Building & Renovation Home & Decor

Eco-friendly Decorating Ideas for Your Family Room

You don’t have to install solar panels in order for your home to be eco-friendly. In fact, there are many pro-earth changes anyone can make to improve the general eco-friendliness of their home. The key is to be aware of your responsibility to the planet throughout your design or re-design process.

Need some more convincing? Keep reading for six sustainable decorating ideas for your family room. 

 

Go Minimalistic 

As trendy as minimalism is right now, it boasts plenty of benefits that will never go out of style. A minimalistic decorating scheme ensures you have less of everything, including furniture and accessories. In the long run, this will mean less harmful toxins and VOCs in your air.

 

Observe the Three R’s 

Before you even think about purchasing new furniture items, canvas what you already have (as well as the cast-offs of family and friends), to see if there’s anything you can reuse. Since older furniture tends to have lower margins of VOC emissions, the benefits of buying or adopting second-hand items are plain.  

 

Go Low-VOC 

You’ve probably heard of low-VOC paint, but have you heard about low-VOC candles? Cheap department store candles tend to be chock-full of harmful VOCs; an eco-friendly alternative is candles that are made out of soy, beeswax, or other natural materials. 

 

 

Plants, Plants and More Plants 

Of course, some amount of VOC exposure is to be expected no matter how careful you are. A great way to offset these toxins is to add a houseplant (or five) to each room in your home. 

 

Swap Out Your Area Rug 

Did you know that area rugs are prime culprits for off-gassing? You can rid your home of this source of toxins by replacing your rugs with an organic alternative. Some alternatives include sisal, jute, bamboo, and wool.  

 

Mind Your Curtains  

Come winter, you can mitigate your home’s heat loss by installing thermal curtains. If you’re especially attached to the curtains you currently have, consider picking up a thermal curtain lining, which can be used in conjunction with your existing window treatments. 

 

 

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Canadian Home Trends magazine gives you a personal tour of the most stunning homes and condos across Canada. You'll be inspired by a selection of accessible home décor products, trend reports, simple yet stylish DIY projects, and much more. In each issue, you are given the tools to recreate designer spaces you've always dreamt of having at home, in-depth renovation and design advice, colour palette and furniture pairings, and Canada's best places to shop.

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