In a quest to make living spaces greener, young designers have been exploring the use of unconventional materials to make eco-friendly furniture for the modern world. We previously wrote about Danish designer Jonas Edvard, who made lamps and chairs from a blend of seaweed and recycled paper waste. Now Nienke Hoogvliet has developed the Sea Me collection that explores the potential of seaweed as a building block for crafting modern furniture.
After two years of research, the Dutch designer discovered various uses for the humble material. Seaweed yarns can be used in the textile industry along with natural dyes that range from dark brown colors to green, gray and even pink or purple. For Sea Me, Hoogvliet created a chair, a table and two bowls. The chair features a seaweed yarn seat which was woven by hand and naturally dyed. The designer took on a ‘zero waste’ approach when making the collection: leftovers from the chair were used to make the table and paint the tabletop, with the remaining waste transformed into two bio-plastic bowls. Ultimately, the Sea Me collections is not only green, but also modern, versatile and centered around an innovative concept that will be welcomed by all environmentally conscious design lovers. Photo credits: Nienke Hoogvliet.