The Low Down On Green Living
March 24th, 2009
Cardboard Furniture: From Cheap to Artsy to DIY
Stumble it!
Most cardboard has a pretty high recycled content — and can be easily re-recycled or composted to boot. Plus, cardboard’s also an inexpensive material that’s light and, usually, flat — characteristics that make cardboard furniture affordable (usually, at least) to make and ship. All these qualities are making cardboard — something we often think of as a low quality, one-use, disposable product — a popular material for serious eco furniture designers!
Cardboard’s an especially popular material for children’s furniture — perhaps because easy-to-recycle cardboard makes sense to use for pint-sized chairs and little cradles kids will quickly outgrow. Green Lullaby’s Eco-Cradle (above), for example, is an all-cardboard cradle made with over 60% recycled pulp! Eco-Cradle ships flat and can be assembled quickly without tools — and can also be disassembled and re-flattened to be easily stored away for the next baby. The Eco-Cradle’s available for $99.50 at Olive and Bean Boutique.
Another cardboard baby bed option’s the customizable cardboard cot by Album di Famiglia (above). However, this boxy cot’s very pricey! Parents will have to spend $220 Euros plus UPS shipping to the U.S. at the Little Fashion Gallery to get this cot.
Lots of other kid furniture’s available at Cardboardesign, a company that offers a basic kids’ drawing table ($58) and chair (2 for $45) — but then thinks outside the cardboard box to create everything from an all-cardboard lemonade stand to a rocket to a play castle too (above). The kids can certainly enjoy playing with and using these toys and furniture, but half the fun seems to be in the assembling and decorating of these cardboard structures. Each product comes with assembly instructions — and a packaway flat box for storage.
Cardboardesign also makes furniture for adults! The light, easily assembled, flat-packed tables and chairs are especially popular with eco-companies with booths at expos and conferences, since the furniture travels easy. I see them being great for bake sales or other community events. Why lug big heavy tables and chairs around when you can easily get the same setup from a flat cardboard box?
Those cardboard pieces can apparently withstand 600 lbs of weight according to Cardboardesign’s website, but even more sturdy looking shelves, chairs, and desks — like the one above — are also available from the company.
For those willing to shop for their furniture from afar, ReturDesign Studio in Sweden offers a very large variety of furniture, ranging from basic tables and chairs to beautiful sofas (above), functional display units, and gorgeous lamps. According to CNET, ReturDesign gets many customers from U.S.! To be one of them though, you’ll need deal with currency exchanges and international shipping.
Big spenders can browse Frank Gehry designs, made by Vitra. These high end seats are gorgeous show pieces — and will put you back $480 - $985 a piece at All Modern.
Not willing to fork over that kind of cash for — cardboard? Then try your hand at making your own cardboard furniture. Foldschool has free patterns and detailed instructions for making a stool, chair, or rocker for kids!
Up for a bigger challenge? Check out this Instructables post on how to design your own cardboard furniture. These instructions were taken from a video — How Things Are Made: Cardboard Furniture — featuring Eric Guiomar of the Les Cartonnistes, a collective of French cardboard furniture makers! (via Apartment Therapy)
For more cardboard inspirations, read about the offices of Nothing, a commercial creative agency, and Beast, an ad agency (via Treehugger). Both offices were designed entirely by cardboard!
Photos via Olive and Bean Boutique, Little Fashion Gallery, Cardboardesign, ReturDesign Studio, and Foldschool
Popularity: 12% [?]
Comments
Erin
March 24th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I like the idea of recycled cardboard furniture and lots of other eco-friendly stuffs, but the fact that the industry makes them so expensive that only the elite can afford them absolutely disgusts me. Sounds like they’re trying to make a huge profit, not a huge impact on Mother Earth.
Siel, green LA girl
March 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
The cost perception does kind of depend on how you look at it. Don’t most people pay more than $99.50 for a cradle, for ex? And a Frank Gehry designed chair’s gonna be expensive, period, regardless of what material it’s made out of….
Clicklist: I think I’m fabulous | green LA girl
March 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
[...] Cardboard Furniture: From Cheap to Artsy to DIY. Get a baby crib, lemonade stand, comfy couch — or whatever crazy eco-furniture design you [...]
browne
March 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Consumerism in my opinion isn’t green, it can be lower impact, but not green. I think if they called it “hurting a little less” maybe that would be better. To me the reason we’ve gotten in this mess in the first place is owing to consumerism.
