April, 2011
INTERIOR DESIGN REPORT
reimagine LAURA BIRNS DESIGN

LOCALLY DESIGNED eco-friendly furnishings that also are locally manufactured are not an everyday occurrence. It's a LOT of work to make it work, but Laura Birns, a San Diego designer for more than 20 years, has managed to accomplish the feat. With a whirling-dervish kind of energy, she has been building her Laura Birns Design eco-furnishings collection for the last 12 years. Her enthusiasm knows no limits.

The acronymns after this ASID designer's name (ASID, LEED AP ID+C) attest to her seriousness in the green field (though she's far from the only one). She has been named a "Top Ten Green Guru" by Innovative Home and won best of market at the High Point, North Carolina, spring furniture market last April. She is a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and the USGBC (Green Building Council) and can speak to the difficulties within the field globally when it comes to infighting and politics.

Birns' furniture is well made and finished, and while sophistication is her goal there's also a certain amount of wit packed into some of the shapes. Seen on paper, the product names take on a slight sit-com or reality show kind of moxie. Marj, the bamboo table on wheels, when wheel-less becomes a coffee table so strong you can sit on it; the mother/daughter dining tables, referring to their size, are named Carmella (mother), and Sofia (daughter).

FSC (Forest Stewardship Certified) woods and veneers, formaldehyde- free cores, low-VOC glues and adhesives and waterborne sealer and stains are de riguer for this furniture designer. Upholstery uses soy-based foam wrapped in natural down, Green Guard PVC-free"leather" and other eco-friendly textiles with no heavy metal dyes. For her Z table, the laminate top is 77-percent recycled material and 100-percent post-consumer waste. Sometimes it almost seems like TMI to the shopper. Birns' interior-design business has been a good way to promote her collection but even when it's not furniture, she's likely to design a front door with all these eco-friendly and sustainable products.

Currently some of the collection is on the floor at Space san diego, Beverly and Phil Feldman's showroom downtown that specializes in contemporary urban furnishings for small spaces. Perfect fit.