Eco-friendly concepts for designing your home, space or Eden and doing it in a better way.
There’s a myth that sustainable design is boring, more functional than stylish and bland.
In 2022, sustainable design has exploded from the ‘tired’ constraints that may have held it back, to breathe fresh air and new thinking that works hard to keep our planet healthy.
There’s a juxtaposition of natural materials, and using them in very unexpected and unusual ways. The use of green processes, intelligent repurposing and a spirit of zero waste adds to the sustainability creds we’re loving.
Here are some of the concepts that will underpin sustainable design in 2022 and beyond:
Keep it local
Buy from your local producers, designers and artisans. It keeps local economies thriving and consumption levels manageable. Imagine if we did this all over the world – how much less waste and garbage would we produce?
Use nature for inspiration
Utilise nature’s own bounty to help bring to life your architectural design, drawing from the elements – Water, Air, Earth, and Fire, all of which ground any design and make natural and inspired by the earth.
Repurpose for regeneration
Repurposing materials and upcycling is a ever growing trend that encourages the re-use of old furniture and home decor, into newer forms, shapes or colours. I’ve painted a few tables and chairs in my lifetime – with the new colours lending a fresh lease of life on older pieces – updating them for my contemporary boho home. Try doing the same. Don’t be shy to browse antique shops, second hand stores and markets for preloved items that, with a lick of paint, wax or polish become the centrepiece once more.
Embrace low key
This means using low key elements in your designs like slow flow showers and taps, low key natural lighting, ground sourced heating and green roofs.
A move away from fake
Sustainability and green consciousness means the rejection of most plastics and polymers, as well as toxic paint, linoleum, non-woven, and similar compounds. Of course, it is not always possible to completely abandon them, but their use is minimized.
Simplicity and precision
Eco-design does not imply anything bulky, too bright, and pretentious – in a word, anything that creates unnecessary visual disturbance. This style’s very idea suggests the harmony of soul and body, which are possible only in an environment as if made by nature itself.
An abundance of air and light
The more air and light in an apartment or house, the more natural and harmonious the environment. Simple solutions help achieve such an atmosphere for eco-style – large windows, free layout, light sliding partitions made of raw translucent materials, and a palette with a predominance of light sunny tones.
Relevant technologies
Modern engineering developments are aimed at saving resources, which entirely fits into the concept of ecodesign. Systems that save energy and water, minimize heat loss in a residential building, and recycle household waste, form the basis for a style that symbolizes a concern and care for the environment.
