China is a major producer of wooden furniture, but the carbon emissions associated with its production are higher than those of other forest products. However, eco-design, a design method based on life-cycles, could reduce the carbon footprint of wooden furniture. Multi-functional furniture has been developed as a benchmark of the improved designs based on ecological principles, including slit plate, jointed board, veneer board, and melamine board furniture. Emission reductions of different connectors and usage scenarios of recycled material were compared between four furniture designs using different materials. The emission reduction effects were then quantified. The results showed that the carbon footprint was highest for slit plate, followed by that of jointed board, veneer board, and melamine board furniture, in that order. The carbon footprint of two kinds of solid wood furniture was higher than that of artificial board furniture. The carbon emissions of the raw material of solid wood furniture and the power consumption for artificial board furniture production were low. Sawn timber and the painting of solid wood were the main sources of carbon emissions, and accounted for 80% of the raw materials. The carbon emissions of the Medium Density Fiberboard(MDF) were the hotspot in artificial board furniture, at about 70%, and were higher than that of solid wood furniture. The carbon emission hotspots of power usage were spraying, which accounted for 83%-92%, and the carbon emissions of melamine board furniture was the lowest. In contrast, the effect of the "removable glue connection" in reducing carbon emissions was considerable. Compared with replacing an entire piece of furniture, the reduction effect of replacing a frame component was more than 81%, and that of replacing a panel component was more than 74%. For the "recycling wood" improvement program, the reduction effect of solid wood furniture was small (<5%). However, the reduction effect of artificial board furniture was larger (> 26%). Regarding the eco-design of furniture, because of the carbon emission of fiber board and spraying in a dominant position, it was recommended that solid wood should be used as a substrate with melamine paper veneer for the panels; this design could reduce the carbon emissions caused by MDF and spraying, and achieve the effect of a lower carbon requirement. In addition, the "removable glue connection" was effective for repairing the furniture, and reducing carbon emissions considerably. Therefore, the final ecological design was based on solid wood board for the substrate and melamine paper for the panel with a removable glue connection structure, which could reduce the carbon emission by about 74%-97%.