If you’re not careful, your decorating project could end up having a big detrimental impact on the environment. But it doesn’t have to be that way - here’s how to decorate your home the ethical way.
Use Recycled Items
There are all kinds of ways in which you can recycle items in your home when coming up with a new design. Firstly, you should make sure you don’t throw things away that can be reused. Keep hold of old bits of wood. That can then be used to create recycled furniture. Strong planks of timber can be turned into a new table. Or an old, broken armchair can be fixed up and repurposed. It’s not such a difficult thing to do if you put your mind to it. And you don’t even have to do the work yourself.
There are lots of businesses and retailers that make an effort to make all of their products out of recycled materials. The retailer Ian Snow uses recycled materials to make new chairs and tables for people. This is something that you simply won’t find if you head to the conventional retailers like Ikea. As long as the furniture is crafted with care by someone who knows what they’re doing, it should be perfectly reliable.
There are lots of businesses and retailers that make an effort to make all of their products out of recycled materials. The retailer Ian Snow uses recycled materials to make new chairs and tables for people. This is something that you simply won’t find if you head to the conventional retailers like Ikea. As long as the furniture is crafted with care by someone who knows what they’re doing, it should be perfectly reliable.
Make the Most of Natural Light
Natural light makes a home feel more open, fresh and alive. That’s why it’s so important to have as much of it coming into your home through windows and skylights as possible. Another reason why you should use as much natural light as possible, is that the alternative is electrical lighting. Let’s face it, the easy option is to ignore natural light and instead install lots of lights and lamps to make the home feel more bright and vibrant. But that’s not a green nor ethical move.
If you use natural light, no electricity or fossil fuels are used in the process; it’s all natural. But if you decide to ignore natural light, you’ll have to use up more man-made energy. That’s very bad news for the environment. So, how can you make the most of natural light in your home? It’s quite simple really. All you need to do is make the windows bigger, make sure nothing obscures them and think about skylights. Of course, you’ll need electrical lights for when it’s dark, but if you have plenty of natural light, you’ll use them less.
Use Plenty of Plants
Plants and flowers make a room feel fresher and more colourful. They bring nature and the outdoors inside your home. But that’s not the only reason for making sure that you have as many plants in your home as possible. They’re also very good for your health and can make you feel more positive when you’re spending time in a room. It’s true, natural things like plants actually have a real impact on us.
They also help to oxygenate the space. So, they could actually improve the air your breathe. And there are no mechanical air filtration systems involved at all! All you need is a few potted plants places around the house. You do need to make sure they’re kept in the right places to get the most from them though. Let them get the sunlight they need and don’t forget to give them water regularly. Indoor plants will just die otherwise.
Buy Items from the Local Area
If you want to be responsible and ethical, support your local retailers and source your design materials and elements from them. There are many reasons why this is the most ethical thing to do. Firstly, you might find some surprises when you buy from independent retailers nearby, rather than buying from a big company. And secondly, the smaller local places tend to be a lot cheaper than the big organisations, so you might save some money too.
The final reason why you should consider buying locally relates to your carbon footprint. You can save a lot of travel time if you have your furniture and other materials transported to your home from a local retailer. If you buy from a company that transports from far away, a lot of fuel will be burnt in delivering that item to you. This is something that not a lot of people think about, but we should be more aware of it.
Use Eco-Friendly Materials
Paints are full of chemicals that are incredibly bad for the environment. The reason most of them smell so strongly is because of those chemicals. The worst of them is known as volatile organic compounds (or VOCs). Instead of using paint brands that fill their product with these chemicals, try eco-friendly paint brands. There are plenty of them out there. It’s not just your paint that can be made more environmentally friendly though.
There are lots of products and materials that don’t negatively impact on the planet. Stainless steel is a very good product to use in the kitchen, because it is mostly made from other recycled materials. Laminates tend to be good for the environment too, more so than wood. You should check the credentials of the manufacturer before you buy though. If their products are green, they’ll probably make it clear and boast about it on their website.
Think About How You Power the Home
Now that the decoration of your home is almost complete, you need to think about how you’re going to generate the energy needed to power your home. There’s no need to use conventional unclean energy generation companies anymore. You can now easily generate your own energy through renewable and sustainable means. This is something that everyone should be considering, and decorating your home is the perfect time to put the changes into place.
There are two main options for people to choose between. The first is harnessing the wind to create energy via a wind turbine. This is a good option if you live in an area that gets a lot of wind. But it could be better to use solar panels because everyone gets some sun over the house most days! You should then install a battery so that you can store energy and use it whenever you need it.
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