Having a green, eco-friendly home that is still chic will bring you great satisfaction and beauty.Going
GREEN by design should be seen not as an obligation,but as laying the foundations to living a beautiful life. A life lived without any regrets and knowing that you are doing your share to save the planet. Here are some ideas to bring out your innate style, your resourcefulness,and creativity.They will also add a bit of pizzaz to your home. Most importantly, make you feel great that you are making responsible decisions about your personal carbon footprint.
Vintage Furniture:
Vintage furniture pieces are intrinsically green as no virgin materials or energy are consumed by reusing them. Not only that, there are economical and ever so eco-friendly chic!
It's very green and chic to choose vintage furniture when decorating one's home. One can buy or get vintage furniture virtually anywhere and from anyone.You could go to garage sales, car boot sales(in UK),Flea Markets, eBay, you may be so lucky to inherit a lovely armoire from your Gran.
If you see a piece of furniture you can't live without but it has a few knicks, take it home and do a few repairs. Alternatively, if you see a furniture, and it needs a paint job, you can do all sorts of creative things to it. You can get creative and paint it by using varying techniques: lacquer( black lacquer is very modern chic), faux finish, and even paint some flowers on it. Whatever suits your fancy.You can even decoupage it. Just be creative, and voila,you have a new piece of furniture that won't break the bank and is very ORIGINAL!!!
Paper:
Paper is not just for decorating walls. Along with other natural fibers, such as jute, sea grass and sisal, paper yarn is a sophisticated, naturally grown alternative to carpet.Stronger than the name suggests, strips of paper are twisted to make a yarn which is then woven to produce something durable and hardwearing. A Finnish company called Woodnotes produces recyclable paper carpets in colours from classic white to dark violet that are also soil-repellent.
The Practical Beauty of Hemp:
Use Hemp whenever you can. When you are decorating or re-decorating, think,HEMP. Hemp is extremely versatile, you can use it for curtains for your living room for a light and airy feel. You can use it for shower curtains, lining for just about anything, covering and pillow cases.If you don't like it's natural color, you may also dye it to suit your decor or the theme of your room.
Hemp is naturally one of the most ecologically friendly fabrics and also the oldest. Hemp has superior insulation properties. Natural organic hemp fiber 'breathes' and is biodegradable. Hemp blended with other fibers easily incorporate the desirable qualities of both textiles. So Think Hemp!
Be Creative with your recycling
You can take old French Revolutionary pamphlets and decorate your entire wall.Or,another original and fun look Can be achieved with newspapers or magazines. An even funner look would be to use foreign language newspapers and magazines. Something about seeing Italian or French on your walls adds a certain old world je ne sais quoiand a very bohemian appeal.
If you have unwanted magazines that are still gorgeous, use them to create a fun chic look.I created this look with French Glamour magazines. It's very easy
to do and it's fun.If you are interested you may read my ehow article on How to Create Themed Magazine Wall paper and see for yourself all the different ways you can create your own look.
A glamourous look juxtaposed with elegant pieces like an antique clock and a Degas painting gives an old world charm and Parisian apartment feel.
BohoChic Walls,project done by
LA BOHEME DESIGNS
Eco Friendly Paints
When you do paint use eco-friendly paints. Why? Because conventional paints are petroleum or oil based and have a high solvent content made up of Volatile Organic Compounds ( VOCs), which remain in the air as potentially harmful vapors. Environmentally friendly paints are water based and/or contain natural oils,mineral or chalk pigments. This means there are no toxic waste and no toxic fumes. This means it's good for you and for the environment.Toxic waste goes into our waterways and causes unneeded pollution in our lands and seas.
Here are few brands of ecofriendly paints that I recommend:
-Benjamin Moore Aura (GreenGuard):
-Olympic Premium (Green Seal)
-Sherwin-Williams Harmony (GreenGuard
There are different ways you can paint a wall.One way to paint is Faux Finish. Faux finish also add a versatile look. It can be rustic,dreamy, whimsical,bohemian,traditional. There are many types of faux finish styles to compliment your interior, as well as the archictecture of your home.
So, there you have it, a few ideas to make your home not just beautiful and chic, but GREEN and CHIC. Whether your taste is Bohemian or just plain elegant and traditional, you can stay true to your own style and still be GREEN with the aformentioned tips.
Some Cool Websites:
Top Ten Online Vintage Shops
www.cheapvintage.com
www.thebellacottage.com
http://www.hdbuttercup.com/category/vintage/
For Projects or to Revamp Your Home:
LA BOHEME DESIGNS
Vintage Furniture Painting
is putting them in your purse before you leave the house, in case you want to do some spontaneous shopping it's always there. Another tip, if you have a car is to get into the habit of putting the bags back into the trunk of your car, just as soon as you put away the groceries. This way there always there and you can't make an excuse that you forgot once you got to the grocery store.
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