Sustainable Choices: The Environmental Price of Fast Furniture

Sustainable Choices: The Environmental Price of Fast Furniture

In our fast-paced world, it's tempting to choose convenience over quality, especially when it comes to furnishing our homes. Quick, affordable, and stylish pieces are hard to resist, but have you ever considered the real cost of these mass-produced items? Spoiler alert: it's significant.

At Urban Hardwoods (UH) and Urban Lumber Co. (ULC), we're changing the narrative. We're not just about making furniture; we're about making a difference. Each piece we craft tells a story of resilience, sustainability, and conscious living. This stands in stark contrast to the fast furniture trend, which leaves behind a trail of environmental damage—from deforestation and biodiversity loss to carbon emissions and waste crises.

Deforestation for fast furniture is a major issue, with around 10 million hectares of forest lost yearly. This not only destroys habitats but also impacts Indigenous communities and contributes to carbon emissions. Additionally, the chemicals used in production can harm ecosystems and human health. Once fast furniture serves its short-term purpose, it often ends up in landfills, contributing to a global waste crisis.

At UH and ULC, we're committed to offering a sustainable alternative. We use locally sourced, salvaged trees to create high-quality, durable furniture. Our pieces are crafted with care and designed to last for generations. By choosing sustainable, high-quality furniture, you can make a meaningful impact on our planet's future.

Urban Hardwoods in Portrait Magazine

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Nothing says “freshen up” better than a host of soft but durable fabrics, a smattering of rich moss greens and sable browns that just make you want to cozy up to a window seat, book in hand, with a million dollar view tantalizingly drawing your focus out to the lake beyond. When the owner of this stately 1990s home asked Colleen Knowles to update the family room with its adjacent dining area and lakeside powder bath, the rooms were filled with reds, greens, blues, florals and plaids, some of which had faded or deteriorated from the sunlight bearing down on them during years of family fun. “This well-built home,” says Knowles, “has such incredible bones that what we were asked to do was give it a gorgeous update.”

The homeowner, with whom Knowles had worked previously, welcomed Knowles’ suggestions to use durable fabrics able to withstand the Western light. “I find many people are more interested in getting things cheaper, whereas this client is the exact opposite! She has a sense of longevity, wants the house to grow along with her and her family. She knows the importance of beautiful design and embraced the idea of crisper, more forward-thinking elements, such as the bold stripe in the washable indoor/outdoor dining area rug by Perennials, on which she often has a baby’s highchair pulled up to the table.”

Read the full article here: https://www.portraitmagazine.com/47-lakeside-charmer

Urban Hardwoods in Home & Garden Magazine

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Urban Hardwoods dining table featured in Home and Gardens magazine. Elizabeth Cooper started her eponymous interior design firm in 2008 after studying art history in college and working at Sotheby’s auction house and for a Jackson Square antiquarian in San Francisco. She then went onto work for the esteemed interior designer Martha Angus for several years.

Read the full article here:

https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/modern-family-home-designed-by-elizabeth-cooper-interior-design-212691

Urban Lumber Co. Acquires Urban Hardwoods

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Urban Lumber Co. Acquires Urban Hardwoods

As we enter our 20th year of serving our Washington community and the Pacific Northwest, we are proud to announce that Urban Hardwoods LLC has been acquired by Oregon’s famous Urban Lumber Company INC!

Urban Lumber owner, Seth San Filippo acquired Urban Hardwoods officially on November 1st, 2020 through the advisory service of Stump & Company, a merger and acquisitions group for the high end furniture industry.

Founded in 2006, our new CEO Seth San Filippo and the Urban Lumber team have been crafting beautiful live edge slab furnishings, handmade with reclaimed city trees in Oregon. While building custom projects for residential, hospitality, and major commercial clients throughout the country, their reputation stands tall on their laudable craftsmanship and their keen sense for unique modern design.

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Owner Seth San Filippo’s acquisition is a natural match as we expand on our credo for a sustainable future through heirloom quality hardwoods and handmade furniture. Closely creating these projects with you has always been our top priority, and as we move forward into 2021, we are offering the expertise of 14 more stellar craftsmen and consultants. We are ecstatic to collaborate with our new CEO Seth San Filippo as we join the Urban Lumber family.

We here at Urban Hardwoods ask for your help in welcoming Urban Lumber Co. and we hope you become familiar with these amazing people and their incredible work! 

To learn more about Urban Lumber Co., please visit www.urbanlumber.co