Sustainable Living Room Trends in 2020

Restyle Existing Furniture and Decor

Many companies and designers are experimenting with how to restyle existing furnishings instead of relegating them to landfills. One designer is Carter Averbeck of whose company, Omforme, is dedicated to an eco-friendly, circular economy by restyling previously owned furnishings.

Averbeck argues that "older furnishings are built with quality materials and techniques not likely to be reproduced in today's market." His process of "optimistic rediscovery," he says, drives the studio's mission to create unique pieces that bring an individual sense of style in homeowners' living spaces.

Some homeowners, desiring unique character or personality in their living rooms, learn how to design and construct furniture. Seek local artists, furniture makers, and small companies for unique décor made with recycled materials. It not only supports their work but reduces embodied energy added through transportation.

Businesses in search of solutions to the tremendous amount of waste we generate are also figuring out how to make furnishings from recycled and repurposed materials. Rhianna Miller, an outdoor design and home improvement expert with Rubber Mulch, argues that "green furniture can be manufactured without harmful emissions, and will not be wasteful with our planet's materials."

Make sure the manufacturer isn't greenwashing you. If you're considering new furnishings with recycled content, look for a label or other information stating the exact percentage of recycled material. Please pay close attention to whether it's made from post-consumer or pre-consumer (post-industrial) recycled content.

Repurpose Antique Lighting and Accessories

Purchasing existing lighting, and accessories from antique shops and thrift stores is also an excellent way to repurpose used furnishings and keep them out of the waste stream. Matthias Alleckna, an energy analyst at EnergyRates.ca, is an advocate of smart lightbulbs, "which are proliferating and getting smarter. You can customize the warmth, the color, or the intensity. You can set controls so lighting responds to voice commands, your smartphone, or your Amazon Echo. There's a variety of smart bulbs from different brands in different price ranges," to meet every homeowner's needs. Many smart bulbs can be used with traditional lighting fixtures.

Reclaimed Wood

Reclaimed wood can be used for a variety of purposes throughout the living room. Discarded wood pieces can enjoy new life as:

• paneling
• accent walls
• doors
• hardwood floors
• wall art
• shelves
• bookcases
• planter boxes
• tables
• chairs

Reclaimed wood is abundant and can be purchased from local sellers or sourced from timbers, decking, farms, barns, factories, retired ships, wine barrels, boxcars, and more. Using reclaimed wood can also earn you credits towards LEED's 'materials and resources' criteria because it is considered recycled content. Cristina Miguelez, a remodeling specialist at Fixr.com, says, "The wood is beautiful, often old-growth species that can't be found anymore, so you're getting something that's unique and highly durable, as well as a sustainable conversation piece for your home."

Non-toxic Carpeting

While the trend during the 2000s may have been to replace carpeting altogether with hardwood or tile, carpets and rugs still held on to 60% of the market share. Sustainably minded homeowners were quick to make the switch; however, many homeowners were reluctant to give up the comfort and insulation provided by carpet manufacturers.

Many older carpets indeed contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phthalates, and endocrine-disruptors. Even new carpeting is known to contain carcinogens, including formaldehyde, acetone, toluene, ethylbenzene, and styrene. While none of this sounds reassuring thus far, many carpeting manufacturers fashion non-toxic carpet from natural fibers and wool. Look for carpeting made from jute, seagrass, sheep's wool, and sisal that is not manufactured or treated with toxic glues and chemicals.

Give Fair Trade a Fair Home  

Cristina Miguelez also adds that in living rooms over the next decade, "It's all about the Fair Trade market. Sustainability is a broad term, and right now, the focus is on making sure that every item that you're acquiring is both environmentally friendly, but also produced in a fairly and sustainably. By looking for things labeled Fair Trade, you don't have to do as much digging" to determine the materials' provenance. 

Miguelez also reminds homeowners to stay vigilant in their use of fossil fuels in the living room. "Using window treatments to control heat and light, getting energy audits done to stop energy leaks, and creating that tight building envelope can ensure a home is more sustainable at all times." Sounds advice as we enter a new decade of mindful sustainability.