Sustainable Furniture & Fabrics

What to know before you buy

Shannon Willey is the proprietor of Sea Green Designs LLC in beautiful South Hampton, New York. Her business has grown from a five hundred square foot studio space to a large 2000 square foot retail store with complete interior design services .In a world where retail is having a very hard time, Shannon has grown her business exponentially and it continues to soar. This has happened because the store is very unique. Shannon searches the world for beautiful furniture, lighting, and wall decor that's ecological and better for your health. The great news for all of us is that good-for-you home decor is being made with a designer look and feel.

We all know of the Hamptons. We've seen the photos in People Magazine showing the celebrities vacationing there. They have deluxe homes and you can bet this clientele is not going to buy ugly stuff, even if it's good for your health. That's exactly what Shannon shares. She's created a cheat sheet for everyonethat highlights the important things to consider when you're decorating and you want to create an even healthier environment to live in. 

N:   I'm excited today for you to talk with us and to share what you're doing in the Hamptons, and your mission. To start out, I know everyone has heard of the Hamptons. But we haven't all visited there. Tell us a little bit about this famous place.

S: Well, the Hamptons  have a lot of history, which I don't think people realize. But Southampton, the town I live and own my business in, is the oldest English settlement in New York. The Hamptons have a quaint old world charm of a seaside village with some of America's best beaches. In fact, Cooper's Beach was voted the number one beach in America in 2010. And that beach is right here in Southampton where I live. It's a great place to visit. The coastal environment is what I love. But we're also blessed with a lot of culture, and vineyards, and golf courses, and some incredible architecture, and design. Not to mention our fair share of celebrities, which is really what I think people think of when they think of the Hamptons.

I started out as a decorative painter. I was 27 years old. I had a 500 square foot studio, which was also my retail space filled with things that I would hand paint myself. I graduated from college with two degrees, one in fashion design, and one in environmental studies. I had been paying the bills by working in a furniture store here in the Hamptons after I had graduated from FIT in the city. I got involved in merchandising and buying in that furniture store. That's where my passion for interior design was ignited. That experience gave me the foundation to start my own business in 2000. And that evolved to include interior design in 2002. Eventually  I honed my niche to include my passion for sustainability with my bachelor's degree in environmental studies.

About ten years into business, I changed the name of the business to what it is today, Sea Green Designs,  and really started focusing on incorporating products that were not just coastal, our aesthetic,  which has to do with the environment that I live in and where my clients are. But the green of Sea Green reflects the sustainability aspect. Our store, which is now 2,000 square feet, is also my design studio where we meet with clients. What we put on our floor, and what we sell off the floor, 90% of what I source, has some attributes of sustainability. Whether it's made here locally from a local artist who is using reclaimed materials, organic materials, or even if the manufacturer has a very high level of sustainable manufacturing practices. That's what we focus on. And that's kind of how my business has evolved, and how and, why I am where I am today.

N: Do people come into the store really looking for environmentally friendly products or do they see something beautiful in the window, and they're pleasantly surprised to find out it's going to be really good for them in your home?

S: It's the latter and that's really my goal. I really do try and entice people with just beautiful pieces. And then they are pleasantly surprised to find that maybe a sofa they're looking at has eco friendly foam ~ soy based foam ~ instead of something made out of petroleum. One of our favorite pieces is a beautiful chandelier where the beads are recycled Coke bottle glass. It's just a beautiful piece, and a beautiful shade of green. People are amazed to find out that the beads are made out of recycled Coke bottles.

Surprising them is something I strive to do. I'm trying to let people know that things can be beautiful, and should be beautiful, but there can also be other benefits. We do have eCommerce on our website. It's something that we're always trying to update.

.N: Tell us about your mission. What are you trying to achieve when people come into the store?

S:  I like to say my mission is to change the world one home at a time. We strive to design coastal retreats that are happy, healthy places for friends and family to gather. As I mentioned, the summers are a busy time. People are always gathering in their homes. And our designs always incorporate elements of our coastal environment. But the style is always reflective of our client's personality and how they live in their home. We strive to create beautiful spaces using products that happen to be good for both people and the planet. And again, just with the example of people walking through the door, our clients don't necessarily hire us because they're interested in sustainability. They really love our aesthetic. They're pleasantly surprised to know that they're getting added benefits by the way that we're designing their homes.

