It’s not quite a gold rush, but step into any nursery, furniture showroom, or home furnishing store and you could be tempted to yell, “There’s bamboo!”

Peter Talbot, office manager of Bamboo Craftsman, cites two reasons for bamboo’s burgeoning popularity: The desire to use earth-friendly products in the home and the aura of timelessness bamboo provides.

“People are more aware of the need to use sustainably grown, earth-friendly products, and bamboo is certainly that,” Talbot says, adding that a harvested bamboo forest reproduces itself within three years. This is decades faster than a traditional hard- or softwood forest.

Portland Bamboo Company

Bamboo Craftsman Company

Did you know…. A bamboo fence is almost maintenance free. It never needs painting — in fact, it would be hard to find a paint product that would adhere to bamboo’s waxy surface. As it ages, bamboo grays out much like cedar shingles, making it the perfect color complement in almost any yard.

Talbot’s experience is that people want bamboo’s psychological association with peace almost as much as they cherish the plant’s environmentally friendly aspects. “We lead fast-paced lives and want islands of serenity in our backyards. We’re looking for a way of providing tranquility, and bamboo brings that element into the environment.”

Bamboo Suits NW Architecture
The growth of the bamboo industry is interesting, but not all that surprising, notes Jason Franz, co-owner of the Portland Bamboo Company. Because architecture in the Northwest has distinct Asian influences, particularly in the simple lines of Arts and Crafts style homes, it is only natural that bamboo plays a part in exterior decor.

Franz and his brother, Chris, started their business about two and a half years ago, following a simple observation: “We saw building styles using wood but emulating the look of traditional bamboo.”

There are numerous varieties of bamboo: Some poles are hollow and somewhat brittle, while others are nearly solid wood canes, strong enough to carry skyscrapers in Southeast Asia.

Despite its superior strength, building codes in this country do not allow builders to swap bamboo for construction-rated beams, Franz says. In a building market where lumber is scarce, that day might be coming. Until it does, “Building custom decorative screens, arbors, and trellises is a good way of introducing bamboo as a building material,” he explains. Franz agrees that bamboo is both a sustainable and aesthetically pleasing product. “Bamboo offers an inherent serenity and peace, and people want to bring that into their lives now.”

Nature’s Bounty
Bamboo is popular; no doubt about it. But it wasn’t always: “Five years ago we couldn’t give the stuff away,” says Robbe Hardnette, president of Bamboo Lifestyles. “Now we get a shipping container a month” full of home furnishings and flooring materials — all made from bamboo.

As an interior design element, bamboo lends its strength and durability to an increasingly wide array of products and applications.

Bamboo is gaining popularity as a wall treatment, Hardnette says, describing “skins” that are nothing more than thin strips of bamboo first laminated together, then glued to a felt backing. It’s the modern equivalent of yesteryear’s wood paneling and can be used as wainscot.

A felt-backed bamboo mat makes an “excellent, portable floor covering,” he says. The perfect mask for an unattractive vinyl floor or cold basement slabs, these thin rolls of bamboo provide beauty, insulation, and soundproofing. A bamboo mat measures about 1/8” thick. Dust and fine grit can work their way into the narrow spaces between the strips, so it needs to be vacuumed regularly.

While bamboo is synonymous with all things Asian, it has roots in other cultures, making it appropriate for almost any interior design, Hardnette explains. Modern designers or artists of any nationality or ethnic background are drawn to using the wood, and consumers enjoy it equally well, he says.

“Bamboo grows in many countries and gets incorporated into many designs and cultures. I’ve had people come in and say it reminds them of home — and they’re from Africa, Asia, or South America.”

Resources
Bamboo Craftsman Company
503-285-5339

Bamboo Lifestyles
503-227-7521

Portland Bamboo Company
503-449-4225