The TreeHugger blog here at Sundance Channel completes its first month today, and during this short time, we haven’t been shy about highlighting the many virtues of bamboo. If you’re just joining us, or just want a quick refresher, read up [www.sundancechannel.com] on why we’re such fans of the über-material. Of its many implementations, though, furniture might be TreeHugger’s favorite, and some of the best comes from the designers at Modern Bamboo [www.modernbamboo.com].

Making spare use of bamboo to create chic, modern furniture, Modern Bamboo concentrates its efforts on three simple products: a chair, stool and table. All three employ the bent-plywood technique, where a sheet of flat plywood (made of bamboo, in this case) is carefully bent to create the desired shape. The technique yields a smooth, linear feel, and is a super-efficient use of materials; because entire pieces of furniture can be made with single sheets of plywood, it uses only about 1/8 (or just over 10%) of the material of traditional furniture-making techniques. Add that to bamboo’s ability to regenerate at an incredible rate, and you’ve got a pretty sustainable combination.

All bamboo isn’t created equal, though, as we noted before at TreeHugger [www.treehugger.com], and must be chosen carefully. Fortunately, Modern Bamboo uses Smith & Fong Plyboo [www.plyboo.com] for their furniture, which have high standards when it comes to using glues with negligible levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and indoor air pollutant. If the Spring Chair, Becca Stool or Game Table (all pictured individually, as well as together in a room, above) aren’t your style, but you’re yearning for some bent-ply bamboo furniture, Modern Bamboo can still help you out. They do a good bit of custom work [www.modernbamboo.com] and are happy to chat about your vision for a beautiful piece of bamboo furniture designed specifically for your home. Learn more about their work (and try not to drool on your keyboard) at their website [www.modernbamboo.com].