A catalog containing all the products that exist for the home could have more pages than all the Stephen King novels.
How to create or adapt your wooden furniture
The quantity and variety of products that exist in the market for our home seem to have no limit. However, from My Green Studio we recommend that you opt for a more ecological option: create or adapt your own wooden furniture from the materials you already have at home.
Reusing is always the most ecological option
By recycling you will get a personalized, original piece of furniture at a lower price than if you had gone to the store.
In every home there is a shelf, shelf, or shelf that we would not want to get rid of, but that we cannot find much use for either. If this is your case, it is time to arm yourself with courage and get down to work, because we are going to share with you some environmentally friendly ideas and recommendations so that you can apply them to those unused furniture and wood and show off your creativity before your guests.
- Old furniture
Before you get rid of them, try to visualize them in another color. Would that dark old nightstand look the same if it were red and had the drawers lined with fun wallpaper? Sometimes good sanding and painting can completely transform the look of your furniture.
- fruit boxes
If you don’t have them at home, you can probably get them for free at your trusted grocery store. There are many uses for these boxes: support columns for a desk, shelves… The result can be surprising with very little work.
- wooden pallets
Pallets are ideal for creating new furniture in our homes. Among the geniuses that we can build are armchairs and chairs, bed and bench structures, stairs, or outdoor tables. Surely with a little imagination and creativity new ideas arise.
- Wooden stairs
Most likely, we have this tool in our home. By placing it correctly we can obtain practical and very functional ecological shelves.
Tips to create your furniture
If you already have a defined idea in mind and have decided to embark on the adventure of creating your own ecological furniture, we recommend that you prepare well with these tips that are useful for both experts and beginners. And, of course, do not forget to take all the security measures at your disposal.
1. Make a sketch or drawing to illustrate what you want to achieve
For this first drawing, you don’t need the skills of an illustrator, you just have to capture, in a simple way, the final result you have in mind. In this way, you will save time and money on possible mistakes.
2. Have all the necessary tools within reach.
Carpentry requires basic and essential elements. Here’s a list:
- Jigsaw or handsaw: These two tools are essential for splitting wood. When we refer to the saw, we are talking about the manual instrument and when we talk about the jigsaw, we are referring to its automatic variant, which is connected to the current.
- Specific carpentry gloves and safety glasses: Whether you are just starting out in the world of DIY or you are a great expert, they are important to avoid injuries. It is also advisable to work in a place without distractions.
- Nails or screws: The variety of models is so great that choosing them can be somewhat confusing. At the time of purchase, we recommend that you take the initial sketch with you and ask the seller what type of nail or screw is ideal for your project.
- Hammer: Although they come in all shapes and sizes and are of different materials, we recommend the type of hammer that has a rubber handle. This material has the particularity of absorbing more of the force resulting from the impact and prevents fatigue.
3. Workspace
Prepares a clean, level surface, free of blemishes or debris. You can do it, for example, on the ground, placing cardboard or newspapers first.
Prevent children from circulating in the area where you are going to work and try not to leave power tools connected to the current.
4. Get ecological materials to work with
- Sustainable woods: If you want to make your own furniture and you do not have materials to recycle, the ecological woods that we recommend are those that have the “eco-certification” of FSC or PEFF.
- Cardboard furniture: it is functional, resistant, light, easy to assemble, and recyclable. Its implementation is recent and there are still few companies that sell this type of material for the manufacture of structures and furniture. However, you can make a foray into finding companies that offer this type of furniture board in your area. You will surely create a trend!
How and where to buy ecological furniture
On the other hand, if handling tools is not your thing and what you need is to buy a new piece of furniture, from DianaHome we want to share with you some indications so that you can identify if they have been made from ecological materials.
Ecological materials
We can identify ecological furniture from the materials it is made of. These must be non-toxic and recyclable. In addition, they must leave little environmental footprint.
They can also be classified according to their manufacturing process or nature. If the raw material is of natural origin, we will apply the classification of organic, if they come from recycled materials we will have sustainable furniture, and, if when discarded they break down easily under the action of microorganisms, they will be biodegradable furniture.
- Bamboo is a material to consider as even though it is not wood but grass, it looks like wood in appearance and is usually grown with little to no pesticides. Also due to rapid growth, sustainability is not an issue.
- For upholstered furniture we will always opt for natural latex foam padding and wool or cotton upholstery fabrics and, as for mattresses, we will choose organic cotton, organic wool, and natural latex.
- Avoid furniture whose label specifies that the upholstery is resistant to stains since Teflon is used for this, which contains high perfluorochemical contaminants.
- To clean them it is advisable to do it with water and natural soap.
And last but not least, we must bear in mind that ecological furniture is vital to keeping our home healthy since its natural origin makes it impossible to emit substances that are harmful to humans.
There are no more excuses to choose the best materials and get down to work.
🏚️ Now that you know more about how to create your own ecological furniture, you may want to discover home decoration tips that will help you decorate your home.
