Going “green” has become quite popular over the past few years; going “contemporary green” is possible and easy enough to achieve.

Finding sleek, contemporary “green” furniture though seemed to be the most difficult challenge! Recently featured in newspapers and magazines are young designers who design and manufacture green furniture.  But for someone looking for a sleek design, the results were often disappointing.  The furniture was more of the Arts and Crafts period and was just too bulky and clumsy.

That was until recently.  There is a very contemporary, very “green” showroom in Santa Monica, CA.  The owners are three young men: two brothers and a friend who have a vision of designing and manufacturing green and are able to execute their vision.  The name is Viesso; the look is definitely contemporary.

Ryan Schultz is one of the owners and whom I had the pleasure of meeting while visiting the showroom.  He took time from a very busy day to explain just why his furniture qualifies as environmentally friendly.  “First of all, the wood which is used for the frames of the upholstered pieces and the beds is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.  The stains for the wood are green products which are free of harmful chemicals.  Furniture made from bamboo, such as tables and beds, is available.  Filling for the pillows and cushions are either feathers and down or natural organic latex.  Some of the fabrics for the sofas and chairs are either natural, such as cotton and wool, or of recycled polyester.  One of the leather lines is offered by an American manufacturer that  is Greenguard certified.”

All of the furniture is custom so the client can decide just how green to go.  Ryan added that, because each piece is made to order, they can save on the amount of waste in the manufacturing process.  No excess pieces are produced.  Another plus point is that the manufacturing is done in Los Angeles, therby reducing transportation miles and thus energy used.

And if that’s not good enough of a good thing, the lead time for most items is only three weeks!  They have shipped furniture to San Francisco and as far away as New York, so distance in not a problem.  If you would like to see and read more please visit Viesso's website

While I was there I sat on a number of sofas and chairs and found them to be quite comfortable.  The design consultant on the floor, Charlotte, was very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.  So if you’re in southern California and interested in obtaining “green” contemporary furniture, just drop by Viesso.

Another website to check out is vivavi.com.  The founder and popular environmentalist is Josh Dorf of New York.  Many of the furniture selections are of a sleeker design; some though again lean toward the Arts and Crafts look.  Interesting storage items have been designed by Michael Iannone of Philadelphia using insets of Kirei.  This material is manufactured in Japan from stalks of sorghum which have been combined with sustainably harvested poplar and non-toxic adhesives to form boards.  The boards have also been used in wall paneling and cabinetry.

If you prefer to browse in contemporary showrooms near you, just ask for the green products they carry.  Limn of San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle. and now Los Angeles offers a few lines of environmentally conscious manufacturers.  The fourth generation of Riva of Italy produces hand-crafted and solid wood furniture with stylish lines. The four woods (cherry, maple, oak and walnut) available are finished with a wax and natural oil treatment. E15 of Germany, established in 1995, also has an interesting line of tables, beds, storage units and chairs of solid European wood.  They will soon add sofas to their inventory. Their motto is “modern furniture with traditional craftsmanship.”

You can find green choices among upholstery fabrics, window treatments, and bed linens.  As Ryan mentioned at Viesso, fabrics for upholstery can be a natural product such as cotton and wool or a recycled material, or even a combination of natural and recycled products.

There are also choices among natural materials. For example, you can select either organic or conventional cotton, with organic cotton the more preferable.  In the production of conventional cotton “25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides (including herbicides and defoliants)” are used, “despite using only 3% of the world’s croplan.” modgreenpod.com tells you more.  Why Organic?)  Organic cottons though can contain some toxins.

A company that specializes in pure organic cottons and other fine fabrics grown and manufactured to green specifications is Anna Sova, based in Dallas, Texas.  “Sensuous silk neutrals” and Heavy Irish linen are available for draperies and would make a wonderful statement in a contemporary setting.  The dyes used are free of carcinogens.  The linen fiber does not require fertilizers or pesticides and is totally biodegradable and recyclable.

Another interesting choice for bed linens would be bamboo bedding.  I’ve heard of bamboo for flooring and cabinetry but this was the first time I had heard of it as a fabric!  Green Fusion Design Center in San Anselmo, CA, offers bamboo linens from Dreamsacks and states on their website that “bamboo is hypoallergenic and allows your skin to breathe…(it)  also possesses antibacterial qualities that reduce odors and keep bacteria away from the skin.”  Check it out at greenfusiondesigncenter.com

If draperies are not your choice for window coverings, green alternatives would be grass shades or bamboo blinds.  Mecho Shade offers a PVC-free solar cloth shade called Eco Veil.  Hunter Douglas has the Green Screen of 100% polyester fabric for solar shading.  It is also PVC free which means no chemical off-gassing.

