Bamboo materials for a home
One of the most popular renewable materials to make use of in your green home is bamboo. Bamboo can be grown quickly and sustainably, and unlike with other hardwoods, using it won’t cause the destruction of rain forests.
The buzzword all around the world these days is ‘sustainability’. Going green is even becoming an increasingly prominent trend in home décor, as we look for ways to beautify our living space, while helping the environment.
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1. Flooring
While generally more expensive than laminate, bamboo flooring is still cheaper than traditional hardwood flooring. DIY installation is relatively simple, because bamboo flooring is available with the same tongue-and-groove technology usually found in conventional wood or laminate alternatives.
One thing to watch out for is whether the bamboo you’re using for your flooring contains the toxic substance formaldehyde. Rather look for bamboo with natural-base adhesives, which is more sustainable.
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2. Countertops
A timber kitchen countertop has the advantage of being easy to re-finish – whether because of damage or the need to fit in with new decor. It’s ideal as a work surface for the kitchen because it is both heat and water resistant, so you won’t have to worry about damage caused to your appliances. Bamboo is so strong that it’s even used in the kitchen as cutting boards. Another reason to use it in the kitchen is that it’s naturally anti-bacterial.
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3. Doors
Bamboo doesn’t shrink or swell like conventional woods, which makes bamboo ideal for constructing doors. We tend to think of bamboo as a leafy little twig, like those bamboo sprouts you can readily buy as gifts. While bamboo is actually a type of grass, it is as sturdy as wood, usually even more so, and so can be used for just about any application that wood can.
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4. Cladding
A common application of bamboo panels is as wall cladding, for both the interior and exterior of buildings. It’s a hardy product and so holds up well when confronted by the natural elements. Check out all the many different effects that you can achieve when using bamboo as cladding, including using bamboo products for garage doors.
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5. Furniture
The strength, durability, and resistance to swelling and shrinking make bamboo ideal as furniture material. What’s more, bamboo is not bad on the eye. Bamboo furniture has a fine grain and is available in many different stains and finishes.
6. Sinks and basins
Think bamboo can be used for just about everything but the kitchen sink? Think again. Bamboo is so water resistant and versatile that it can even be used for sinks and basins. To prove it, Lenova, a leading manufacturer of sinks, has added a bamboo range to go with their usual stainless steel, porcelain, copper, stone and glass ones.
More than just a snack for panda bears, bamboo is a strong, affordable and versatile material to incorporate into your home. Nature really has provided us with a plentiful and renewable resource to decorate and strengthen our homes with.