You try to be as sustainable as possible in how you eat, in how you get from place to place, in how you dress, and in how you use the resources in your home — but have you thought about increasing the sustainability of your interior décor?
Decorations can be incredibly environmentally wasteful, both in their use of unsustainable materials and in their wastefulness of resources like water and energy. Worse, some interior design elements are actually toxic, harming the health of those who live in your home.
Fortunately, you don’t need to make major changes to the inside of your home to make your interior design cleaner and greener. Here are some small changes that make a big difference in the sustainability of your interior spaces.
Make Your Décor Seasonally Appropriate
Changing your home with the season might seem like a waste of energy, but if you make the right changes, it can actually reduce the energy expenditure of your home. The change of seasons brings a change in temperature, and certain decorations can help capture or release heat as you need to maintain a comfortable temp indoors.
For example, in the wintertime, you want to invite in ample natural sunshine while holding onto as much heat from your furnace as possible. To that end, you should try to keep your window dressings to a minimum during the day and cover your hard surfaces in soft textiles: large, fluffy rugs, thick blankets, wide table runners, etc. Conversely, in the summer, you want to keep your home cool. This means layering heavier curtains or blinds over your windows to block out hot sunlight, but the rest of your décor should be light and bright.
You don’t have to make major changes like these for every season, but you might take the time twice a year to switch from warm season décor to cold season décor and vice versa. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours, and it offers all sorts of benefits, from giving you a fresh look and feel for the season to saving you a few hundred dollars on your energy bills.
Buy a Natural Mattress
You use your mattress more than almost any other major piece of furniture in your home, but if you didn’t take the time to research your bedding before you bought it, you might be suffering negative health effects from your current sleep situation. Most mattresses are laden with toxic materials, from memory foam to synthetic fibers to flame-retardant and pesticide sprays. For years, mattresses can off-gas chemicals that will irritate your eyes and skin, give you headaches and perhaps even cause you to develop respiratory problems like asthma.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be stuck with your current mattress forever. Sleep experts recommend replacing your mattress every six to 10 years, so the next time you need a new bed, you can look into purchasing a natural mattress. A mattress made from natural materials is safer and healthier for your home and for the environment because it doesn’t require excessive and toxic manufacturing to create.
Decorate With Plants
Plants are essential to the Earth’s natural ecosystem, and they are essential to a natural and sustainable home. Plants help convert the carbon dioxide in the air to oxygen, and in doing so, they give your home clean, fresh air. You should try to avoid buying indoor plants that are incredibly exotic and require excessive care; a few low-maintenance, high-performing houseplants include:
- Philodendrons
- Rubber plants
- Dracaenas
- Snake plants
- Aloe Vera
- Spider plants
Install Natural Flooring
Carpet is one of the home’s worst producers of hazardous air pollutants, and it can trap and hold all sorts of toxic grit and debris in its fibers, too. For these reasons and that carpet is definitely out of style in terms of home decorating trends, you might take the opportunity to replace your old carpets with flooring that is more natural and more sustainable.
Materials like cork and bamboo grow quickly, which means they tend to be easily renewable resources to use in home construction and design — plus, they are beautiful and inexpensive options that you might be able to install yourself. For more durable options, you can invest in stone tile or concrete, both of which are likely to remain gorgeous in your home for decades to come. However, you might need to look into the environmental responsibility of the stone quarry or cement manufacturer to be certain that you are purchasing an Earth-friendly product.
Interior design can be incredibly wasteful, especially if you are in the habit of chasing every short-lived interior trend. By opting for timeless design and natural materials, you are doing the Earth and your wallet a favor — and gaining a beautiful home, as well.