When someone walks through the door as a retail client, what they take home is better for them then another piece they might have found someplace else. Sustainability and health really do go hand in hand. Petrochemicals are in everything and we can't eliminate them. But we can reduce the amount of exposure we have to them. That's where organic materials that aren't using chemicals and the finishes we use and the paints we use in our homes ~ all of those things that release toxins into the air ~ they can have significant effects on our health. Everything from asthma to skin reactions, to something as serious as cancer if you're exposed to these chemicals for long enough and with levels that are high enough.

If we reduce the amount of these petrochemicals, we're also doing something that's better for the environment. And that's why I like to say we can change the world one home at a time by sort of reducing what we bring into our homes.  We're reducing the amount of these petrochemicals used in the production of fabrics, flooring, and paints.

N: Tell me about products that really light you up. I know you've mentioned to me the wood that's harvested out of the riverbeds. Tell me about that. How is it used? And where did you find it? How did you get involved with this old growth river wood?

S:  This is one of those things where I go on my buying trips, and I'm looking for pieces for both our store, as well as client projects. Sometimes you just come across some things that are interesting to you, and then you begin to ask questions, and you might be intrigued by the texture. In this case, there was an accessories company that I found. They were making some beautiful signs in white washed wood. Other pieces were made out of this old growth river wood, which was actually dredged from rivers.

It was wood that had fallen into the river that was just beginning to disintegrate. No new trees needed to be cut down. This wood was taken out, was dried, and was able to be used for these beautiful accessories. It's also available as flooring, and wall panels, and other things like that. It was fascinating to me because I wasn't particularly searching for this. I just happened to come across it. It was just one of those things where if you ask enough questions, you really can feel very good about what you find.

Many people are familiar with the use of reclaimed lumber or flooring. It's very popular, especially when old barn wood is taken down.  We use it often times in tables, dining tables, things like that. That's a great place to use it.

I have a great story about a product that sort of found me. The benefit of having a retail space is that  often times local craftsmen will come in. This past summer we had a very funny story. We had two very foreboding men walk in. My assistant likes to say one of them looked like he was from Sons of Anarchy, covered in tattoos with a scruffy beard. We sort of took a step back. But these two men were brothers and they had started handcrafting their own furniture. The name of the business is Brooder.  They're located about 20 miles from us, so they're very local. They happened to come in and started working with us to create some pieces with live edge woods. It just was a fascinating experience. They're using eco-friendly finishes so there's no off- gassing. And they're using reclaimed lumbers and handcrafting iron bases. It's one of those things that light me up. Things like that do. You're just taken by surprise. And you end up having these beautiful pieces in the store with a story.  When you take them home ... when you purchase these pieces, it is a story to tell to your family, to your friends when they come in. It's something that you can enjoy for a very long time. And I think that's really important when you're furnishing your home.

N: Let's pretend I have a home with things I purchased years ago and it looks like a time warp now. How can I curate a better experience that’s environmentally friendly without throwing everything out?

S: I love this question because I started my business as a decorative painter. I got very involved in refinishing furniture. Chalk paint is very, very popular now. It's something that we actually carry in our store, and have offered workshops to teach people how to paint these pieces. Some things do need to be discarded. I recommend  donating them to Habit for Humanity. Let someone else take your pieces and turn them into something else. Pieces that you can keep in your home, and that you can give a new finish, give a new life to, is really a great way to as you say, curate a better experience.

The product that we carry is Amy Howard At Home. She likes to say you can enjoy the bragging rights. When you refinish a piece you are rescuing, restoring and redecorating. Taking those pieces that are stuck in the time warp, and giving them a new finish to be in keeping with the new look of your home, this is really a great way to reduce your footprint by not just discarding and by not purchasing something new. You'll also have this wonderful conversation piece that you changed, and you did yourself.

