Green Living Tip Tues: Green Furniture

As the fall nears and the weather changes, I often get inspired to redecorate my house.  After most of summer weekends and evenings spent outdoors I find myself missing a quiet evening at home and let my imagination run to make it even cozier. Buying new furniture can be an expensive move, but some new fabric and a fresh coat of paint can do wonders to your interior, save money and the environment and allow you to express yourself. Here are some easy tips to update your house in an environmentally and pocket friendly manner:

• Instead of tossing out old and worn furniture, reupholster it to bring new life, and cut down on waste and further resource use.
• Instead of buying new things, buy used ones, or freecycle.  Second-hand furniture requires no additional resources to manufacture, is often locally sources (cutting down on transportation), is pre-offgassed and eases the load on the landfill.
• A good cleaning can sometimes make wonders.
• A fresh coat of paint in a different color will give a piece a new look, sanding off wood to its natural color is also an option.

Look at your furniture from a different perspective; consider it to be blank canvas fit for your ideas to blossom. Be creative; indulge yourselves and your green efforts might give birth to yet another masterpiece.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC User rustman