How's this for an alien concept? Affordable, eco-friendly furniture

AREA 51 on Capitol Hill is more like an art gallery than a retail furniture store.

Bold designs, abstract shapes and sleek lines dominate this airy loft-like space at 401 E. Pine St.

But there's something that sets this modern furniture store apart from many others: Its owners strive to find unique items made from recycled and sustainable materials — and they're passionate about educating customers on each piece.

Seattleites Jason Hallman and Daniel Meltzer created a store where customers can decorate their homes with one-of-a-kind, environmentally friendly furnishings and accessories.

Good for the Earth

The Edo line, for instance, attracts customers looking for items made from sustainable products. It's the store's main line of furniture, and the most popular.

The pieces — created for the bedroom, dining room and living room — are made from solid mahogany harvested from tree farms in Indonesia rather than from rain forests.

Hallman said their passion for selling items that come from sustainable or recycled materials is personal because they both care so much about the environment.

Some of the first new pieces that Area 51 carried were items made by local artists, such as tables fashioned from reclaimed wood or recycled metal.

"They were just very unique and had an intrinsic value of something that someone had made," Hallman said.

But how much demand is there for green furniture?

Increasingly, customers are asking about the products, Hallman said.

"Customers want to know what materials are used, where they're from," he added. "People are just much more aware and knowledgeable and conscious about the environment."

Affordable style

For a small, hip modern furniture store, Area 51's prices are fairly reasonable.

For example, the Edo bed — a queen-sized, solid mahogany, modern platform bed — sells for $799. It has two separate, adjustable headboards.

Among the meticulously designed displays, you'll also find bamboo mats of various sizes ($29 to $189), in espresso and natural finishes. These are considered green products because while most trees must grow for decades before they're harvested, bamboo typically grows to harvestable size in less than 10 years.

Environmentally conscious shoppers also might like vases of bound recycled newspaper ($29 to $44) or confetti vases handcrafted from recycled magazines ($46 to $57).

The store, which opened in 1999, sells beds, sofas, coffee tables, dining table, chairs, bar stools and accessories.

From $8 for a small Jonathan Adler porcelain vase, to $695 to $8,000 for custom-ordered sofas or sectionals, everything is priced about 20 percent below retail, said Hallman, so there's never a sale.

The focus on sustainable goods also comes from a more practical perspective as the owners try to find new products that are affordable and innovative in design.

"We try to keep costs low," Hallman said. "We don't advertise. It's all word-of-mouth."

Hallman said he and his partner see their store as part of the Capitol Hill community. Customer service is important to them, and they take time to educate people about their pieces.

"We don't have high-pressure sales," Hallman said. "We try to keep customers for life."

Judy Chia Hui Hsu: 206-464-3315 or jhsu@seattletimes.com

Window Shopping, a regular feature in digs, takes readers into various stores around the Puget Sound area. Send us ideas at homegarden@seattletimes.com.