Sustainable Living Room Trends in 2020

Living Room Color Trends

Choosing that perfect living room color that celebrates your taste, style, and stand the test of time may seem daunting, but it's easier than you think. In 2020, designers are not only concentrating on one color but using complementary colors to bring more life to a room. Complimentary colors provide your living room with balance, comfort, and help introduce your personality and style.

Cloud white, soft grey, light beige, lavender, taupe, and powder blue can provide a robust, warm base that helps set the tone for the room. These colors are also an ideal choice if you are looking to brighten up a room that lacks natural light or make the room feel spacious. A living room should feel welcoming and comfortable, not dark and restrictive.

Next, select a friendly, playful tone to compliment your color selection. Light shades of charcoal, sky blue, red apple, sunny yellow, bright pumpkin orange, rose quartz, and sage green are perfect complementary colors. Using a color swatch, overlap your primary color on top of the complementary color. This will provide representation as to what the colors will look like once the walls are painted.

It's also important to consider your furniture and decor. While the conflict between these design decisions may not be a show stopper, they are details to consider. The same color swatches can be held up with furniture and decor in the background. The clashing of color with your furniture and decor will be more noticeable during the natural light of the daytime or in the evening when the room is lit with light fixtures. These are the ideal times to put your new color preferences to the test. Don't be afraid to let your style shine. Living rooms are a place to spend time with your family and friends. It's perfectly fine to be a little self-indulgent and ensure the room reverberates your style.

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.

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.