Several weeks ago, I wrote about the materials I prefer to avoid as I craft an interior—things like faux wood, synthetic fabrics, and plastic. As we increasingly check the labels on our food, making sure they’re free of seed oils and sugar alcohols, for example, we can approach our homes with a similar mindfulness toward ingredients. We want cane sugar, cream, and eggs; the shorter the list the better.
Certainly, there are a few appropriate exceptions, but, for the most part, the fruit of choosing alternatives to that first list of materials is usually a more beautiful space, and we should all use our judgment in prioritizing which pieces really must be made of the real thing to suit our preferences. Keeping a short list of the materials we don’t want in our houses helps. So too, a list of the materials we do.
As you bring together the different rooms of your home, shopping for chairs, desks, textiles, and such, keep an eye out for these ingredients. They are the good stuff:
Solid wood: For furniture that will take a lot of use like dining tables and bed frames, wood all the way through will hold up best and even get better with time.
Wood veneer: Distinct from laminate veneer, wood veneer is a thin piece of solid wood adhered to a less expensive wood. It’s not my favorite because it can be challenging to repair, but it does date back to Ancient Egypt and is better than laminate, which is printed or painted plastic.
Wool and jute: For rugs, these materials are preferable, the former providing a bit more softness underfoot, and the latter a casual, organic aesthetic.
Real plants, fresh or preserved or dried flowers: When it comes to greenery, always choose the real. I wrote in my piece on the accessories of a room that plants and green things are small but essential to a life-giving space. I recommend slowly investing in preserved and dried flowers and branches (or dry and preserve your own!) and using fresh flowers and greens cut from the outdoors as available throughout the year.
Leather, linen, cotton, and wool: These are optimal textile materials because of their natural substance and texture. Leather ages well and is easy to repair.
Alternatives to plastic: wicker, glass, ceramic, metal, etc.
As I’ve shared before, a sustainable and budget-conscious method for decorating is to source a good deal through estate sales, online consignment and vintage stores, Etsy, or social media sources like Facebook Marketplace. These often offer exquisite, high-quality pieces at bargain prices. However, this approach can be overwhelming because of the apparently infinite number of possibilities. To make the pursuit easier, remember to include these ingredients in your search. For example, “antique solid wood dresser” or “vintage wool rug” will narrow your search and get you more quickly to your piece.
I hope this clarifies a potential misunderstanding from that earlier post about avoiding unrealistically cheap items. Our goal is to restore the humane to our homes and our culture, and so a bargain at the thrift store is not the same as a bargain from a conventional seller (not to name names but like Target or Amazon). Behind the first is a generous person; behind the second may be a marginalized one.
For many of us, the route of replacing certain pieces in our homes with different (more humane) ones takes time and patience. It also calls for a certain steadfastness in the face of conventional marketing tactics and trends. But just as our bodies are worthy of quality ingredients, so are our houses and our families. I hope the list here and the encouragement are clarifying and freeing.
And if any room needs some particular attention, I am here to help—from virtual or in-person consults to mood boards and styling. I invite you to leave questions and comments below and/or reach out directly.
An interesting thing, in closing: the interior life is hardly ever strictly interior. The consequences of making a home with intentionality and spunk extend far beyond any one house’s walls.
Loved reading this, thank you!