Put a Cork in it - Interiors, I mean.
All of the ways that using cork in your space is a good thing.
Do you like that new car smell?
But did you know that new car smell is actually a mix of molecules known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during the manufacturing process. They come from a combination of plastics, fabrics, adhesives, cleaning, paint, carpeting, leather and vinyl treatments. A study in 2023 found that formaldehyde and acetaldehyde gases exceeded Chinese government safety standards, and researchers recommended that new car buyers drive with windows open.1
Not smelling so good now, right?
Cork is a material that hardly releases any volatile organic compounds that may badly affect your home's indoor atmosphere. This makes cork a healthy material for the home.
Cork's antistatic surface limits the chance of dust and toxin absorption, making it a great choice for people with allergies.
Plus cork is a robust, waterproof, fire-resistant, recyclable and lightweight material.
Now I know that if you lived with cork in the past, you may feel like you’ve been there, done that. But try to see cork in a fresh contemporary way. At the same time, it does channel 1970s design in the best nostalgic way possible.
I love how versatile cork is - you can use it everywhere! And so here we go, these are all of the ways I love cork.
I’d love to remind you that the Style Studies Essentials course is now closing. It would make the most thoughtful gift over the holidays for that design enthusiast in your life.
Where Does Cork Come From?
There are so many benefits to using cork but one of the most widely known ones is that to use the cork from the tree, it doesn’t need to be chopped down. So it can live for many decades. Clever.
It takes 25 years until the first cork can be extracted from a Cork tree. Each trunk needs to reach 27,5 inches in diameter and 51 inches of height from the ground level. From this stage onward, the tree can produce cork every nine years for about a century and a half.*
The process of cork extraction commonly referred to as “descortiçamento” is a very skilled task. It’s a carefully laid out procedure, with several steps in which the cork is extracted from the cork tree with a special machete. It has been passed on by generations of men and women specialized in doing this for a living, requiring manual precision and experience.*
*From Portugal Cork
Cork does not rot due to the suberin which makes it impermeable to gases and liquids. Makes sense when you consider another favorite use for cork - wine bottle stoppers!
Cork Pieces
With all of the environmentally sustainable advantages, health benefits to cork naturally it is favored in pieces for the home.
I adore these bowls, dishes, coasters and placemats by Capra Designs. My favorite piece is the clever and cute trivet.
Cork is a beautiful warm colour that mingles well with any other colour easily.
Walls
Surround me with the warm and soft acoustics of cork. I’ve used cork as a pinboard for my studio and it is just so wonderful to be able to pin up ideas and gorgeous imagery on a whim. And lets be honest, we’re pinning on the cork wall in an aesthetic way.
I bought some rolls of cork and used liquid nails to stick it to the wall. You can also buy cork tiles to stick down to the walls too.
There are some gorgeous cork wallpapers that consist of a thin veneer of cork. In this image below, the cork is adhered to a metallic base. The contrast between the earthy, natural cork and shiny metallic background. From Eurowalls.
Philip Jeffries also have a range of stunning cork wallpapers too.
Cork Furniture
One of my favorite pieces at home is a Vitra Cork Family Stool. It is so robust, and by that I mean it’s been rolled around the living room, sat on in ways it was not designed for, drinks spilled on it, etc. I think you get the picture. From Living Edge.
I also grabbed a cork stool from the Studio Ilse + Ikea collaboration from a few years ago. I practically grabbed anything I could from that range and wish I went harder. Those pieces are gorgeous. The chunky cork feels like such great quality, which is not always the case from these big box retailers. Set your alerts on Marketplace, they are scarce!
Maybe this helped you reconsider adding some cork in your home. I know that if you’ve lived through cork before, it can seem a bit retro and you’d rather just see it pop out of your wine bottle, than in your home.
But cork has a lot going for it. I love it!
Wikipedia with link to study. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_car_smell