Home and Family

Bamboo has become an increasingly popular material being used in products ranging from cabinets to flooring to furniture. But why is this building material so popular now as opposed to years ago when it was available? To answer that question accurately we’ll need to look at a growing trend in furniture and home products referred to as eco-friendly products or the green culture.

Eco-friendly products have been around for some time. Most of society just wasn’t taking notice. Now there are those who did and we should thank them for helping to turn us on to these earth friendly products. In the last 10 years a positive growing trend has developed to take an interest in our environment and making decisions with how we live that will offer a positive impact to the Earth around us. Bamboo lends itself very nicely into being mentioned as a very green resource. Bamboo is actually considered a plant and one of the best characteristics it has is that it grows very rapidly. Found predominantly throughout much of Asia, there exists many species of the bamboo plant. Bamboo grows to about 70 feet tall and can be harvested in 5-7 years. The base of the bamboo plant produces shoots which are used as food seasonally.

Bamboo that is harvested is so hard that efforts are being made throughout Asia to try to substitute it for conventional lumber. If we figure that a hardwood tree takes roughly 25-50 years of growth before it can be harvested bamboo seems to be the best green alternative for products that can be substituted out with this renewable timber. That may be the reason that you see bamboo being used in many flooring applications and cabinet products. Viewers of shows on channels like HGTV will notice the growing trends of consumers purchasing and installing bamboo throughout their homes.

Furniture is another product being made from bamboo. From bamboo beds to nightstands, dressers, tables, chairs and more bamboo can be found in many types of furniture. You’ll find that these items are also not always in the style or Oriental or Asian designs. American manufacturers of furniture are increasingly using bamboo and you’ll find traditional and even southwestern products using bamboo in their products. From a furniture stand point bamboo offers the same strength that domestic hard rock maple offers in the way of tensile strength. The exotic look of bamboo also lends itself well to creating a unique look not only in bedroom furniture but throughout the home making your home décor enhancing the look of your home.

In this article we’ve explored the green culture of eco-friendly bamboo. We’ve examined its positive benefits for the environment such as its ability to be harvested within 5-7 years and quickly grow back again making it an excellent renewable resource. It can be substituted for other materials as it is quite hard, even harder than maple wood which will help to preserve those resources. It has a wide range of uses from being made into bamboo beds, bamboo flooring and even bamboo cabinetry. With its rich exotic features bamboo provides a unique look for any home décor that will help make it more environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing to all those who pass by and see it in your home.

We’re currently living in a day and age where the ecology of our planet is becoming a very important issue in everyday life. The way we use and re-use our resources as well as how we manage our homes and lives in green culture provides us an opportunity to make choices in helping to promote a cleaner healthier planet. Part of those choices stem from using more energy efficient light bulbs. Recycling our plastics and paper. Even making choices about the furniture we purchase. In this article we’ll take a look at some things we can do to recycle and re-use our older furniture as well as some tips on eco-friendly furniture products.

When purchasing new furniture or beds we often need to think about the furniture being replaced as part of the circle in promoting good ecological habits. There are several options that we can use to recycle or re-use your old furniture.

1.) Consider donating your furniture. Businesses like the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries puts your older furniture back into circulation for others to use. The proceeds they generate from your furniture in turn helps to provide jobs and allows your furniture to find new life with a new family.

2.) Recycle your furniture. Wood furniture “can” be recycled at your local recycling center. There are also many local authorities who can assist in helping you to safely dispose of your furniture for recycling.

3.) Offer it to your family or friends. Your older furniture may be in tip top shape and if that’s the case you may still have sentimental feelings towards it and want to keep it in the family. If that is the case you can offer it to those you know who may have a need for the furniture.

4.) Try selling it. Many times your furniture may hold good resale value if it is a name brand or high-end piece of furniture. If that is the case why not sell it in a local newspaper ad or try selling it through online auctions like ebay or other online marketplaces.

