This post looks at the latest in ECO design trends, in particular construction, materials and chairs. I love chairs, my hubby would sigh and roll his eyes and agree at that statement and make a slight gesture to throwing up his hands and murmuring ‘my kingdom for a table’ – pfft funny guy…

The pieces I’ve selected [I think] have great design appeal. If I’m honest, most of my selection is not of new design lines but are of styled on classic mid century design, The new bit is what they are made from. I have chosen the featured pieces that exhibit a clean uncomplicated style and incorporates designer details, and/or unusual materials with an ECO design factor. Another important factor is if they would look good in our DREAM house….. Which is very VERY important should we win the lotto this week.

ECO chair design

“What will endure is what is uniquely human” – Jennifer Leonard

FS Chair by Oyd Design

This chair uses renewable sources and is of lightweight construction making it portable. There are no nails or glue used to hold the chair together. A nice example of good clean design.

Eco Chair featured on Ecofirstart

This Eco chair is constructed out of Walnut ply and felt balls. Ergonomic in design with a touch of tasteful whimsy for comfort.

Artichair by Spyros Kizis

“Artichair, Chair Made of Artichoke Pulp. A simple bucket chair made from artichoke thistle and a biological resin abstracted from yesterday’s cooking oil performs like plastic but without the damaging properties. This fantastic alternative is 100% biodegradable, no landfill sob stories around here. The designer’s name is Spyros Kizis;” – Allison Parker of blog.gessato.com

Well Proven Chairs by James Shaw and Marjan Aubel

“These coral seats are made with residual wood chips, bio-resin and water. Once all ingredients are added together, the mixture expands uncontrollably until it expands to about 600-700% of its original size. In order to create the Well Proven Chairs, the mixture is tailored to have a lower growth capacity, making it denser and stronger so it’s suitable for seating. The mixture is then sloshed onto a mould where it has to be continuously pushed back up until to prevent oozing and unevenness until it sets.” Elise Ying-Hei Ho of Trend Hunter Eco

Layer chair by Richard Hutten

In the video it shows how to build a cloud like chair with just 550 pounds of wool and 600 hours of labor.
While the Layers Cloud Chair might feel (and look) like you’re sitting on a cloud, the bulbous lounge is anything but weightless. It’s made from 550 pounds of solid wool—and its construction was a woolly beast of its own. Designed by Richard Hutten, the chair made its debut in Milan.

Hemp Chair by Wener Aisslinger

“‘hemp chair by berlin-based designer/architect werner aisslinger is the first monochair designed with a new technology in which natural fibers like hemp that are moulded under heat with a special ecological glue resulting in a sustainable composite material. a complete structure done in a thin layer of material is one of the most complicated ways to design and engineer a chair.” – Design Boom

The Re-Ply Recliner by Dan Goldstein

The Re-Ply Recliner- made out of four layers of upcycled heavy-duty corrugated fiberboard cut, laminated, molded and folded into a shell. The triangular base allows the chair to rock and recline. Designed by Dan Goldstein

Hembury Chair by Solidwool

The Hembury chair is inspired by the Eames Plastic Side Chair, which was originally manufactured using Fibreglass in the 50’s.The wool used for the first batch of Hembury Chairs is from the hardy Herdwick Sheep of the Lake District.

When used in Solidwool it gives a dark grey composite with lighter guard hairs standing out. The steel leg frame is fabricated by hand in Peterborough. Then powder coated in a Polyester Powder Coat that will stand up to the rigours of everyday use. The wooden legs are CNC turned from UK Sourced Ash, a stone’s throw from the sea in Exmouth, South Devon.

Sail Cloth Chairs by Spinnaker, featured in Inhabitat

Spinnaker chairs are made from a spring steel frame (recycled) with a plain fronted cushion and each chair is backed in recycled sail cloth.

“Every design ought to be Sustainable design,

meaning something people refuse to trash”

– Satyendra Pakhale

Flux Chair by Douwe Jacobs

Dutch designer Douwe Jacobs created the Flux Chairs for his graduation project in Industrial Design Engineering in 2008. Douwe was looking for inspiration for a line of foldable furniture. Digging deeper and deeper into the world of folding, he found artists creating the most amazing shapes by folding material along curved fold lines. The chair he fluently folded that night made a lasting impact on him. A small scale model made out of paper, beautiful in its simplicity and surprisingly strong.

Together with fellow graduation student Tom Schouten, Flux Furniture was founded and from then on they have worked like maniacs to turn that small paper model into a production-ready and patented product.

“Squishy” ECO Chairs by Annie Evelyn of New Colony Furniture Company

These chairs deliberately look tough and austere. However, this is just a clever imitation of inconvenience. All models of chairs from the collection Squishy are not only impressive appearance, but also comfortable to use.

There are so many amazing things designers are creating these days. There is also a huge shift in design to be more efficient in manufacture and to reduce impact on the environment by designing new eco friendly materials and techniques. It is a great time to observe and/or take part in design either as a patron, a DIY’er or designer. This post just exhibits a small selection of what is possible outside the traditional square of thought.

ciao