What woman doesn’t love to do up their homes in a way that everyone would go WOW when they enter! Most of the ladies out there, especially the home makers are always finding new ways and ideas to design and decorate their living rooms and bedrooms… and especially the baby’s room! BUT… the furniture is too costly, or you can’t find much that you like at a reasonable rate, or the main thing- how will you dispose off your previous furniture?! Well, the answer is simple. As usual, nature comes to your rescue, just like every other time. Recycling and reusing are one of the solutions to this problem and the best part is, you can get out the artistic spirit in yourself and get started! Not only is it a lot of fun, but it is eco-friendly and cheap as well.
Repainting or accessorizing old furniture- chairs, cots, tables, bedside planks… it can really turn out to be tremendous fun as well, especially if you are the type of person who likes the dazzle of creativity and art. Re-painting them with beautiful designs, using old paints that may be lying around or eco-friendly VOC-free paints or polishes is an interesting, cheap and fun option and it helps you pass time in a constructive way as well. Sequins, beads, nice knitted table cloths, embroidered mats… they all are do it yourself methods to jazz up the place. Making lampshades out of newspaper and cardboard can give a very aesthetic look, especially if done tastefully in patterns. Using clay to make small penholders and pots is not only going to be fun for you, but a great and creative experience for the kids as well. Using the fat branches of trees that have been cut off or trimmed anywhere nearby can be used as side tables, if you put a glass plank on them… they look absolutely fantastic on top of that!
Old boxes can be used for storage, instead of buying their environmentally hazardous plastic counterparts. Even so, there are eco friendly crates and boxes available now, which are a healthier alternative to use. Or else, remodeling the old furniture with the help of professionals is also a nice way to give your old house a brand-new look. Even if you don’t want to get it remodeled yourself, you can always discard it by giving it to a workshop that will make good use of it, instead of just throwing it away. Even if you want new things, they can all be “green yet going” too!
There are several places, both online and on the streets that have started marketing eco-friendly furniture pieces at pretty reasonable rates. Those made of bamboo or teak is very environmentally sound options, since their growth conditions require minimum water and hence they conserve the hydro resources. Also, they are sturdy and hence last longer, which implies lesser use of the dumping ground. Planting small herbs or saplings or even bamboo in old fish bowls that are no longer used is a fantastic idea and it looks extremely elegant. There are some pretty interesting and beautiful ways in which some companies have managed to reuse old things and make them beautiful.
Making table legs out of old glass bottles, lampshades made out of colorful recycled paper and material, swings made out of recycled material with plants growing around the structure, making it extremely beautiful and natural and literally green! Light bulbs powered by solar energy or LED lamps, cardboard clocks, solar illuminators, eco-friendly chandeliers, organic rope lamps, blocks made out of wood and paper in place of plastic, lovely candles made out of eggshells, champagne cork lighting, upcycled ornament planters… these are some things that are barely heard about and are so tasteful and elegant, not to mention quite reasonable and of course, eco friendly. Mini urban gardens, recycled bicycle wheel lamps, re-purposed cork décor, coconut wax candles, recycled fishing rod lighting, straw-strung wrappers… they sound so fancy and yet are just beautiful ornaments made out of the things that people throw into the bin!
The range of things that can be done to go green is vast- wider than we can ever explore alone. But we can surely try! It’s out planet and it’s not like we are sacrificing anything, just doing it differently. As it is, going green has assumed immense importance amongst today’s crowd, because people are becoming aware of the reality of the situation. It’s important to do our best to restore the health of our atmosphere and environment and we are the only ones who can do it- together. Plus, it gives u a status quo as well! Green habits can be incorporated into every single thing that we do, because we can literally make a change in this favor in every dimension of our day. However, we start with baby steps.
So here’s to a new and fabulous look to an old house or office, in a way that will have our planet smiling as well!
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