Thursday, September 24, 2009

Going Green: Eco-Friendly Nursery Decor

Here in Austin, people are really into living a green lifestyle. There are baby boutiques dedicated to eco-friendly items such as organic bedding and mattress, cloth diapers, and wooden toys. People ride their bikes everywhere and there is even an Austin Car Share program that allows people to share vehicles to cut down on their carbon footprint.

All this got me thinking about eco-friendly decor for your nursery. A few years ago, eco-friendly options for the nursery were expensive and very limited and unless you wanted a tan and brown room, you had to look elsewhere. Not so anymore. Here are some hip, modern options at a variety of price points:

Offers a variety of nature-themed prints (and matching bedding) at decent price points. Printed on organic cotton and ready to hang.


Love this look but not the price? Check out specialty fabric stores for organic fabric that you can wrap around a frame yourself. Bonus if you make the frame using sustainable hardwoods!

Furniture
Eco-friendly furniture often comes with a higher price tag than the run-of-the mill stuff. The most budget friendly option would be to re-purpose dressers and night stands that you already have. Mix matched furniture is in, and by changing the knobs or repainting you can have a whole new look and tie everything together.

But, if you are going to buy something new, there are a few things you can look for:
  • Sustainable hardwoods from well managed forests
  • Materials like bamboo or formaldehyde-free MDF
  • Low VOC, non-toxic finishes
  • Items made in the USA
  • Natural Wood with no finish
This crib from Q Collection Junior is handmade in the USA from locally sourced sustainable hardwoods and is a celeb favorite. With a $1200 price tag it is a little costly, but if you plan on having multiple children this can be an investment piece.


Oeuf and DucDuc also make popular lines that are eco-friendly as well.

Great options if you are on a budget. Available in a natural and mocha shade, this velour bedding is super soft and snuggly. However, for those of you going all natural, this bedding uses synthetic filler for the quilt and bumpers.



Bedding from Argington
They use 100% certified organic cotton, which means that no herbicides or pesticides have been used in production. The prints are done with low impact dyes using a low impact printing process. They fill their comforters, bumpers, and pillows with 100% cotton fill. The fabric texture is smooth to the skin and remarkably soft. And above all....it is all natural.


Want some more info on these topics? Check out these helpful articles:

1 comment:

Katherine @ Grass Stains said...

A while back you said you were going to possibly go to every-other-day posting, and I just wanted to say that I'm glad you haven't (so far)! I love visiting every day. Your blog is beautiful!