compared to other types of bulb.
The other big solution that you need to focus on is natural light. It doesn’t take any money to make the most of the natural light that’s coming into your home. It also doesn’t take any manmade energy. So, think about how you can free up the space around your windows and let in as much natural light as you possibly can.
Paint the House
Painting the outside of your home is a great, cheap and environmentally friendly way to make your home look great. The exterior of your home is the thing that people see when they first approach your home. That’s why it’s so important that you make it look as good as possible. People will judge your property largely on their first impressions, so keep this in mind.
Having the home painted is environmentally friendly too. You might not realise this, but it’s true. You should use a painting company that has a commitment to eco concerns. They use paints that are durable, safe for the environment and for your family. They also use paints that are free from ethylene glycol and VOC colorants.
Grow Food in the Garden
Your garden is just as important as the home. So, why not grow your own food in the garden? It’s a chance to grow food sustainably and safely and cut the amount you spend on food. It will cut out the part you play in the big business farming process. This means you won’t contribute to the fuel burning machinery used in these processes.
But it can also be a lot of fun too. It’s an especially good idea if you have young children who can help you out. It’s great fun for children to have a go at growing things in the garden. And if they can taste the fruits of the labour, it shows to them why they’re doing it. It can instill a green and environment-conscious spirit in them.
Put Up Eco-Friendly Wallpaper
You might not think that the wallpaper you choose has a big impact on your home’s environmental credentials. But it definitely does. You should choose wallpaper that’s sustainable. It’s becoming more common for wallpapers to be made from natural fibres like bamboo or sea grass.
These materials give your home a natural twist. The other important thing is that these materials are biodegradable. This is a long-term concern, but it’s one that you should definitely think about when decorating the home.