Cisco Brothers Furniture Creates a Green Living Sanctuary

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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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