Green Furniture on a Budget
by Green Living on May 7, 2009
in Eco-Friendly, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
This is a guest post from Caroline Smith of www.getbarstools.com.
It’s a common misconception that you have to spend more if you want to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. With regards to furniture, it is true that many eco friendly products are substantially more expensive than their conventional counterparts. However, I believe that being green goes hand in hand with being thrifty and can actually save you money.
One of the mantras of green living is “reuse, reduce, recycle”. Therefore, rather than buy new furniture, why not look at what you already have and see if you can reuse it? Alternatively, you could join your local Freecycle group and see if anyone is giving away some secondhand furniture that you could use.
Of course, we all like our homes to look nice. We don’t want to furnish our rooms with tatty, mismatched or outdated furniture. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to give old furniture a green makeover, even on a limited budget. To illustrate, here are some of my ideas for how to transform kitchen bar stools using eco friendly, frugal methods:
Cleaning
It’s amazing the difference cleaning can make to well-used bar stools. If you like the original color of your bar stool frames, rather than painting or staining them, the simplest option is to simply give them a thorough clean. Aim to use non-toxic, natural cleaning products that you may already have rather than buying chemical cleaners.
A good way to bring shine back to stainless steel or chrome bar stools is to simply sprinkle some baking soda onto a damp cloth and wipe it over the frames. Remove any residue with a clean, damp cloth and bring out the shine using a dry cloth.
Baking soda can also be used to tackle stains on wooden bar stools. A paste made from baking soda and mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise!), can be rubbed onto water marks to get rid of them. Alcohol stains can be removed using a mixture of baking soda and linseed oil.
Once you’ve succeeded in removing any stains, you can polish the wood using just olive oil and a drop of lemon juice. This is a much cheaper, greener alternative to synthetic spray polishes.
Refinishing
If your wood bar stools have been stained or painted and you would like to completely change the color, you could refinish them. This will involve more effort on your part, but the results should be worth it. To do it in a green way you will need to avoid conventional VOC-emitting products, such as paint stripper containing methylene chloride.
For instance, you could save money by making your own non-toxic paint stripper, mixing up a paste of washing soda and water. If you spread the paste all over the wood and leave it overnight, it should loosen the finish so it’s easy for you to scrape off. Some finishes can be sanded off by hand. However, if in any doubt you should use an inexpensive lead testing kit to check whether the old paint contains lead. Avoid sanding if it does contain lead.
To prepare the wood after stripping and sanding, wipe off any remaining dust or dirt with a mix of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water. Unless you can find someone with some leftover eco paint or wood stain, you will need to buy a new tin. Water-based earth friendly paints and stains, made from natural ingredients rather than chemicals, are becoming more widely available and are much better for your indoor air quality and health. Another option would be to use beeswax or linseed to bring out the natural tones of the wood.
Covers & Cushions
If you’re fortunate enough to have upholstered seats, it’s fairly easy to re-cover them. You can use any material you like, although it’s best to use a hardwearing fabric if your stools get a lot of use. You could try your local thrift store for cheap secondhand fabric such as old curtains or denim jeans that you could recycle into covers. You will need to remove the original upholstery and secure the new fabric in place using a staple gun.
For stools with solid seats, you could make them more comfortable by buying some tie-on cushions. Or you could make your own by recycling some old fabric.
Hopefully these ideas will help inspire you to look at old items of furniture in a new light. It can be very satisfying to give your furniture a unique new look. It may take a little time and effort, but reusing what you have is often the greenest and cheapest way to give your home a makeover.
About the Author:
Caroline Smith is passionate about green living and interior design. She enjoys finding thrifty and eco friendly ways of decorating her home. Caroline has contributed to a number of green blogs and is co-founder of www.GetBarStools.com, where you can find a small but growing selection of eco bar stools.
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I wasn’t aware that there was such a thing as ‘eco’ bar stools. Thanks for this post.