Mushroom-Based Furniture
Mycelium, the root part of mushrooms, is recently being turned into a healthy and versatile building material. It’s used to make everything from lampshades and acoustic panels to furniture and foam alternatives. Because it's grown rather than manufactured, mycelium furniture is naturally biodegradable and carbon-negative, capturing carbon dioxide as it grows instead of releasing it the way plastic and foam production does. This makes it one of the more literal expressions of biophilic design, the practice of connecting the spaces we live in to the natural world, since the material itself is a living organism.
By Dr. Meg Christensen | Physician-founder of Interior Medicine, a non-toxic home resource built on her background in medicine, biochemistry, epidemiology, and clinical research.
Updated October 1, 2026
Grow your own planters, acoustic tiles, bricks, and any shape you want, with Grow.bio’s at-home mycelium kits. Kits ship straight to your door and are a really fun way to explore this new material.
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More About Mycelium Furniture
What is mycelium?
Mycelium is essentially the roots of mushrooms, or more accurately, a “network of hyphae.” They live in soil and on other organic things like logs, and are beneficial to plants around them. They are safe, and are used in bioremediation and composting. Now, mycelium is also being used to make furniture, and even foam alternatives.
Why is mushroom furniture popular?
Furniture made with mushroom roots is becoming more popular because it is carbon-negative, very strong, insulating, and can be used as an alternative to foam and plastic. It’s a type of biophilic design.