Ecological bedroom: 8 useful tips to have a safe room
Creating a safe, chemical-free playroom or bedroom can be fun and easy if you have the right ideas and resources. Here are some helpful tips to consider when creating a fun and safe play area for your child.
When parents prepare to design their children’s bedroom or playroom , it is normal to ask themselves a thousand questions and ask themselves where to start.
Is it good to give the room a design that fully caters to the tastes and interests of the children or is it better to design a more neutral room? Is it better to save money by buying cheap materials to change as the children grow or to focus on something more expensive but durable? And thinking about creating an ecological bedroom since they spend most of their time there ?
To create an ecological and safe environment for children, it is good to start from scratch and think about everything: flooring, lights, furniture, coverings, textiles, in order to avoid as much as possible the presence of glues, solvents, paints and other harmful products for the health of the little ones and beyond. Done right, this room can serve the children and family for many years as a functional and healthy space.
1. A natural floor that is easy to clean
An ecological floor can be a great way to start creating a green bedroom or playroom. The best choice for both children and the environment are wooden floors, cork floors and bamboo floors.
Wooden flooring is a very common eco-friendly choice for bedrooms. In fact it is beautiful, warm and cleans well. There are many excellent, safe and certified products on the market that can satisfy every need.
Cork flooring is a very interesting option. Available in many home improvement stores, cork flooring is sustainably produced by cutting the bark but not harming the tree.
The bamboo flooroffers the same timeless look as wood, it is a highly renewable resource. Very durable and is harder than its hardwood floor counterpart.
Another great advantage of cork, wood or bamboo floors is that they can easily be moved when the room is needed for another purpose and will no longer be a child’s bedroom.
2. Eco-friendly wall paint
The many types of paints are known to contain chemicals and are harmful to people and the environment. However, environmentally friendly, breathable and odorless paints have been available on the market for some time, which are non-toxic as they do not have VOCs, toxins or solvents, therefore excellent products for painting a room intended for children.
The easiest choice to find is environmentally friendly water-based paint , but clay paints and milk paint are also interesting.
Clay paints come in a variety or shades but can be spiced up by adding different tints.
Milk paint is another great option, which typically comes in powder form and can be customized.
For those who love wallpaper instead of paint, I point out that there are special ecological wallpapers that are compostable and made with vegetable products. Ask and inform yourself.
3. Natural light and led lights
In a bedroom, the lights are important. The first thing is to allow as much natural light as possible to enter through the window and for this reason it is advisable to have light curtains that do not block out too much sunlight.
As far as artificial light is concerned, the advice is to use clear lights possibly with natural tones. LED lights are fine and on the market you can find them in different sizes and shapes with nice chandeliers and ceiling lights both to be placed on the wall and on the bedside table.
4. Carpets and play mats
In an ecological children’s bedroom, rugs or carpets are generally not recommended because they can become a repository for dust and mites.
But the presence of a thick carpet is convenient and therefore it is better to choose carpets in natural fibers such as jute, cotton or wool. Wool, unlike many synthetic fibers, is a natural flame retardant. It also absorbs pollen, dust and moisture thus reducing allergens and humidity in the air.
And if you need play mats, it’s better to choose those made of natural fabric, without PVC and BPA or soft and environmentally friendly XPE mats, non-toxic and non-flammable. HERE an example
On the other hand, synthetic type carpets made of polyester, nylon or acetate should be avoided. Such man-made fibers are flammable and treated with chemicals that can increase the potency of toxins that are released into the room.
5. Curtains for windows
As far as furnishing fabrics are concerned, there are excellent ecological fabrics to put on the windows of the bedroom, just ask when purchasing. In addition to curtains made with 100% recycled fiber fabrics , there are curtains made with natural fiber fabrics such as cotton, linen, hemp, jute, silk, wool. These will help promote healthy air quality and are preferable to synthetic or chemically dyed fabrics.
6. Furniture for the ecological bedroom
The furniture that is generally needed to furnish a children’s bedroom are: bed, wardrobe, desk, toy boxes , bookcases, various containers . For an ecological bedroom , furniture in solid wood and not chipboard or blockboard
is preferable because they often contain urea glues with formaldehyde. Furniture assembled by interlocking or with carpentry methods that guarantee a strong bond even without glues or chemical adhesives and those painted with colors free of harmful substances are preferable (always ask for certifications).
Also interesting are the children’s furniture made with sustainably harvested wood or furniture made with completely innovative green materials or deriving from the recycling of materials such as wood, steel, aluminum, bamboo.
7. Toys
If conscious choices are made for bedroom furniture, even more so toys, which are constantly handled by children, should be as ecological as possible and free of harmful substances. The choice today is not difficult because there are many producers of sustainable and safe toys.
Here are some things to look for: FSC certified wood (minimum), soy- or water-based inks, non-toxic glues and finishes, and recycled materials. If you want to take it a step further, make sure the manufacturer has a sustainability policy or environmental program where they give back and do their part to reduce our environmental impact. If they have gone to great lengths, you can rest easy knowing that they are making every effort to produce a product that is safe for your children!
8. Safe cleaning products
The bedroom or playroom is an environment where children live many hours a day. To have an ecological, clean and fragrant bedroom and to properly sanitize the environments where children sleep, crawl, play, eat, it is better to use natural products.
Indeed, frequent use of chemical detergents , in addition to being harmful and having a significant environmental impact, can also cause allergies.
Natural products such as vinegar, bicarbonate, citric acid, Marseille soap, essential oils or steam cleaning methods are therefore recommended, all non -harmful systems and also cheaper and equally effective.
Here are just a few tips for having an ecological and safe bedroom. The important thing, however, is to choose consciously but without overloading yourself with obligations. Start by taking small steps and work your way towards your ultimate goal.
Any change to an eco-friendly space for your children will be a healthy choice for your family and the environment.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.