Sustainable Furniture

Cardboard.



Yes, that stuff we flatten and recycle. It really is a fascinating, completely recycled and recyclable material to work with.

Several years ago, when I was working for a company that dealt with many cardboard boxes every night (that had to be stacked for scanning to be sent out again) we used to get creative with the way we stacked them. Here is an example.




A couch, ottoman, lamp. We made other things with them as well over the long night shifts. That's me on the end- with the cup. We knew cardboard could also be furniture!

So tonight I was thumbing through all of the shows you can stream directly for Netflix for something interesting to watch and ran across Big Ideas for a Small Planet.
This show is GREAT!

These guys have taken a version of that cardboard idea and ran with it. I'll admit I was dubious at first about some of the designs, but some of them are just plain fantastic!!











I LOVE that spiral case!!

Cardboard is cheap, easy to ship, collapsible, a blank slate for decoration, and incredibly strong when built to be.

May not be suitable for homes with cats with claws. (Well maybe the spiral storage case. Don't think they can reach that!) Exhibit A:


These guys have made entire offices out of nothing but cardboard. Simply amazing! I may make this my new office, too.















These folks below have a lot of great ideas. Like shelves, seating, tables, kid kits, and more. And this is the kind of furniture that would be fun to put together. No tools!












Here are cardboard file cabinets, shelves, and even a cardboard bed (without mattress)


This is a great way to build for the future.

Smarter not "disposable."

When I was in a sculpture class in college we were told to make things out of "found objects." We, went, as a class to a local "dumping ground" and found odds and ends to make five sculptures, each. It was one of the most fun projects I've done. I may delve into this once again, when I have workshop space. It's messy!

This guy started a family business to build lamps out of Junk. They literally find the junk they need, from the places that have to dispose of it. He takes a lot of ordinary things and turns them into extraordinary pieces of furniture. I'd love to have one of these lamps!


The carbon footprint of the furniture industry is gigantic. It is estimated Americans buy 70% of their furniture from over seas. That's a lot of oil down the drain.

Can't we work out more sustainable furniture solutions, like these guys have?