Bamboo is Hot in Interior Design

Bamboo is Hot in Interior Design
Bamboo is fast becoming a tree's new best friend.

Harder than oak and more stable than maple, bamboo is popping up everywhere in the home design world, in crushed bamboo furniture, throwaway plates and flooring. It has the added cachet of being environmentally friendly. A 60-foot-tall bamboo cut for market takes 59 days to replace while a 60-foot tree takes 60 years, according to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan.

While bamboo has always been popular in urban Houston gardens to mitigate noise and add privacy, it's now being harvested for use by local artists and residents looking for a different decorative material.

Houstonian Jill Ross, who hauled off an impressive load from interior designer Kelly Gale Amen's garden, is planning to cut the canes lengthwise in half and use them to "paper" one wall of her half bath.

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