Natural Well-Being

One memorable frog once lamented, It ain’t easy being green. Three decades ago, when he was singing his sad song, this was very true. Especially when it came to “green” interiors, he wasn’t exactly swamped with eco-friendly choices for furniture.

Fortunately for Hawaii homeowners, environmental awareness has grown, and so have our options for eco-friendly furniture. And not just funky, recycled art (though there’s still plenty of that) but also sophisticated, beautiful pieces of furniture that can really define your home.

Nowadays, many home interior showrooms feature a wide (and growing) range of green furniture. Some of these great furnishings are reused (elegant, century-old Asian antiques), some are recycled (reclaimed teak and mahogany from Indonesia and South America to create rich home elements), while other items are made from nontoxic chemicals or require significantly less energy to use.

Styles range, too, and promise something green for every home. So, whether you’re set on a whole green makeover, or just musing a light greening of a room, read on for some brilliant ideas for your interior spaces.

Photos courtesy of Coyuchi.

ORGANIC COTTON

Rest easy on Coyuchi cotton sheets, pillows and bed covers. The hand-picked, organic cotton is produced without pesticides or fertilizers, saving the land, air and water that help it to grow. The super-soft linens, in turn, harbor no skin-irritating chemicals.

The luxurious Coyuchi line is available on Oahu exclusively from Fine Linens and Furnishings. Experience the fabric’s natural beauty in the company’s new Gentry Pacific Design Center showroom.

Fine Linens and Furnishings provides Hawaii’s discriminating homeowners with elegant bed and bath linens from a wide variety of upscale sources. And company owner Kaye Fawcett is now featuring organics to fill a growing trend.

“I try to provide what homeowners are looking for, and they want luxurious fabrics that are ecologically friendly,” Fawcett says. Coyuchi cotton satisfies.

Coyuchi duvet, $200-350; sheets, $100-300; pillow cases, $45-50; woven blankets, $90-350, from Fine Linens and Furnishings.

In the United States, more than 50 million pounds of pesticides and 1.6 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers are applied to cotton crops annually. (Coyuchi)

RECLAIMED TEAK

Photos courtesy of Bali Moon.

Wooden furniture can become heirlooms prized for their history, as well as their aged appearance. Instead of waiting for a new piece to mature, furniture makers are creating remarkable pieces from reclaimed wood. Bali Moon Hawaii’s recycled teak furnishings, created from houses in Asia, are strong, durable and original. And although the furniture may be new, the wood averages more than 50 years old.

Bali Moon Hawaii features exotic furniture, paintings, sculpture and art with distinct Indonesian flavor. The company’s North Shore showroom displays personally-chosen items imported from six countries. Recycled teak products include day beds, dining sets, chairs, beds and tables.

Bali Moon Hawaii recycled teak dining set; 80-inch by 40-inch table, $2,245; chair, $295; bar stool, $375.

Indonesia is experiencing one of the highest rates of tropical forest loss in the world. Forty percent of the forests existing in 1950 are now cleared. In terms of forest cover, this means a drop, from 162 million hectares to 98 million hectares.(The State of the Forest: Indonesia, 2002, Barber, et al. www.wri.org)

RECLAIMED RAILROAD TIES

Reduce, reuse, recycle has long been the environmentalist’s mantra. Taking it to heart, furniture makers worldwide are creating furniture from reclaimed wood. Even colonial-era railroad ties are reborn as dining sets, bookcases and end tables. The smooth, history-rich wood makes for unique furniture and conversation pieces.

Photos by Tomas Del Amo

SoHa is at the forefront of the railroad-tie renaissance. Always known for sophisticated furnishings and accessories, the company steps into the green interior market with style.

SoHa reclaimed wood Lawson tall bookcase, $1,100; Lawson dining table, $1,250.

Only 8,000 years ago, the Earth was covered by approximately 14.8 billion acres of forest. Today, as a consequence of human expansion the world’s forest area has shrunk to just 8.6 billion acres. Most of this loss has occurred in the last 50 years. (www.eco-furniture.com)

RECYCLABLE FURNITURE

What to do with furniture once it has served its purpose? Toss it in the recycling bin, says furniture maker Janus et Cie.

Photos courtesy of Janus et Cie.

The European company produces outdoor furniture made from Hularo, a fiber that is eco-friendly, nontoxic and recyclable. Luckily, the green outfits are also chic. From chaise lounges and ottomans to outdoor dining sets and divans, the weatherproof furnishings say conscience with panache.

Oahu retailer Pacific Home proudly displays the Hularo line on its front lawn, and offers a full catalog to order from within. Choose from Janus et Cie’s 13 collections, with accessories to match.

Hularo furniture, Barcelona collection in Java, from Pacific Home: two-seater sofa, from $3,006; lounge chair, from $1,958; side table with frosted glass, $1,407; cocktail table with frosted glass, $1,932; ottoman with glass or cushion, from $902.

In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. (www.epa.gov)

ENERGY-SAVING LIGHTS

Lithonia fixtures from Pacific Ceiling Fans & Lighting.

Get the most bang for your lighting buck with ENERGY STAR qualified lighting fixtures that employ compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. The quick, easy eco-lighting uses two-thirds less energy than standard lighting, generates 70 percent less heat, and lasts up to 10 times longer.

Plus, lighting showrooms throughout the Island have found art-like energy-saving options. The brightly colored pendants and sconces have come a long way from the original, practical CFL fixtures.

ENERGY STAR qualified Lithonia fixtures, $140-$280, from Pacific Ceiling Fans & Lighting; Ciro Lava pendant, $332, from Lighting Concepts.

Another eco-friendly lighting line, Forecast from Dial Lighting, offers an Energy Smart rating. The Smart wall-mounted fixtures, in brilliant textured glass, also use CFLs to help trim the energy bill.

Energy Smart wall-mounted fixtures, from $190, from Dial Lighting.

If every home changed five light fixtures or bulbs with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, each family would save about $60 a year in energy costs, we’d all save about $6.5 billion, while preventing greenhouse gases equivalent to gas emissions from more than eight million cars. (www.epa.gov)

NATURAL DYES

For thousands of years, Persian rug makers have woven beautiful rugs with a time-tested process. Even though technology and chemical dyes could make their jobs easier, the weavers’ loyalty to tradition means healthier home products.

Photos by Tomas Del Amo

The Persian Gabbeh collection, from Island Rug Company, features handcrafted masterpieces by the Qashqai tribesmen in southwestern Iran. They carefully dye organic wool with berries, grape leaves, pomegranate rinds, walnut husks and madder root. Brilliant floor coverings are the result.

Island Rug Company is a leader in fine rugs in Hawaii. The company specializes in “fine art for the floor” with its broad selection of handmade rugs and carpets.

Persian Gabbeh rugs, $90 per square foot, from Island Rug Company.

During the past 35 years, the amount of waste each person creates has almost doubled from 2.7 to 4.4 pounds per day. The most effective way to stop this trend is by preventing waste in the first place. (www.epa.gov)

REUSABLE FURNITURE

Antiques lend a sense of time and place to any room. They can be passed down from family or found during a hunt for that special piece. Antiques are also the ultimate in green furniture. Reuse is better than recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again.

Bali Boo, a division of King & Zelko Hawaiian woodworks, exhibits antiques that fulfill our need for reminiscence and reusable furniture. Striking Asian armoires are more than 100 years old. They’ve stood the test of time, and are ready to care for a new family’s belongings. The company also offers a wide range of Asian-inspired home décor to complement its beautiful antiques.

Armoire, $1,999, from Bali Boo.