And if you care to have your fabrics, wool carpets or leather protected, you don’t have to turn to Scotchguard.  There are firms with environmentally-safe products that do just that.  Fiber Care out of Greenbrae, CA, run by Douglas Whitehurst, is one such company.  Green Shield is used to protect your fine fabrics against grease, wine, coffee and pet stains.

Saving energy is a very large part of “going green.”  When considering lighting in a contemporary light setting, there is much that can be done.  Many design enthusiasts love the look of recessed downlights in the ceiling.   They are excellent in a contemporary setting but, as I wrote in the article “Bring Up the Lights!” one shouldn’t overdo it.  Too many holes make the ceiling look like Swiss cheese so use them sparingly.   Just reducing the number of recessed lights helps to save energy.  Putting them on dimmers also reduces energy consumption.

In a kitchen one could replace the recessed halogen lights with compact fluorescents (CFL) (18 W, 26W or 32 W).  In order to avoid seeing the CFLs from below, invest in a fixture with a diffusing lens.

Very chic in a contemporary kitchen or office would be linear fluorescents suspended from the ceiling, surface-mounted or recessed into an 8’ or 9’ high ceiling.  Typically used in commercial or office settings, these fixtures are available in multiples of 4’ or in other lengths.   They have aluminum or stainless steel trims and are very sleek looking.

When considering recessed linear fluorescents in California there are some restrictions.  Linda Sanford of Sanford Lighting in Palo Alto, CA, an expert in lighting solutions, pointed them out.  “In California recessed fixtures must meet Title 24 (an energy policy) regulations which require an IC (insulated ceiling) rating.  Because of this, the recessed version is currently only an option when installed in dropped ceilings such as in soffits.  The other mountings are still possibilities.”

One linear fluorescent in particular, the Avenue B from Focal Point, has two accent MR 16s at each end of the fixture.  This way accent lighting can be combined with ambient lighting - a very good idea!

Fluorescents can be put on dimmers but it is still quite costly.  A better idea is to invest in two-lamp fixtures and employ bi-level switching.  A single lamp in each set of fixtures is on one switch; the other lamp is on another.  You can automatically have two levels of light!  One tip: When looking for a fluorescent tube lamp for the kitchen, ask for an 830.  This number indicates the color rendering and the color temperature of the lamp, and will give you a beautiful color with good color rendering properties.

If you are accenting art, the MR16 lamp is an excellent option.  It’s an adjustable downlight with a bright small beam of light.  It also comes in various wattage and beam spreads.   An optional louver can shield the view of the bright source from many angles while allowing the direct lighting.  The light is projected out the front but blocked on the sides so that no light is lost.   Various lenses are also available to modify the shape of the beam, to provide color, or to filter out the UV thus protecting your artwork.  These fixtures can also be put on dimmers.

There is a new energy-saving source for lighting which is potentially even more energy-efficient than fluorescent lighting.  It is being used in some applications but more work has to be done to make the light whiter and somewhat stronger in intensity.  At the moment you may see it as the light in a doorbell, as lights on the dashboard, and even in some under-cabinet lighting.  Yves Behar, a pioneer in creative design, came out with the Leaf Light desk lamp which uses LED (light emitting diode) lighting.  It is available at DWR or Hermann Miller.  There will certainly be more uses for LED in years to come.

In general, just replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescents in floor, desk and bedroom lamps is a good energy-saving policy. But if you just prefer the incandescent or halogen lighting, add dimmers and motion sensors that switch your lights off when you are not around so energy can still be conserved.

When the green furniture is in place, the compact fluorescents in the fixtures, and the bamboo linens on the beds, add some sparkle by placing cut flowers in several rooms of the house.  But be sure they are organic!  There is a national movement to have flowers labeled as green flowers, whether grown at home or imported from abroad.  This means that organic farm practices governing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, the use of the water and the land and the protection of the farm workers are adhered to.  Labels on flowers such as “Fair Trade Certified”, USDA Organic and Veriflora” are already out there.

Now, at last, you can sit down and relax and enjoy your green and healthy environment and, of course, with a glass of organic wine!