Design week: Reuse, Recycle & Reclaim

This week I am bringing together a whole host of designers to give you their ideas on design issues. Many of these folks are my Twitter buddies who I have met recently at Surface Design Show and Ecobuild. Hot on the heels of our extremely popular eco blogs is todays installment  from Francoise Murat who also blogs for Sarah Beeny over on Tepilo.

Re-use, recycle and reclaim – new interiors and gardens from old.

As an Interior design and Landscape Designer I am often confronted with the fact that clients want to realise their dreams from scratch using new furnishings for their home or new landscaping materials to make their perfect garden.
Being green does not mean joining the lentil and flower brigade. Nothing wrong with lentils. I adore them, and I of course I love flowers!  Just as design need not be either exclusively about either function or form, being ecologically-led need not be drab, old fashioned or inelegant.

Code For Sustainable Homes

The Code for Sustainable Homes kicks in this year; new housing will need to meet certain sustainability, carbon emitting and other more general environmentally friendly criteria. But we still have no guidelines for interiors or indeed gardens and landscapes. So why wait for someone else to do something? Professionals advising clients should all go out of their way to educate, share and advise them on more sustainable materials and methods.

The key is to be prepared to invest time and adopt a more forward-thinking process when sourcing materials. Ask suppliers to show and demonstrate their green credentials or manufacturing process.

Re-use and recycle.

Design Sponge, a design website, showcases the before and after of kitchens, bedrooms, tables as well as re-interpreted accessories such as old suitcases & picture frames. It’s contemporary, modern and right on the button in keeping it green. They show you how to do it on a budget without compromising on designer looks.

For lighting visit Skinflint Design, dealers in reclaimed lighting from the 20th Century. They have an extensive range of fabulous industrial fixtures from the 1900’s to the 1960s such as these wall lights – so very ‘Gotham meets Corbusier’!

Reclaim

I’m a big fan of reclamation material as offered by MASCo Architectural Salvage near Stroud.  They sell reclaimed landscaping materials such as bricks, flagstones, granite setts and Cotswold stones for example. These are perfect for matching up with existing materials in a new garden commission but they are also perfect for starting anew! Materials with patina set into a new crisp modern design can showcase the perfect juxtaposition of old and new, sitting comfortably together.

A few more things to remember to “keep it green”:

•    Don’t be tempted to throw out a period staircase even if it is in a poor state – it is incredibly difficult to replace. Nowadays an off-the -shelf staircase is unlikely to fit and a bespoke hand-made replacement will be very expensive. If in doubt ask professionals like MASCo
•    Don’t replace that Georgian fireplace or any period fireplace because it looks a bit shabby or damaged. Have it refurbished. The patina can never be replicated with modern copies and some wear and tear adds to the overall effect.
•    Georgian floorboards are much wider than those we use today so unless they are riddled with woodworm and beyond repair, try to source from salvage yards as you will not find new wooden boards that are wide enough. Remember that Georgian wooden floors were often painted and this can often hide a multitude of sins. Sanding the boards and re-painting them is often a wise move.
•    When re-painting plasterwork in a period property it is good to use soft distemper as modern paints are so thick they clog up the plasterwork and smooth over the detail. With distemper, mistakes are easily rectified with hot water and a soft cloth. It is easy to apply and also greener.

Drag Yourself Into the Future

Lastly, do not live in the past! If you live in a period property don’t try to re-create the style and era of the time by filling your house with period furniture, fabrics, soft furnishings and anything else you can find of the era! Try to retain as much as possible of the architecture detailing such as wood work, plasterwork, fireplaces, windows and floorboards, but still live in the 21st century. Modern furniture can look stunning in a period setting. It is all about striking a balance between historical accuracy and the contemporary requirements of modern-day living!

If you have enjoyed this blog from Francoise, you can follow her on twitter http://twitter.com/FrancoiseM

You can also visit her web site at www.francoisemurat.com

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