Three Low Cost Eco-Friendly Wall Coverings

Eco-friendly wall coverings are steadily becoming more popular and more options are available now than ever before.

Eco-Friendly Paint

Paint that is considered eco-friendly is now available in most home improvement stores. This paint is non toxic and allows for cleaner breathing in your home. Paint contributes to chemicals in the air in the home and creates high levels of pollutants trapped indoors causing indoor air pollution. These chemicals released by the paint into the air are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Paints are now available that have either very low VOCs or none at all. Water is used as the base instead of an oil based paint. Natural paints are another option as well. These paints use natural components such as plant dyes. Clay paint, lime wash or milk paint are all choices in the natural paints options.

Wallpapering Green

The choices of eco-friendly wallpaper are more than ever and are available in many beautiful designs. Most wallpaper is made from vinyl that can emit harmful toxins into the air. The ink used on the wallpaper also can be emitting chemicals as well. Look for wallpaper made from paper with less synthetic fibers in it. These wallpaper options will have no VOCs and also decompose much faster than regular wallpaper. Eco-friendly wallpaper usually uses water based inks to print the designs on the paper to avoid using ink or paint that will emit VOCs. Some wallpaper in this category will advertise that it is printed on FSC paper. This means that the paper used in the wallpaper is from a forest sustainably managed. When applying eco-friendly wallpaper, be sure to use an eco-friendly paste as well so that the paste does not emit VOCs into the air. Watch for wallpaper labeled as FSC certified. This means it has been approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Grasscloth and other Natural Wallcoverings

There are other natural materials that can be applied to your wall in a similar way to wallpaper except they are made from something from nature. Grasscloth is one option and can bring a nature friendly look to any room in the house. Grasscloth helps absorb noise as well as adding texture. Bamboo fiber is another all natural material that can be applied to walls. The bamboo is woven together and again, has no harmful materials that will emit chemicals into the air. Some bamboo fiber using wider slats of bamboo look very similar to wainscoting when applied to the wall. These thicker materials can be applied to the walls using non-toxic glue. Thinner panels of bamboo look more like a woven basket and can be applied to the walls using staples or nails if you prefer. Other natural materials used in wall coverings include arrowroot, cattail, jute, seagrass and sisal.