I was recently interviewed by My Domaine on how to decorate sustainably.  I find that when most people hear the term sustainable home, images of tiny houses and other eco-dwellings in the middle of a remote forest immediately come to mind.  Making a house an eco-friendly home – and a chic one at that – can be so much simpler than that.  You do not need to pitch a tent in the wilderness or sell all your belongings and move to a hippie commune to make an positive impact on the environment.  Just as with Clean beauty, you can have it both ways; you can can live amongst beauty and still lead a healthy, nontoxic lifestyle.  Here are my best tips for doing so:

• Did you know that the air quality inside your home is up to five times more polluted than the air outside?  You can blame this on cleaning products, air fresheners, paint, synthetic fabrics, mattresses and carpets.  Studies have shown that the air in our homes contains ammonia, formaldehyde, benzene and xylene.  Even if you’re not sensitive to the strong fragrances that cleaning supplies emit, it’s important to know what you are spraying in your home and what you’re furnishing it with, and how it impacts your health.
• Speaking of air quality, decorating with certain house plants can actually improve the air quality inside your home.  Look for plants like English Ivy, Aloe, Snake Plant, Rubber Tree, Peace Lily, Bamboo Palm, Red Edged Dracaena, Weeping Fig, and Spider Plant.
• Stain-resistant fabrics are great for kids, but they are terrible for kids.  What?!  Let me explain.  Fluoropolymers like Teflon, Scotchguard and other stain, water and grease-resistant chemicals  break down into perfluorochemicals (PFC’s) – an almost indestructible, artificially-made group of chemical compounds that has been found in both the environment and in people that will never break down, even in a MILLION years.  They are most certainly linked to cancer and endocrine disruption, and small children’s developing organs are especially susceptible to the dangers of these chemicals.  Even if your peanut butter-covered toddler isn’t taking a nap on your brand new white Scotchguard-ed sofa, it is off-gassing  (releasing airborne chemicals known as VOC’s) those chemicals into the air of your home.
• Buy vintage or antiques whenever possible.  Not only do they add character to your home, they are usually better quality than new furnishings and they are most definitely less toxic and wasteful.  These items off-gassed a long time ago, so they don’t add to the toxic burden of your home’s air quality.  Also, when you buy antique furniture, you are not contributing to the very real problem of worldwide deforestation.
• Buy natural fibers over synthetics whenever possible.  Not only are they better for your family’s health, they produce less toxic run-off during the production process.
• “Made in the USA” matters.  While our government  still has a long way to go in better protecting us from toxic chemicals, we still do a much better job than countries like China, and at least you know you are not promoting child or slave labor.

A few of my favorite consciously curated buys:

My living room sofa is from Lee Industries.  Their furniture is exceptionally made and all of their frames are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified.  Lee Industries’ flame retardant-free cushions and padding are made of soy-based materials and recycled plastic bottles, their low-VOC soy finishes are water-based and most of their metal components are made of recycled materials.  I also chose organic white twill fabric.  Some friends think I’m crazy to choose white if I’m deciding against stain-resistant fabrics, but I have no regrets.  (I also ordered an extra set of cushion covers, just in case, so maybe that’s why, haha.)

I needed a console table with very specific dimensions, and after looking for months and months for an antique that fit the bill (and my budget – there was a fabulous Chinese beauty for $8K that was perfect, sigh), I finally caved in and decided to by a new, made-to-order piece.  My friend, interior stylist Ruth Campbell, introduced me to a local woodworker who only crafts furniture from sustainable harvested timber.  He made me a Parsons-style console table from Kayah Mahogany, and it turned out beautifully.  It turned out I didn’t have to sacrifice my values to get what I wanted.

Many of my throw pillows are covered in old kanthas.  Using vintage  fabrics to recover throw pillows adds a layer of history and sophistication, and it gives these old textiles a second life.

I collect West Indies and other British empire antiques; one of my favorite pieces is my coffee table.  It’s funny to think that what was once a train station bench in India over 100 years ago now sits in my living room.  I wish it could talk to me….

Sometimes fake is actually better than real.  I once snapped up any piece of coral or natural curiosity I found in an antique shop or flea market, but these days I do my best to resist.  For instance, I really wanted some huge antique tortoise shells to hang on my living room wall, but how would I know that the animals weren’t recently poached for their shells?  Since there is no way of telling, and I definitely don’t want to contribute to the decimation of our wildlife or oceans, I bought some beautiful reproductions from Restoration Hardware, of all places.

So, per usual at Bare Beauty, the message here is that we have options.  If you want to take an proactive role in your family’s health, do a little research before purchasing, and do the best you can.  Living a nontoxic lifestyle is definitely a lifelong process, and I am by no means perfect, but I think – I hope – I am making a small difference everyday, and if that is all my effort ever amounts to, that is enough for me.

Photos: Kirk Chambers

Styled by: Ruth Campbell

Do you have any favorite eco-friendly decorating or home resources?

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