3 Furniture Designers with Environmental Impact

Interior furniture design is a dynamic and vast industry, touting a plethora of options for every taste and need. In recent years, the concept of eco-friendly furniture has begun to mix with highly interpretive art. The result? Exquisitely crafted, highly intriguing objects that span the worlds of furniture, art and lifestyle.

Such pieces become the much-talked about focal pieces of any room - and rightfully so! Just take a look at the following few examples, and you’ll catch my drift. Here are three furniture designers whose work has inspired us by building furniture that is not only beautiful, but also making a worthwhile environmental statement:

Gursan Ergil - Ergil is particularly well known for blending traditional woodworking with modern, environmentally-friendly tactics. A graduate of the prestigious Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, he now works from a design studio in Istanbul to bring the world unique, ethically-sourced furniture.

George Nakashima - A Japanese-American master woodworker, Nakashima spent more than four decades of his life exploring the organic functionality of wood and manual woodwork. Like many of the great masters, Nakashima’s success came largely after his death in 1990 and only now is he regarded as one of the leaders in modern 20th century furniture design. Over the last decade, prices for his work have skyrocketed.

Hugo Franca - Senor Franca had dedicated a majority of his life to living harmoniously with nature and encouraging others to do so through his “movable sculptures.” The Brazilian calls upon trees condemned by inclement weather or society to create stunning, functional masterpieces. His works have gained international attention, particularly his 2011 exhibition of massive furniture created from casulo trees.

Gone are the days of purchasing mass-produced furnishings made of harmful chemicals and environmentally-damaging processes. Indeed, we recently wrote about Newlight Technologies, a company that is capturing greenhouse gases and making furniture from thin air. And while LEED credits are currently only available for GREENGUARD Children and Schools certified furniture in school designs, knowledge of such alternative choices will undoubtedly be seen as a value-add for residential and commercial plans alike.