The environment being destroyed, if you keep searching is owing to people’s desire to get more crap.
It’s not because they are using the wrong crap, but because they keep wanting more and more crap.
If you have a baby you have to buy some things maybe, but my advice to everyone else, don’t buy another thing that you can get used or you can make yourself.
Make less waste by taking away the profit of wasteful people.
Browne
Robin
March 31st, 2009 at 9:41 am
My Grandfather used to say that to have good furniture with children in the house was ridiculous. He always said that cardbard boxes and orange crates should be as fancy as one should get. He was born in 1899. I guess he was WAY ahead of his time!
Drew
March 31st, 2009 at 10:19 am
To me, the problem with cardboard furniture is that ultimately, it is a throwaway (and in this way, non-sustainable) product. So, instead, spend the money on a quality piece of furniture that you will cherish and hand down. Of course, you have to be able to afford it. I have two young children. I would NEVER have put them in a cardboard crib or even a cardboard bassinet. On the one hand, it is a smart choice, because a parent will only need a crib/bassinet for a couple of years. Unless extra kids come along. So, you will have to buy more than one. BTW, how do you remove baby vomit from cardboard? On the other hand, how ridiculous is it to propose that a parent put their child into what is essentially a cardboard box. There is a reason why we don’t see more cardboard furniture.
buellersway
April 20th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Some cardboard furniture ideas on this site are awesome. The tables, chairs, fun houses are all great ideas. It just makes sense to use cardboard for some things. As far as buying them for as much as they are listed for on here it would never happen with me. When I was a kid my dad cut up old furniture boxes and made things but never bought them. I sure wouldn’t use a baby bassonet. Might as well put my kid in a Nike box. The biodegradable aspect makes sense though because lets face it, kids outgrow things and although a cardboard chair doesn’t make sense for a 300lb adult, it does for a 30 pound child.
buellersway
April 20th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
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the low down on green living
March 24th, 2009
Cardboard Furniture: From Cheap to Artsy to DIY
Posted by Siel, green LA girl
Stumble it!Digg!digg it Icon Deliciousadd to del.icio.usTechnoratitechnoratiShareThis
Most cardboard has a pretty high recycled content — and can be easily re-recycled or composted to boot. Plus, cardboard’s also an inexpensive material that’s light and, usually, flat — characteristics that make cardboard furniture affordable (usually, at least) to make and ship. All these qualities are making cardboard — something we often think of as a low quality, one-use, disposable product — a popular material for serious eco furniture designers!
Cardboard’s an especially popular material for children’s furniture — perhaps because easy-to-recycle cardboard makes sense to use for pint-sized chairs and little cradles kids will quickly outgrow. Green Lullaby’s Eco-Cradle (above), for example, is an all-cardboard cradle made with over 60% recycled pulp! Eco-Cradle ships flat and can be assembled quickly without tools — and can also be disassembled and re-flattened to be easily stored away for the next baby. The Eco-Cradle’s available for $99.50 at Olive and Bean Boutique.
Another cardboard baby bed option’s the customizable cardboard cot by Album di Famiglia (above). However, this boxy cot’s very pricey! Parents will have to spend $220 Euros plus UPS shipping to the U.S. at the Little Fashion Gallery to get this cot.
Lots of other kid furniture’s available at Cardboardesign, a company that offers a basic kids’ drawing table ($58) and chair (2 for $45) — but then thinks outside the cardboard box to create everything from an all-cardboard lemonade stand to a rocket to a play castle too (above). The kids can certainly enjoy playing with and using these toys and furniture, but half the fun seems to be in the assembling and decorating of these cardboard structures. Each product comes with assembly instructions — and a packaway flat box for storage.
Cardboardesign also makes furniture for adults! The light, easily assembled, flat-packed tables and chairs are especially popular with eco-companies with booths at expos and conferences, since the furniture travels easy. I see them being great for bake sales or other community events. Why lug big heavy tables and chairs around when you can easily get the same setup from a flat cardboard box?
Those cardboard pieces can apparently withstand 600 lbs of weight according to Cardboardesign’s website, but even more sturdy looking shelves, chairs, and desks — like the one above — are also available from the company.
For those willing to shop for their furniture from afar, ReturDesign Studio in Sweden offers a very large variety of furniture, ranging from basic tables and chairs to beautiful sofas (above), functional display units, and gorgeous lamps. According to CNET, ReturDesign gets many customers from U.S.! To be one of them though, you’ll need deal with currency exchanges and international shipping.
