Did you know that most of our non toxic and sustainable furniture options at Healthier Homes are handcrafted by talented artisans from countries that span the globe? Handcrafted means each piece is unique and made by a person with dedication and love.
Your purchases are providing these talented artisans and their families with gainful employment opportunities. Plus, we support fair trade practices and ethical working conditions. Now that's something to feel good about!
Our team has vetted each of our products, including how they’re made and where they come from, so even though some are from outside the US, you don’t need to worry. Every choice you see on our product pages is an example of organic, non-toxic furniture—exactly what you want in your very own healthy home.
Knowing your home’s floorplan—and what that floorplan seeks to accomplish—is the first step toward buying and setting up the most appropriate organic furniture for your space. Do you have an open concept floorplan, designed to promote air circulation and functional movement? Such layouts are ideal for most people and can contribute to resale value, but do you know where to place furniture in such a space?
You may not know what feels right until you try a few different layouts on for size.
For example, don’t be afraid to position a beautiful, sustainable coffee table in the center of the room. Anchor the piece and incorporate a splash of color and texture by placing a large and cozy area rug under the table.
When you’re buying sustainable, non toxic furniture, sometimes the best quality pays for itself. We know organic living often comes with a higher price tag, but we’re willing to pay a premium for gym memberships and organic produce at the grocery store—so why not for what goes into the building where most of us spend most of our time? As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. And paying a little more often gets you exponentially better quality.
"when organic met modern!"
Modern non toxic furniture has many labels: eco-friendly furniture, natural furniture, organic furniture, and so many more. And yes, we do know sustainable and nontoxic are not always the same thing.
However, there’s often considerable overlap between these two categories... Most modern organic furniture — even reclaimed and recycled, sustainable furniture — are made using processes and materials that are far healthier for home occupants than traditional manufacturing methods. These include eco-friendly furniture made using untreated woods, metals, and fabrics that are free from chemicals like flame retardants and will not off-gas into your home or leach dangerous substances through your skin.
One of best ways to ensure you’re getting organic, non toxic, sustainable furniture is to look for eco-friendly options. What’s good for the planet is beneficial for our homes, too. Eco friendly furniture includes solid wood pieces with natural finishes as well as furnishings made from bamboo or woven reeds, carved stone, metals and ethically sourced natural dyed leathers. Other fun things found in nature such as shells, sea glass, pinecones and dried botanicals are all wonderful ways to celebrate the beauty of eco friendly furniture and decor.
The health benefits of nontoxic furniture are as many and varied as with all other types of healthy home furnishings, but it’s even more important with furniture because these are often some of the largest pieces in your house. With chronic disease on the rise, numerous studies suggest that a toxic indoor living environment may be the cause, and these toxic indoor spaces are created by items in the home that off-gas dangerous VOCs.
That’s why it’s so important to research and purchase environmentally sustainable furniture made using untreated wood, non toxic metals, woven rattan, natural plant based fabrics, grasses and other materials from nature.
Looking at home furnishing product descriptions can be a little overwhelming. Some pieces of organic, eco friendly furniture have quite a long list of materials – especially upholstered pieces. Look at a couch, for example—consider the frame, the stuffing, the covering, and the finishing options such as paints or stains, and stain repellants.
Our rule of thumb is to avoid all chemical stain repellants and chemical fire retardants. These will inevitably soak through the skin and are dangerous for people and pets.
We recommend sourcing solid hardwoods for your organic contemporary furniture needs. Look to see if there are any clear coat finishes or lacquers applied to the product. If so, check to see if they are water based and free of formaldehyde and other chemicals.
For things like couches and mattresses that use foam, look for certifications like CertiPUR-US for the foam.
Finally seek out brands that also adhere to sustainability standards to ensure your furniture is not only nontoxic but also eco friendly.
Not exactly. While non toxic furniture is often organic and sustainable as well, these labels have different goals.
Sustainable refers to the impact a product has on the environment, while nontoxic refers to the impact it has on the people using it. As such, Healthier Homes prioritizes non toxic furniture while also trying our best to ensure our products are eco-friendly.
In fact recycled glass and some reclaimed or repurposed woods make for beautiful pieces inside the home. Just take care to ensure that your recycled sustainable furniture doesn’t have pesticides or chemical residues from a previous life. (Old barnwood and old pallets both tend to be suspect for this reason.) Often, handmade upcycled furniture is actually crafted from new materials that were just scraps left over from previous manufacturing processes, or leftovers that are repurposed from a similar project.