our heavy-hitters

the items we keep coming back to

While our design consultations are totally unique to each person’s home, we do find ourselves referencing several items quite a lot. Not to give you homework, but a few of our previous newsletters lay some important groundwork for how we choose new stuff for our homes.

Good, Fast and Cheap - choose two: why we love second-hand shopping and what happens when we need something new?

Fast Furniture is a problem. Here is our summary of why.

There are ways to be a smart consumer in the fast furniture world. Here’s how we approach it.

All of that to say, we are learning and building the muscle of making healthier decisions for our homes, and anything we recommend has been vetted through the filters we apply for our own homes. The lists below fit our shopping parameters when needing cheap and fast (aka affordable and new) -

• natural materials when possible, recycled as a runner-up

• made by an artisan, small company or company engaged in sustainable or healthier practices

• a piece that has potential to live several lives in your home or someone else’s if you become ready to pass it along

• consider where it is manufactured

• avoid performance fabrics

You’ll see several items from ikea on the lists below. We love Ikea pieces because they offer great basics that are so customizable. Ikea isn’t perfect, but they’re a front-runner in sustainability initiatives in the fast furniture industry - they pioneered fast furniture and are also actively trying to fix the problems it created.  Of all the affordable furniture companies, they’re investing the most in solving the multidimensional issues of health, sustainability and consumerism. If you want to know more, you can watch this video from the healthy materials lab at Parsons. A few of the things that Ikea has done that we are encouraged by:

• outlawed PFAS in textiles in 2015, well before it was in the mainstream consciousness

• has a goal of circular products by 2030 by focusing on designing for care, disassembly and reassembly, repair, remanufacturing, adaptability, standardization, renewable or recycled materials, and recyclability

• is jumping on the second-hand band wagon: A growing number of IKEA markets buy back IKEA furniture from customers who no longer need it, and re-sell them in As-Is areas.

• aims to phase out plastic packaging by 2028: The phase-out will happen in steps, starting with all new range by 2025, and running range by 2028.

So without further ado, here are our go-to picks for window coverings, bits and bobs, storage furniture, and flooring :

Window Coverings

It’s no secret we love dressing windows, and it’s a subject we often cover in consults because each window is unique in its requirements. These are the resources we reference A LOT.