Eco-awareness – use of wood within your home

One of this year's interior design trends focuses on the use of wood obtained from sustainable sources. As well as recycling all the new up cycling, wooden furniture, flooring and window dressings remain in trend throughout people's homes irrespective of the age of the property.

Basically woods are categorised as either soft woods which include pine, chestnut as well as bamboo and wood weave materials, or hard woods which include mahogany and oak.

Quintessential English country cottage style interiors have been using pine as the wood of choice because of its unique qualities, colours and availability. With a wide range of pine colours, from natural to pine which has been stained to enhance the grain and beauty of the wood, many interiors opt for the use of pine or pine effect flooring, furniture and wooden curtain poles, combined with floral fabrics, Chintz and gingham.

The dark woods such as mahogany have their own unique colouring, which brings a rich warmth to interiors. Mahogany ready made blinds are the ideal choice of window treatment in dining areas as they coordinate effortlessly with mahogany dining tables and chairs. As with pine, mahogany is also available in a wide range of colours, each bringing its own unique individuality to your windows.

Alternatively you could choose curtain poles in white, such as Romantica curtain poles,which offer chic elegance at your windows using classical styling which complements all styles of curtains in all rooms of your living space.

Using white as an interior design style remains as popular in 2010 as last year. Many interior designers are continuing to use white as a blank canvas on which accent colours can be added to create stunning interiors. This year's in trend colours of turquoise combined with white provide a crisp cool look to modern and contemporary living spaces.

So how do you know whether products such as Venetian blinds are made from wood that derives from sustainable and managed forests? The easiest way is to look for blinds which either carry the now common place 'green' symbol, or are part of projects and schemes which have been developed to create awareness and help tackle the problem of deforestation by working with local authorities and governments, for example 'Project Plantar' which is a scheme for replanting trees to help create natural green belt areas.

As is mentioned in yesterday's post 'going green' means far more than just using the colour! It is all about using eco-friendly materials and products by making informed choices when you look for all aspects of your interior design style. It would be naïve to think that we could all change our existing furniture, soft furnishings and window treatments all at once, as this would be unrealistic for the majority of people, however the next time you redecorate or purchase anything new for your home it is worth giving consideration to making a conscious effort to look for items which have been made from sustainable products, and not those which have not had to be transported halfway around the world.