‘The Green Choice’ Why reupholstery is sustainable and an eco-friendly decision.

Let’s face it—furniture was much more carefully and thoughtfully designed and crafted 100 years ago than it is today. The pieces I work with were built to last, and by refinishing the wood and giving the piece a new color scheme, we’re giv- ing the piece 100 more years of life. The easy choice is to just throw away what you have and buy something new. We’re all guilty of doing that on some level. My goal is to change the way people look at furniture and help guide them on how to consume less and buy better. If we lower product consumption, simulta- neously we’re also lowering the environmental impact resulting from mass pro- duction.

At RRD we design for longevity. I often feel good that I was able to make something beautiful out of stuff that was headed to the landfill. By upcycling and salvaging older pieces of furniture we’re able to contribute to waste reduc- tion and follow sustainable practices.

I also encourage clients to use sustainable fabrics when we’re reupholstering a piece. One of my favorite collaborators, a fabric designer called Moonshadow Goods, uses 100% sustainable practices in creating her designs. She had never done upholstery fabric before and we worked together to find a base fabric that was heavy enough for upholstery but also sustainable. We ended up finding two different base qualities, both are an organic cotton/hemp blend.

My goal is to design for longevity and by that I mean I design durable and timeless pieces that suppress the urge to change them every couple of years. Solid wood frames and furniture that was built with integrity can go on living for many years to come. With the right restoration skills, we can transform these pieces and give them a new beginning.

The daybed featured below was salvaged from my friend’s barn. It was left behind from the original owner when they bought their house. Originally the cushions were a woven dingy blue fabric and life was looking pretty grim for this daybed. In fact, they were on the verge of just hauling it to the dump. What I found so great about this piece is it’s versatility. I can be a sofa, used in an office/guest room or great for second home where an extra bed may come in handy. The cushions are all removeable as well so it can be configured in different ways. I worked with Moonshadow Goods to create custom natural dyed indigo shibori for the upholstery fabric. I knew there was potential here. The fabric needed to be extra special and bright in order to revive it and the custom shibori did just that. The process of salvaging this daybed with sustainable dying methods on an organic cotton/hemp fabric blend makes for a very ‘green’ piece of furniture.