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Cisco Brothers Furniture Creates a Green Living Sanctuary

March 6, 2008 By: Anna10 Comments

Cisco ACACIA SOFA

Photo by permission of Cisco Brothers of the Basal Living Collection’s Acacia sofa

 

Ever since I laid eyes on Cisco Brothers’ environmental Basal Living Collection in its catalog, it was love at first sight. How would I describe this furniture line? Style and sustainability wrapped up in a homey feel.

Cisco Brothers offers two different green options for its consumers. The first option is The Basal Living Collection, which is green throughout. The second option is to pick any one of the 300 different furniture pieces from the Company’s various lines, and incorporate the company’s Inside Green™ option, which is featured in the Basal Living Collection. So what is there not to love?

What also intrigued me about this company was the story behind Cisco Brothers. It is a classic rags to riches story. Simply put, boy meets success the hard way, but never forgets his roots.
Cisco
Cisco Pinedo, the son of a farm worker and founder of the Company, emigrated to South LA from Mexico at the age of 13. At an early age, Pinedo worked after school to help his family financially. He discovered that people wanted furniture that was more practical and homey instead of the pretentious furniture that he was re-upholstering. In 1990 he started designing casual slipcovers and the rest is history.

As I mentioned before, he never forgot his roots. After the 1992 riots, he decided to move his manufacturing company to the heart of South Los Angeles. He was determined to give back to his childhood community. This decision has not only been fortuitous for the Company, but also has been critical in the redevelopment of the neighborhood surrounding the factory. Cisco ROWAN BED

Why Green design? A couple of years ago, Cisco Brothers created the Basal Living Collection and thus, the Inside Green™ features. Pinedo learned at an early age to value what he had since there were times that he went without. He wanted to create furniture that was made with quality and sustainability. Some of the characteristics of the Inside Green design are as follows:

All frames are made out of FSC Certified hardwoods with a combination of hemp webbing, jute, and burlap. The exposed legs are made out of reclaimed woods and are stained with low voc products.Cisco ROWAN WING SIDE

Each piece is fastened with steel screws and double doweled with water based formaldehyde-free glues. Padding and cushions are made of 100% pure natural latex with pesticide-free wool batting. The upholstery choices range from organic cotton to recycled cotton/acrylic blend. In order to view Cisco Brothers’ fabric line, see Eco-terrific’s fabric page, who sells Cisco Brothers furniture online as well as in its store. (Featured to the right is the Rowan chair.)

I wondered if Cisco Brothers furniture was just another shallow beauty queen that could deliver good looks without substance. Did it have the wherewithal to be comfortable and durable? Luckily, one of Cisco’s stores is located in ABC Carpet and Home in NYC. Off I went to give the furniture the decision breaking “sit” test.Cisco HAWTHORNE SECTIONAL smaller

I did sit on couches with natural latex (the Acacia sofa above), all down, foam wrapped in down, and just foam. I am not a fluffy and sit person, so I am not fond of down only. I personally like a firmer seat. For me, the natural latex, the foam wrapped and foam cushions provided this feel. The foam cushion seemed to be the most firm of the cushions. (Featured to the right is the Hawthorne couch.)

Couches can vary in the furniture collections from a traditional tuffed back to a more laid back slip cover look. This furniture definitely delivers that relaxed feeling you want after a hard day’s work. The manager of the department showed me the eco-fabrics that I could use for my couch. I was in love with the velvet type fabrics, which are made out of recycled cotton and acrylic. Coffee MOROCCAN COFFEE TABLE

The Company also makes a line of sustainable hardwood pieces ranging from the clean lines of the Block collection to the bold profile of the Gable collection. Even though I would consider myself a traditional furniture buyer, I loved the Moroccan coffee table with its new approach to the turned leg. (See picture to the right.) I did not see any of the hardwood pieces up close to give my opinion on their quality.

The manufacturer’s average list price for a Harmony line 84 inch couch is $2400 with a 25% up-charge for the Inside Green™ standards. Prices can increase based upon the style and fabric that you choose. The Company has 6 proprietary stores in LA, San Francisco and NYC as well as being sold through dealers throughout the US and parts of Canada.

Cisco Brothers creates livable lifestyle furniture with quality and sustainability in mind making your home truly a sanctuary. Once you sink into its couches, you may never want to leave.

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About Anna

Anna Hackman is the editor of Green Talk, and owner of The Naked Botanical and a avid (okay obsessed) gardener. She also loves video and podcasting and hosts Green Talk TV and Green Talk Radio. Her most important role is being a mother of four boys.

Chat with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest , and Google+.

Comments

  1. 1

    matt says

    March 15, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    Great post, and yes: Cisco Brothers’ furniture looks fantastic! When we’re ready to upgrade, it’s nice to know we have so many green choices!

    matt’s last blog post..Go Green: Help Your Family Buy Hybrids

    Reply
  2. 2

    air beds says

    July 13, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    Awesome looking furniture. I really like how it all blends together so nicely. My wife and I are considering getting a bed from them with a matching chair for our bedroom. 🙂

    Reply
  3. 3

    sonia says

    January 14, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    Their furniture is unreal but very pricey. I love their Acacia tufted bed in the Basal Living collection but very pricey. Does anyone know of similar looking beds for a little less than $3200-$6,000?

    Reply
  4. 4

    Hammerbacher says

    September 16, 2009 at 4:04 am

    Indeed, thats some cool furniture – that Cisco Acacia Sofa looks very classic and seems even more comfortable. Does anybody know if Cisco Brothers is shipping its furniture to Europe ? I can´t find any information about that on their website.

    Reply
    • 5

      Green Talk says

      September 16, 2009 at 10:30 am

      Hammerbacher, you should call them or email them. I think they would ship to Europe. Anna

      Reply
  5. 6

    Kevin says

    November 16, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    I’m glad to see that manufacturers are making “vegan” leather. It looks the same any way so why not save the animals?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. eraser’s blog » Blog Archive » Cisco Brothers Furniture Creates a Green Living Sanctuary says:
    April 9, 2008 at 7:32 am

    […] would I describe this furniture line? Style and sustainability wrapped up in a homey feel. … http://www.green-talk.com/2008.....sanctuary/ Green Talk […]

    Reply
  2. Ithaca, New York: Green in so Many Ways | Green Talk says:
    September 4, 2008 at 10:36 am

    […] they did not carry them. However, the store offers paint, home furnishings from such designers as Cisco Brothers, table ware, blankets, towels and other items.  What a great […]

    Reply
  3. Are Toxic Chemicals Lurking in your Furniture and Building Products? | Green Talk™ says:
    March 7, 2010 at 7:49 pm

    […] are many green furniture companies available that have healthier choices for consumers such  Cisco Brothers, Furnature, and […]

    Reply
  4. Green Gifts for the Holidays for Her. Green Mama Approved | Green Talk® says:
    December 6, 2012 at 11:11 pm

    […] toxin’s poisoning us?    ( Hint: for furniture, take a look at my articles on Viesso, Cisco, and Furnature.  Countertops: IceStone, Vetrazzo and Eco by […]

    Reply

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