Many of the options above give the added benefit of the furniture being safely and responsibly recycled or re-used which is an important step before shopping for new furniture and creating good eco-friendly habits. We need to avoid having older furniture added to landfills and we should make every effort to find a safe means of recycling our older furniture. After you’ve made arrangements to have your older furniture recycled or re-used you’ll want to start looking at some alternatives available in eco-friendly materials for furniture. There are many options available in furniture but one such material is becoming quite popular in green furniture. It’s called bamboo.

Bamboo is an interesting ecological friendly choice for a wide variety of products. What makes this product considered a green choice in furniture though is the process through which it is harvested and replanted. Many believe bamboo is a type of wood but it actually is classified as a grass. From the time it is seeded to the time it reaches maturity for harvesting is approximately 5-7 years. The stalk of the bamboo hardens and becomes tighter (harder than maple wood) which is then harvested and processed into a variety of products including boards which can be used for building and construction. It can be reseeded once harvested in as little as three months and because bamboo grows so quickly often reaching heights of 70 feet tall, this replenishment is quick with little to no impact on the environment.

Many domestic hardwoods like oak or ash do make great choices for furniture. In this modern age of resource conscious ecological living though many of us recognize that once an oak or ash tree is harvested it takes almost 40-45 years for a new one to be planted and grown to maturity. Many lumber companies do act responsibly with their cutting and harvesting of those trees but the maturity. However, if alternatives exist (like bamboo) and can be used in certain types of furniture in place of other woods then we should consider those resources ahead of others. Bamboo beds, nightstands, dressers and bookcases are just some of the many pieces of furniture made from this plant. The bamboo plant is even used in making fabric which is used in many types of mattress coverings.

In this article we looked at the two aspects of purchasing new furniture. We examined the responsibilities of what we should do with the older furniture. In the way of donating it, recycling it, giving it away or selling it. Doing these things allows our older furniture to be recycled and re-used creating a positive environmental impact. When getting ready to find new furniture we explored alternatives to domestic woods in the way of bamboo. Bamboo is fast growing, can be reseeded in less than three months after harvesting and provides material even harder than maple. Bamboo is a positive resource for eco-friendly furniture and if it is an available option should be considered ahead of other products. These suggested practices are not only good for you and others but for our environment as well.

It’s quite easy to bring a touch of the outdoors indoors by adding stylish bamboo blinds to your windows. Made from all natural materials, bamboo blinds come in a wide range of styles and shades which will compliment just about any room.

Bamboo Blinds are made with a variety of grasses, jute and reeds which are woven in with the bamboo, The blinds can range right through from pale colored to dark, burnt colored wood. If you want a truly natural finish then the edges can be left raw or you can edge them with some fabric tape for neatness. Generally speaking bamboo blinds come in two opening styles either the roman-fold type or the roller style.

Another option you might want to consider is that bamboo blinds can come either lined or unlined. Given that the weave can be quite loose, an unlined bamboo blind will let through a great deal of the daylight and therefore will provide only partial privacy. Whereas a lined blind will do the opposite and will effectively block out the daylight and provide almost complete privacy.

You will find that bamboo blinds are available from a wide range of outlets. Custom fit bamboo blinds are quite easily affordable starting from as little as $20 for the smallest windows but becoming more expensive as the size of the area you want to cover increases. So you could perhaps be looking at somewhere in the region of $400 – $500 to cover the patio doors. However for patio doors they can be the perfect solution for a neutral colored, simply decorated room leading out into the garden. Check out your local home accessory store for good deals, or try some of the online blinds stores which you can find on the internet by simply keying “bamboo blinds” into your favourite search engine.

Many people still prefer to buy something like bamboo blinds in a “real” store, however, don’t forget that the blinds websites contain handy measuring guides to ensure the right fit when out buying your new bamboo blinds. They’ll also show all the various types available so you know the choices you have in choosing your bamboo blinds.