• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About this Site
  • E-Booklets
  • Shop
  • Resources
  • Consulting

My Chemical-Free House

A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home

  • Healthy Building
    • Insulation
    • Windows & Window Treatments
    • Glues & Caulks
    • Grout & Mortar
    • Drywall
    • Drywall Mud & Wall Texture
    • Showers
    • Doors
    • Pressed Wood Products
    • Sheathing & Subfloor
    • Siding/Cladding
    • Pipes
    • Alternative Building Systems
    • Building for the Chemically Sensitive
    • Non-Toxic Prefabs
    • How to Test Materials
  • Healthy Interiors
    • Flooring
    • Gym Flooring
    • Flooring Underlayment
    • Mattresses & Bedding
    • Sofas & Furniture
    • Leather Furniture
    • Desks and Chairs
    • Kitchen Cabinets
    • Countertops
    • Sealers
      • Paint
      • Mineral Paints
      • Linseed & Tung Oil
      • Natural Wood Pigments
      • Natural Plaster
      • Natural Countertop Sealers
      • Concrete Sealers
      • Wood Finishes
    • Bathroom
    • Rugs
    • Wallpaper
    • Lead Free Faucets
    • Cookware
    • Kitchen Appliances
    • DIY Sofa
    • Heaters
    • Reduce Flame Retardants
    • Reduce New Home Offgassing
    • Reduce Fragrance & Smoke
    • Air Purifiers for VOCs
    • Cleaning Products & Air Fresheners
    • Personal Care Products
    • Green Certifications
    • Gift Guide
  • Tiny Homes and Trailers
    • List: Simple Homes & Shelters
    • List: Trailers & RVs
    • List: Emergency Housing
    • Cargo Van Conversion
    • All Metal Tiny Home
    • Simple Insulated Shelter
    • All Aluminum Travel Trailer
    • Cargo Trailer Conversion
    • Teardrop Trailer
    • Tiny House Systems
    • Flooring for Vans, Trailers
    • Composting Toilets
    • How to Offgas a New Car
    • Building for Chemically Sensitivity
  • Mold-Free Building
    • The Causes of Mold in Tiny Houses
    • A Detailed Mold Preventative Build
    • How “High Performance” can Help Prevent Mold
  • Mold-Free Interiors
    • Mold Testing Overview
    • Air Purifiers for Mold
    • Ozone to Kill Mold
  • Mold Avoidance
    • Decon your Car
    • Camping Gear
    • Planning a Sabbatical
    • Traveling with Environmental Sensitivities
    • Locations Effect Ebook
    • The Locations Effect – Canadian Locations
    • The Locations Effect – Caribbean Campsites
    • Interview: Healing MCS with Mold Avoidance

DIY: Building a Non-Toxic Sofa

July 2, 2015 by Corinne 6 Comments

Here is my chemical-free new sofa!

This post contains affiliate links to products I used. Upon purchase, I earn a small commission through affiliate links at no extra cost to you.

We used maple because it is a hardwood that is non-aromatic (it does not have a strong terpene smell). 

The stain we used was Naturhaus Harmonic. The ingredients are: beeswax, carnauba wax, shellac, and a cosmetic emulsifier. It had a very sweet smell for the first two days. 

Other options for stains are AFM Safecoat WaterShield or Ecos.

The glue used was Titebond. 

The Foam is a piece of 3″ natural latex. This has a natural rubber smell (which doesn’t fade completely with time) but does not give off VOCs at the level of conventional foam, nor does it contain flame retardants. (I no longer recommend natural latex to sleep on and I am not sure if it is suitable for a sofa – here is my warning).

SOFA DESIGN

Metal brackets reinforce the frame so that the side piece can be leaned on. The inspiration picture had low sides that would not be as comfy; I didn’t think I’d be able to curl up on that sofa.

The dimensions are 28 in depth (standard sofa depth), height from seat 16 in (fairly standard), length 5 feet (length was made to fit in my tiny house).

The costs were:

Maple               468
Metal Brackets 200
Labour               40 hours
Foam                 804 (from a local shop. Much cheaper on Amazon) Fabric               150
Sewing             237

The total was around $3500.

This is expensive, even for a chemical-free sofa!

Another option is to buy a sofa from a company that makes non-toxic upholstered furniture. You can get a better price this way.

I have looked into and compared these companies in this post.
SaveSave

  •  
  •  
  • 1
  •  
  •  

Filed Under: Healthy Interiors, Tiny Homes and Trailers Tagged With: healthy decor, healthy interiors

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. William Jessie says

    March 12, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    nice

    Reply
  2. Wild Swan says

    March 5, 2017 at 4:19 am

    We used wool batting, minimally processed, with an organic cotton cover and another removable cover, to make a futon. Very comfy. We are careful to air it out every day or at least put it on a rack indoors. With pillows and a throw, it is very civilized as a couch or spare bed. Yes, we have become cheaper with age.

    Reply
    • Corinne says

      March 5, 2017 at 4:27 am

      Very nice.

      Reply
  3. Mboris says

    November 12, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Looks like consumer pressures on lawmakers and manufactures is working a bit. I was happy to see that ikea, elm and other mainstream stores are now carrying fire retardant free sofas. Granted not toxic free but I think it's a good start. If we could only pr source more the industry to force materials used to be non toxic completely for any living furniture and products sigh….

    Reply
  4. Patrick Warren says

    August 11, 2015 at 8:20 am

    Great specs and ingenuity!

    Reply
  5. Anaphylaxing says

    July 28, 2015 at 8:20 pm

    pretty!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow along for the latest!

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Corinne, I am a Certified Building Biologist Practitioner with 6 years of experience helping people create healthy homes.

More about me…

Footer

Categories

  • Healthy Building
  • Healthy Interiors
  • Mold Avoidance
  • Mold-Free Building
  • Mold-Free Interiors
  • Tiny Homes and Trailers
  • Uncategorized

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Disclosure

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Resources

Business inquiries

Copyright © 2021 · Corinne Segura | My Chemical-Free House Consulting