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Category: Interior design tips

  1. Now Living Future Accredited

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    "SOCIALLY JUST, CULTURALLY RICH, AND ECOLOGICALLY RESTORATIVE"
    For the last year I've been studying the Living Building Challenge curriculum - which is a whole host of courses on Regenerative Design...

    1. Living Building Challenge - Full, Imperative and Petal certification - for new, existing buildings, interior and landscapes
    2. Living Community Challenge - regenerative communities
    3. Living Product Challenge - regenerative and social just products
    4. Biophilic Design
    5. Healthy Materials
    6. Urban Agriculture
    7. Core Green Building Certification
    8. Declare label - ‘nutrition label’ for healthier building materials and products
    9. Just label - Tools to promote corporate transparency and employee engagement while helping to create a better, more socially just and equitable world
    10. Reveal label - high performance building energy label
    11. Zero Carbon - standard to measure actual decarbonisation of a building design - embodied and operational
    12. Zero Energy - independently verified highly efficient buildings that rely only on clean energy from the sun, wind or earth 

     

    Learning through case studies I've learnt "what good looks like". 

    The study has deepened my understanding and knowledge of regenerative design, along with appreciation of the wide span of tools to use to certify products, projects and communities provided by the International Living Future Institute.  I'm now Living Future Accredited.

    ILFI_logo_white-large

  2. Interior Design Declares X Decorex panel discussion 'Creating a more sustainable interior design practice' - My FIVE TAKEAWAYS

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    IDD X Decorex

    Five takeaways from Interior Design Declares X Decorex panel discussion...

    1. We are all at different stages and we can learn together, share information and have a bigger impact together. If you are a designer or supplier to the interior design industry, please sign our pledge at https://www.interiordesigndeclares.co.uk/  
    2. We each have very different routes in to working sustainably - there are many crossovers and not all are the same
    3. Look at some of the quick wins in how you operate your business.  Switch to more ethical bank and pension.  Use renewable energy. Rethink stationery.  Digital waste is huge - look at clearing old emails, look at website efficiency.
    4. Site waste - in the UK 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste on building sites a year.
    5. Don't get overwhelmed but just start working in a better way!  Clients will appreciate it and they often really like the storytelling of sustainable materials.

     

    Thank you to our excellent moderator Rosalind Sack of The Home Page.

    You can watch the panel discussion here.

  3. Interior Design Business podcast 'Sustainability: Your Questions Answered' - My FIVE TAKEAWAYS

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    Interior Design Business podcast Sept 22

     

    Five takeaways from The Interior Design Business podcast

     'Sustainability: Your Questions Answered' 

     

    It was great to be invited on to The Interior Design Business podcast again. A little different to last time which was mid Lockdown and via Zoom.... this was a live recording complete with an audience at the Chelsea showroom of sofa.com.

    Past BIID president Susie Rumbold moderated the discussion with fellow designers Alexandra Jurkiewicz, Creative Lead at Helen Green Design and David Chenery, founder and director of Object Space Place. Here’s the recording. 

     

    1. 'Sustainability' has so many interpretations and approaches - the three of us demonstrate that. It may feel daunting to step into - find what works for you and don't waiting until you can do it perfectly.  Designers and suppliers - please sign the Interior Design Declares pledge and learn with us.
    2. The best interior is one that exists - so be creative and reuse and show off your creativity.  There's lots of great storytelling as a result.
    3. Susie's had bad experience with recycled PET rugs - but don't let that put you off.  Retrieved sea plastic including PET and 'ghost' fishing nets are a great source of yarn used for carpets and fabrics. I'm very happy to use recycled problem-solving plastics while they are here - but obviously reduction of the source is what's desperately needed.
    4. Resale values and ability to repair are really important factors when making decisions.  Buy better. Buy preloved.
    5. We need to break the resource using traditional ways of doing things  - there are multiple approaches.  I'm adding David's book recommendation to my book queue... Rory Sutherland's Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense