Modular Furniture: A Sustainable Solution to Redesign Your Space

By: Ashley Hajimirsadeghi

As someone who loves interior design and decorating my space, I often get finicky about what I bring into my room. I’m constantly changing the layout of my déco, bringing in new objects, and tossing others out. When studying fashion and sustainability, I realized how terrible this habit is for the environment (and my bank account).

It took landing a home forecasting internship for me to realize there was an affordable solution out there—one that is slowly gaining more popularity—modular furniture. If you have a modular couch, for example, you can take it apart and rearrange it to form a new shape that suits your liking. This is a perfect solution for people, like me, who loved to play with their surroundings but can’t afford to break the bank or the environment.

A table constructed in a modular design also allows for reconstruction to accommodate changing needs. A personal desk can expand to become a dinner table when guests come over or fold when the workday ends. Growing up, eating and playing happened in the same place—our dining room table. When visiting friends, I was amazed to discover that people had separate tables in their kitchen and dining rooms. Often, the dining room table was left unused. A modular table plays on the idea of doing everything on the same table, similarly to how I grew up, but with the flexibility to alter it.

Modular homes, too, are becoming a phenomenon in the home industry. These homes are often smaller and more minimalist in nature, allowing them to be portable. Imagine that—being able to move your cozy retreats! Because popular destinations for modular homes have been in the wilderness, they are typically designed to make minimal impacts on their surrounding ecosystem.

Modular homes and furniture are eco-friendly disruptions in the world of interiors. Instead of buying a new couch, this concept allows people to get creative and redesign their current space without making additional purchases or throwing out perfectly good products.

During the pandemic, we’ve heard conversations about being more intentional about what we bring to our lives—whether it’s fashion, people, or the decisions we make. Modular furniture lends itself to this discussion, and because of its sustainable nature, we see this as a lifestyle, not a trend.