A sustainable living space should feature a sustainable living space. Most of the time, when we walk into a residence, we land on the living room. We want our friends, family, and neighbours to be impressed by this space. At the same time, the living room is also very important to us and our own families because it is where we spend most of our time together. It is the best place in the residential setting to spend time with family and friends, whether you’re watching your favourite show on television or sipping coffee by an energy-efficient fireplace. In this article, we’ll talk about some key ways to make your living room more eco-friendly and sustainable:
Reusing older items: Recycling, or even upcycling, is another way to make sure the living room is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Most of the furniture we use at home is made out of wood in some way. An oak tree has to grow for at least five or six years before it can be used to make furniture. Some wood varieties take even longer to grow. So, it’s smart to keep using old furniture or to buy furniture that has been used before. You don’t have to be out of style because of that. You can paint it again, refinish it with stains, or even take the whole piece of furniture apart and use the lumber pieces to make something new. You can sometimes get a rustic look in your home by reusing older materials. In the same way, used and older things (like old newspapers, paintings, etc.) can add charm to your interior design while being good for the environment.
Lighting: Lighting can set the mood and contribute to making use of the space. It can make a small room look bigger and a large room look smaller. If you add different shades of lights, especially accent lights, the room might look more exorbitant. All of the light products must be energy-efficient for the house to be sustainable. This way, your energy costs will go down and you won’t have to buy bulbs as often. Most energy-efficient lighting, like LED, lasts longer than regular bulbs, so you can save that money for future projects or buy some nice decorations for your living room.
Investing in eco-friendly electronics: Most people today choose electric fireplaces that look like real fires and can be controlled with a remote. Many of these items are now energy-star certified, which means that they use less electricity to run. This is good for your wallet and the environment.
Consciousness about the space: Even a small living room can feel bigger if you choose the right furniture and decoration materials for it. One important part of the living room, for example, is the TV. If you put a 65-inch TV on the wall of a small living room, it will look too big and cast a shadow on everything else in the room. Also, sitting so close to a big television and looking at it will be uncomfortable and bad for your eyes. Most of the time, the viewing distance should be at least five times wider than the television screen. For instance, as a general rule, you should be at least five times as far away from the screen as it is.
Using natural fabrics: As curtains, rugs, couch covers, and other fabric items are important parts of the living room, it is important to use sustainable and eco-friendly materials so that they fit in with the sustainable design theme that is used throughout the rest of the house. Synthetic materials are often hazardous to your health because they can release microplastics into the environment and have to be thrown away in landfills when they reach the end of their lifespans. Wool, cotton, linen, and other natural-fiber fabrics are much better for your health.
Plants (real ones, of course): Plants are the first thing that come to mind when we talk about nature. So, putting plants in your living room is a cost-effective way to make your space green and sustainable. Plants can clean the air around them. This is a great way to keep the air clean. Depending on how much space you have, you can choose big plants or small ones that fit on a table. Please keep in mind that getting a plant that needs more care and watering can be a great hobby if you have time. If not, you can choose a smaller plant that doesn’t need as much attention and will still grow. The key is to stay away from fake plants, since there’s no point in using plastic plants to make a natural green space.
As we mentioned at the beginning, your living room is often the first room that guests and friends see when they come to your house. Implementing the aforementioned recommendations will guarantee that your pro-sustainability attitude is making an impact.