If you’re nervous about DIY, I would tell you to start small. We have done many times what we call a "Bring Your Own Piece Workshop" here in our shop. And just to tell you how easy this can be is, those workshops tend to be three hours long. If you know that you can take a piece, and from start to finish, completely change it in three hours, then you know that it's not going be too time consuming. What I suggest is starting with a small piece, and that's what we recommend when we do these workshops. This can be something like a small side table, or I've had people that want to do a whole set of dining chairs, that will bring a chair in so they get the experience of finishing it. You could take a dining chair, and you could finish a dining chair in three hours. Now, if you have ten dining chairs, do you want to spend thirty hours doing all of your chairs? You might not.

A mirror is a great thing to refinish yourself. It really is very easy, and there's plenty of tutorials out there. We're working on putting one together on our website.

What's beautiful about chalk paints is that they are completely non-toxic. There's very little prep work that's involved. There are a lot of things that you could do that are much more involved but chalk paint is a really good place to start. You can get some really beautiful authentic patinas just by layering the paints, putting on waxes. You just have to get started somewhere.

N: I know that when I work with professionals, they always make a little sample for me of what I'm going to get. Sometimes they make two samples to choose from. . Should a DIY person do a little sample board for themselves, even for the small projects, so they feel more confident.

S: Yes, if you are hesitant. It's just like trying a new color on your walls. I would recommend you get a sample, and you take a look, and you decide. When it comes to things like chalk paint, there are a lot of ways to adjust your finish. Do you want it to look a little more old? Do you want it to look a little cleaner? I do recommend doing a sample, and experimenting with it. I think you'll find that it's actually quite a lot of fun. As I was saying, I can't tell you how many times people have come in just because they've seen that we have the paints. And they say, "Well, I'm gonna try that." And then a month later, two months later, they're coming in with their cellphones, showing us what they made, and buying more paint because they've decided to tackle another piece. It's something that once you get going and you take that initial step, most of the time people realize that it's not so difficult to do.

N: Let's get back to thinking about having a healthier home. What other things besides furniture, and reusing furniture that you have, should we all be thinking about?

S: In terms of a healthy home, you want to make sure that you're using non-toxic paints. Definitely stay with water based versus oil based products. Oil based products are those petrochemicals where you're off-gassing in your breathing space, and effecting your indoor air quality. Organic fabrics materials are also things to consider in your home.

Bamboo fabric is fantastic. It feels like silk. It's a wonderful natural material and is 100% renewable. It's a really great choice when it comes to bedding.

S:  These tips will help you create not just a sustainable atmosphere, but a healthier, happier home.

#1   The first takeaway would be that what you choose to build, furnish, and accessorize your home with can make a difference in your health and happiness. Choosing to use organic and natural materials, as well as furnishings, and finishes that don't bring volatile chemicals into your home, means better breathable air, less chance of allergic reactions, and a better night's sleep.

#2   The second is to ask questions about how pieces are made. Where they're made? What they're made of? Because knowing the answers to these questions will help you feel really good about what you bring into your living space, and can give you much joy.

#3  The third thing would be that you don't have to get rid of everything when you redecorate. Sometimes, it makes sense to keep existing pieces, and give them a new life, and a new finish. And it often makes for great conversation too.

We work with a lot of clients that are sometimes starting with nothing. It's a second home, and so they don't have pieces to bring over. But when people have pieces that are sentimental, or they're trying to use a piece from an old house, we definitely will try and work with them. We incorporate them into the plan from the beginning if we know there's a piece that someone wants to use. And if it doesn't fit the aesthetic, that's when we will talk to our faux finisher about refinishing the piece. Maybe we'll use it in a different area of the house then it would have previously been used. It's something that we work with people all the time.

Reupholstery is also something we should discuss. We've talked a lot about painting but I work with a number of clients who have some very, very well made upholstered pieces and you cannot find that kind of frame. You cannot find that kind of comfort. We'll recover them. We do this all the time. And again this gives us an opportunity to bring in organic materials for those pieces, that suit the client's needs. That's also a great way to be able to reuse something rather than discard something.

Contact: Shannon Willey, Sea Green Designs, LLC.   www.seagreendesignsllc.com