Sustainable Interior Design Guide – Top Tips

As designers, we’ve seen the shift towards environmentally responsible building and interior design. As more clients seek to incorporate sustainability principles into their interiors, it’s up to us to guide them on eco-friendly materials, efficient energy and ways to limit their environmental impact. 

We’ve created a simple A-Z guide on all things eco-friendly interior design to get you started.

5 Principles of Sustainable Interior Design

There are 5 principles of sustainable interior design:

1. 1.     Energy efficiency
2. 2.     Low environmental impact
3. 3.     Waste reduction
4. 4.     Longevity and flexibility
5. 5.     Healthy environments

Let’s explore each of them in detail.

Energy efficiency

Buildings are responsible for a large share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, so this is the best place to start. While you can’t change the existing fundamentals of a building, you can influence methods of heating and lighting.

Add curtains or drapes to make a room more energy-efficient by blocking out cold air or the heat of the midday sun. If a room has wooden floors, add a carpet to function as an energy-free thermal insulator.

Picking light colours for the walls allows them to reflect more light, while dark rooms need additional lamps and lighting. Add some Venetian blinds to control the amount and direction of the light.

There are many innovative green technologies that you can discuss with your clients, such as motion-sensitive lights and solar panels.

Low environmental impact

When people think about going green, they're usually thinking of alternative energy sources or saving water. They don’t often think about the materials used in their home. This is where your expertise comes in.

You can guide your client towards eco-friendly materials for furnishings, flooring and rugs. Here are some of our favourites.

Reclaimed wood

Green cred: instead of cutting down live trees for wooden furniture, reclaimed wood recycles old material and gives it a sustainable new life.

Use it for: rustic flooring in a cottage or beach house, shabby-chic dining and coffee tables.

Cork

Green cred: extracting cork doesn’t harm trees as only the bark is harvested. As an added bonus, cork can also be reused.

Use it for: flooring – unlike its initial spongy impression, a cork floor actually feels like hardwood. 

Recycled Plastic

Green cred: high-density polyethene (HDPE) is a popular recycled plastic that is heavy and dense, so anything made with it is especially durable and sturdy.

Use it for: HDPE is highly fade-resistant, making it perfect for indoor and outdoor rugs.

Bamboo

Green cred: bamboo feels like wood, but it’s actually more similar to grass than to trees. It’s one of the fastest growing plants in the world and be used within 4 years of planting, as opposed to the 60-70 years it takes to grow most hardwoods.

Use it for: furniture, flooring, screens, blinds, countertops – the sky is the limit with this one.

Notable note: source your bamboo products from a trusted supplier that follows established environmental guidelines for harvesting and shipping – unfortunately many bamboo suppliers cut corners.  

Bonus low impact tip: If your client is dead set on a fireplace for ambience, ditch the gas and introduce them to fireplaces fuelled by bioethanol. This fuel form is water-soluble, non-toxic and biodegrades quickly, making it a far more environmentally friendly option.

Waste reduction

This one is for the vintage-lover, as it’s all about recycling, upcycling and repurposing. Instead of discarding old or outdated objects while they’re still functional, you have the freedom to creatively reclaim them in a new way.

Mix modern furnishings with antique pieces that you’re uncovered in second-hand stores. Give a side table a makeover with chalk paint, use a chair past its sell-by date as a garden decoration or turn wooden packing crates into bookshelves.

All these tricks divert more waste from our overloaded landfills. If you have to buy new, opt for items made from synthetic materials that are themselves made from recycled components.

Longevity and flexibility

The goal of designing for longevity is to create spaces that are durable and timeless – spaces that your client will want to live in for years without wanting – or needing – to change. Choose classic over trend-of-the-moment, quality over quantity and functional over adornment.

In practice, this translates to a multitude of design elements, but the keyword is modular. Think walls that can be modified to create more space as kids grow older and need their own rooms. Modular furniture can be rearranged or adjusted to fit multiple needs of one room. Modular flooring and carpets allow your client to replace individual pieces instead of the whole shebang as parts become worn.

Healthy environments

This is one that you’re probably familiar with, given our current obsession with all things wellness. It’s simply about creating spaces that contribute to your client’s overall health, from natural light to free-flowing air and plants that connect one with nature.

Check out our A-Z guide on wellness and design here for more tips.

Ready to get cracking on your future sustainability plans? Our designers are just a click away with a wealth of information for you. They can help with everything from project plans to sourcing eco-friendly furniture. Touch base with our team here.