Embellishment > A Touch of Green

There are many shades of green for home décor. But for manufacturers of paint, window treatments, yard ornaments, carpet and knickknacks, the green they’re promoting is the environmentally conscious type.

Jessica Barber of Interiors Green in Littleton notes the demand for recycled, organic, biodegradable and local materials—as well as products made according to fair-trade practices, which ensure that workers receive a living wage and benefits— has grown in recent years. And this demand is helping stock the shelves at her and other eco-friendly shops, such as Your Home, Your World and Real Green Goods in Concord. “There’s an awareness now about needing to protect our planet,” Barber says. “People are also raising young children, and they want to make their homes as chemical-free as possible.”

With a little effort, it’s possible to have a green home—from floor to ceiling and every space in between.

Sea Stones brings the beach into the home with cabinet knobs, wine-bottle stoppers and coat hooks made from water-smoothed stones gathered on New England’s beaches. To ensure a continuous supply, the Windham company “plants” a new quarried stone in the water for each one used. The company also uses sustainable hardwoods for some products such as clocks and coat hooks, and replants ten times more trees than used each year. Sea Stones’ products are available at Bedford Fields and The Capitol Craftsman.

These wine glasses from Spain’s La Mediterranea, and available at Your Home, Your World, are made from between 95 percent and 100 percent recycled glass. The designs aim to represent the magic, freshness and light of the Mediterranean.

Grape Wood Design’s baskets, birdhouses and other indoor décor are made from grapevines pulled from the Maine woods. “They are created by a free-spirited traveling peddler,” Real Green Goods’ owner Deborah de Moulpied says. “I never know when he’s going to show up with his truck loaded with products. When he does show up, his stuff starts selling right off the truck.”

Recycled, aluminum garden accents from Whitehall Products, available at Real Green Goods, are a way to show off your “green” thumb. In business since 1941, the company is known as the world’s largest maker of weathervanes. Whitehall Products also makes items such as birdbaths, lanterns, doormats and sundials.

For anyone who is sensitive to the smell of paint (or just doesn’t like it), check out Safecoat paints. Available at Your Home, Your World in hundreds of colors, the company’s low-VOC (volatile organic compound) formulation keeps toxic emissions from entering the household environment.

FLORTM carpet squares are not only fashionable, but they are made with renewable and recyclable materials. The squares are available in a variety of colors and designs to create your own floor pattern. The carpet is low in VOCs—meaning less new-carpet smell. Plus, with FLOR’s return-and-recycle program, the company will take the old squares when it’s time for a new carpet and make them into new product. Available at Your Home, Your World.

Towels from Native Organic are not only made from organic pima cotton, but the earth-tone colors are grown into the fiber—eliminating the need for most dyes. (The blue towels are made with low-impact dyes.) All are pre-shrunk and color-fast, and available at Your Home, Your World.

Earthshade window treatments are made from quickgrowing grasses, reeds, bamboo, hemp or other cellulosic fibers. Many colors are natural to the plants used to make the shade; otherwise, the product is sun bleached, oven baked or colored with water-based stain. A hemp liner can be added to increase the shade’s insulation and lightblocking capabilities. Available at Your Home, Your World.