The Eco-Chic Decor Trend: A Commitment to Sustainability

The Eco-Chic Decor Trend: A Commitment to Sustainability

Decorating with the planet in mind seems to be on everyone’s lips lately and upgrading your space does not need to hurt the environment.

Thanks to the Eco-Chic trend of the moment, this is not as hard as it used to be.

With more and more designers and companies following sustainable interior design practices and coming up with innovative decor solutions, maintaining an environmentally conscious home has never been easier.

The Eco-Chic decor trend aims to reconcile the aesthetics of space with eco-friendly concepts, we can all start redecorating and designing in a way we can feel proud of with minimal damage to natural resources.

So, if you want to create aesthetically pleasing environments with a focus on people and the planet, we have rounded up some principles that will help you achieve a perfect marriage between The Eco and The Chic. 

• Buy Pre-Loved Items

An easy way to decorate sustainably is to focus on reusing and repurposing things like furniture and accessories.

There are many reasons why you should choose vintage, refurbished, or antique furniture and fabric. On one side, this will keep items in use that might otherwise go to a landfill while on the other side it will also create a space that is brimming with character.

Buying antique objects and pre-loved accessories will bring bags of character to your home decor while maintaining a green approach.

• Pick Your Wood Consciously

As the Earth’s resources continue to dwindle, it becomes more and more important to redecorate to use natural resources more carefully.

It is amazing how you can create something entirely new from what nature has to offer, but we need to be mindful of where our building and design materials come from.

That is why is important to find out if they were extracted with minimal environmental impact.

A greener approach is to use wood from renewable resources and to make sure that the wood is FSC certified. An FSC label will ensure that the wood was harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious, and economically viable.

So, for those of you environmentally conscious, if you are looking to replace your bed with something timeless which will last, wooden bed frames may be a greener option that are made from rubberwood.

Rubberwood beds are an eco-friendly choice as the wood is harvested from a renewable source and the rubberwood trees are generally harvested for wood after they complete the latex producing cycle.

• Embrace Natural Materials

One of the most important principles of the Eco-Chic decor trend is an almost complete absence of artificial materials.

That is why the trend rejects plastic and other polymers and encourages us to choose eco-friendly fabrics and plant materials such as willow vines, rattan, sisal, and straw.

It is important to pick materials and products with the lowest environmental impact and to make sure that the sources are quickly renewable.

For example, fast-growing bamboo would be a great choice if you are looking to replace your flooring. Cork also makes for another eco-friendly flooring option as is highly renewable, sustainably harvested and it also adds a great texture and colour to add some interest to your space.

With brands launching collections made from entirely natural fibres such as wool, hemp, seagrass, and raw cotton, the only thing left for us is to encourage and embrace them.

• Opt for Recycled and Recycle!

The Eco-Chic Decor trend dives into the growing interest in sustainable trends such as recycling, upcycling, and repurposing.

It encourages us to find creative ways to infuse a new life with old products and to go for materials that were made from recycled waste or that can be recycled at the end of their life cycle.

In the Eco-Chic approach, waste becomes raw material for new products and one man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure.

For a clean eco-conscience, choose recycled leathers, organic cotton, linen, hemp, and eco-friendly textiles such as Banana fibre, a fully biodegradable textile made from the Abaca plant.

To ensure a clean eco-conscience, numerous bed companies have already implemented a Disposal & Recycle service, so you can rest assured your old bed or mattress will be recycled in an environmentally friendly way.

• Incorporate Living Plants

Decorating with plants is a great way to lower carbon dioxide and release fresh clean oxygen into the air.

Plants will act as natural filters while helping you create a peaceful and serene environment.

The “Green Wall” is a real must-have for the Eco-Chic Trend, fathering the effect of a real urban jungle.

Some other options you could go for are moss compositions, dried plants, freshly cut flowers, and vertical living plant panels.

• Choose Smart Paints

The colouring of our walls and fabrics is yet another thing to be cautious about.

The Eco-Chic approach rejects toxic paints and brings on the scene eco-friendly acrylics, natural dyes, and low volatility legality compound paints.

Non-toxic, light paint and plaster remain a universal solution, while we have seen an increase in company attempts to banish VOCs and implement natural colouring pigments from plants for dyeing.

As per the trend popular colour schemes, try to choose shades that are as close to nature as possible, such as earthy tones, smoky whites, sandy tones, blue and green variations.

• Bring the Light In

Allowing as much natural light as possible into the house will help us save energy on lighting.

Therefore, the trend promotes large windows, glass folding systems, free layout, and sunny tones.

So go for lighter colours when choosing a new colour palette and make sure you include reflective surfaces to allow the light to travel and bounce around the space.

Final Tips for an Eco-Chic Decor

• Choose quality over quantity.
• Embrace timeless classic furniture pieces over trendy ones.
• Function overlooks
• Bring the Chic in the Eco with brass and glass accents.

We hope these tips will help you stay away from the curve when it comes to sustainable design practices and it will make you embrace a conscious consumption next time when you are thinking of redecorating.

Author Bio

Daniela Ganea is a passionate Interior Designer and Content Writer for the Home Furnishing Industry. With a PR background, she combines her higher education with her passion for interiors by helping people with Interior Design and Styling tips for a happier home.

Guest Article.