The environmentally friendly “green” phenomenon has broadened its reach to influence every aspect of our daily lives: travel, energy consumption, organic, fair trade food, and even fashion and beauty products. The latest trend brings the green lifestyle past functionality and into the décor of our homes themselves.

Green home décor follows the same principles as other environmentally friendly decisions by breathing new life into older pieces and transforming previously unwanted furniture into fashion-forward home accents. It’s an avant-garde look at antiques; vintage meets contemporary and saves the planet, to boot.

“My clients like the mix more and more,” says Toronto-based interior designer Jackie Di Cara. “Sometimes they have furniture they’ve stolen from their grandparent’s house, and they’re looking to inject new light into these pieces.”

The green movement ventures farther than attics and antique shops, however, by introducing the idea of reclaimed furniture as the newest trend in home décor. Reclaimed pieces include previously unlooked gems such as barn doors, warehouse windows, mantels and structural columns.

“There is a lot of barn wood out there and people are using it as artwork in their own right by hanging doors on their walls,” says Di Cara. “People are personalizing their condos and open-concept lofts by adding a rustic fusion to their interiors. They like something a little more eclectic that matches their personalities.”

Don’t be dissuaded by any previous “unglamorous” notions of refurbished furnishings — this negative take on recycled décor is seriously outdated. Green decorating offers a new opportunity to promote a healthy environment as well as providing your home with guaranteed-unique pieces.

“There are new crops of young designers who are doing new, cool, slick fashion-forward pieces of furniture. I’d struggle to find a single designer who doesn’t consider the green movement; that negative association will soon become very outdated thinking,” Di Cara confirms.

Interested in investing in an antique or refurbished piece, but unsure of where to look? Lifestyle offers the following suggestions:

Family comes first; ask your relatives if they have pieces you may be interested in that they have put into storage due to decorating changes, et cetera. Ask for pictures of the pieces and then, if necessary, consider staining, re-upholstering and painting options.

Antique shopping is one of the trendiest movements in home décor at the moment. Not only does it guarantee you a more unique piece than the batch-producing big name stores, antiques carry personality and history. There tend to be antique districts or collections of antique stores in major city centres; Lifestyle has listed a few of our favourites here:

King and Queen West are the streets to visit in Toronto for refurbished and antique pieces. Featuring eclectic collections of pieces dating through several eras, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for her. The Painted Table is a Lifestyle favourite for their beautiful rotary phones.

Main Street’s Antique Row in Vancouver features a collection of more than 20 antique stores. Second Time Around Antiques is one of the oldest antique stores in the city, and has been repeatedly voted “Best Antique Store.”

Calgary’s Inglewood district houses one of western Canada’s highest concentrations of antique stores. In fact, it is a hotspot for movie producers shooting period pieces in the Calgary area. The district features everything from centuries-old sculptures to historical-age home décor.

The newest trend in interior designs is a breath of fresh air both for the environment as well as your wallets — refurbished pieces are often a steal if you’re willing to put in the extra effort of finding that old barn door.

Consider the following modification to that famous blue-bin mantra: Refinish, Reuse, Refurbish! •