Big spenders can browse Frank Gehry designs, made by Vitra. These high end seats are gorgeous show pieces — and will put you back $480 - $985 a piece at All Modern.
Not willing to fork over that kind of cash for — cardboard? Then try your hand at making your own cardboard furniture. Foldschool has free patterns and detailed instructions for making a stool, chair, or rocker for kids!
Up for a bigger challenge? Check out this Instructables post on how to design your own cardboard furniture. These instructions were taken from a video — How Things Are Made: Cardboard Furniture — featuring Eric Guiomar of the Les Cartonnistes, a collective of French cardboard furniture makers! (via Apartment Therapy)
For more cardboard inspirations, read about the offices of Nothing, a commercial creative agency, and Beast, an ad agency (via Treehugger). Both offices were designed entirely by cardboard!
Photos via Olive and Bean Boutique, Little Fashion Gallery, Cardboardesign, ReturDesign Studio, and Foldschool
Popularity: 12% [?]
March 24th, 2009 in Green Living, Interior Design | permalink
Tags: eco-friendly furniture, furniture, green design, green furniture, green home, Green Living
Comments
Erin
March 24th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I like the idea of recycled cardboard furniture and lots of other eco-friendly stuffs, but the fact that the industry makes them so expensive that only the elite can afford them absolutely disgusts me. Sounds like they’re trying to make a huge profit, not a huge impact on Mother Earth.
Siel, green LA girl
March 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
The cost perception does kind of depend on how you look at it. Don’t most people pay more than $99.50 for a cradle, for ex? And a Frank Gehry designed chair’s gonna be expensive, period, regardless of what material it’s made out of….
Clicklist: I think I’m fabulous | green LA girl
March 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
[...] Cardboard Furniture: From Cheap to Artsy to DIY. Get a baby crib, lemonade stand, comfy couch — or whatever crazy eco-furniture design you [...]
browne
March 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Consumerism in my opinion isn’t green, it can be lower impact, but not green. I think if they called it “hurting a little less” maybe that would be better. To me the reason we’ve gotten in this mess in the first place is owing to consumerism.
The environment being destroyed, if you keep searching is owing to people’s desire to get more crap.
It’s not because they are using the wrong crap, but because they keep wanting more and more crap.
If you have a baby you have to buy some things maybe, but my advice to everyone else, don’t buy another thing that you can get used or you can make yourself.
Make less waste by taking away the profit of wasteful people.
Browne
Robin
March 31st, 2009 at 9:41 am
My Grandfather used to say that to have good furniture with children in the house was ridiculous. He always said that cardbard boxes and orange crates should be as fancy as one should get. He was born in 1899. I guess he was WAY ahead of his time!
Drew
March 31st, 2009 at 10:19 am
To me, the problem with cardboard furniture is that ultimately, it is a throwaway (and in this way, non-sustainable) product. So, instead, spend the money on a quality piece of furniture that you will cherish and hand down. Of course, you have to be able to afford it. I have two young children. I would NEVER have put them in a cardboard crib or even a cardboard bassinet. On the one hand, it is a smart choice, because a parent will only need a crib/bassinet for a couple of years. Unless extra kids come along. So, you will have to buy more than one. BTW, how do you remove baby vomit from cardboard? On the other hand, how ridiculous is it to propose that a parent put their child into what is essentially a cardboard box. There is a reason why we don’t see more cardboard furniture.
buellersway
April 20th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Some cardboard furniture ideas on this site are awesome. The tables, chairs, fun houses are all great ideas. It just makes sense to use cardboard for some things. As far as buying them for as much as they are listed for on here it would never happen with me. When I was a kid my dad cut up old furniture boxes and made things but never bought them. I sure wouldn’t use a baby bassonet. Might as well put my kid in a Nike box. The biodegradable aspect makes sense though because lets face it, kids outgrow things and although a cardboard chair doesn’t make sense for a 300lb adult, it does for a 30 pound child.
furniture dining room tables
September 4th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
The designs are exceptional! I love the cardboard bed. It looks nice and cute! Cardboard furniture is safe for children. Nothing to worry!
Treecycled Furniture
October 12th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
We always impress with all these green things, not only inspired, we do the same thing to furniture and furnishing we made. You should take a look at our blog and website though!
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