Sustainable Interior Design: Create Your Own Eco-Styled Home

See, our space tells a story and we want it to be a good one.

So whether you love the minimalist vibe or thrive amid bright colors and an abundance of knick-knacks, sustainable interior design goes beyond looks and layout and gets right to the heart of the reasons and methods behind each item we bring into our homes.

If you’re about to move home or just feeling the need to d-eco-rate a little differently, these eco-friendly interior design tips will help you spruce up your space the right way.

As conscious consumers, we take the time to consider the impact of our purchases. Whether it’s clothing or beauty products, we should all look for items that have been consciously created with the people and planet in mind.

What does this mean under the (energy efficient) light of eco interior design?

Just as we can express our individuality and our values through how we dress, we can also dress our homes in a way that reflects our values. Think: room foundations like sustainable furniture or the little eco-friendly home decor details, bringing items into our homes which have a low impact is a choice.

Here are some things an eco-friendly home interior design ethos encourages us to consider:

Sustainable Materials For Interior Design

Choosing sustainable materials for interior design is the most obvious one since materials are directly related to farming, harvesting, and manufacturing methods, they determine the majority of any item’s impact. Wood from endangered forests, for example, isn’t a good look for the parlor or planet.

Natural materials like wood, bamboo, and cork can add a warm, nature-inspired aesthetic. They’re also biodegradable, and provided they’ve been finished with organic, non-toxic paints and waxes, contribute to a healthy indoor environment.

However, we want to make sure that no virgin forests are being destroyed for our eco-friendly coffee table, thus reclaimed and recycled wood products are No. 1 in terms of sustainability. Items made of fast-growing and regenerative plants like bamboo and cork are also a more sustainable choice, followed by certain hardwoods sourced from sustainably managed forests.

Just be sure to look into whether there are any species threats associated with that particular wood. Zebrawood, for example, is a highly sought-after, beautifully variegated hardwood that is now considered vulnerable after facing a 20% deforestation rate.

Other materials we want to show to the door include anything plastic, whether in the form of hard plastics, foam, or synthetic fabrics. If your furniture needs some foam cushion, natural and organic latex or at the very least recycled upholstery and fiber fill is ideal.

It’s also important to choose durable materials that are made to last and can be repurposed, recycled, or upcycled to keep them in use for as long as possible.

Timeless Aesthetics Are Sustainable Aesthetics

Another way to reduce waste is to design spaces for longevity. Our tastes change over time as well as our practical needs, so an important sustainable interior design concept is to create spaces that can evolve and adapt with us. We can do this by choosing:

• functional, easy-to-clean, and hard-wearing materials
• furniture that can be used for multiple purposes in different rooms
• neutral color palettes
• open plan living

Try to resist current trends and focus on timeless styles you love and that will last. You can always add smaller trendy accent items that are easier to swap out for quick room updates.

Beautiful Rooms Should Contribute To A Beautiful World

Ethical sourcing and manufacturing is another big issue to consider. Items associated with human rights abuses in the supply chain aren’t welcome house guests.

On the flip side, fair trade textiles handmade by artisans who receive good wages make for feel-good furnishings that we’re proud to have on display.

When buying any new sustainable interior design products, take care to buy from brands that make genuine attempts to trace their supply chains and ensure all workers are treated fairly. Ideally, they should have third-party certifications to back up their claims.

In many cases, these also give us chance to support indigenous communities and help keep traditional crafting practices alive. From eco-friendly rugs to woven baskets, there are some stunning handmade goods out there. Besides, using traditional handcrafting methods also typically results in more sustainable practices that often reduces deadstock (unsold product) waste.

Designing For Your Health & Well-Being

Designing a healthy environment is important. Indoor environments that make us sick obviously aren’t very sustainable. Plus, if something isn’t good for our own health, it’s usually not good for the planet either.

According to the EPA, interior pollution levels are typically 2 to 5 times higher than outside pollution levels. This is thanks to a higher indoor air concentration of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in furniture finishes, paint, waxes, adhesives, and particleboard. There are plenty of associated health issues arising from indoor air pollution.

Choosing materials with low or no VOC emissions and formaldehyde is an important component. Avoid particle board and plywood since these involve the use of toxic adhesives and formaldehyde treatments, and are difficult to recycle.

Beyond these larger scale concerns of the specific things you bring into your home, green interior design also considers how the elements within your home can also effect your overall daily sustainability.

For example, there are a lot of things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint, some of which involve another consideration when buying products and some of which only involve being mindful in how you arrange and use them.

Water & Energy Efficiency

Choosing resource-saving eco-friendly appliances can drastically reduce your home’s energy consumption—not to mention save you money each month. Look for EPA-approved products that have the ENERGY STAR label. The EnergyGuide label details an appliance’s annual energy consumption and operating costs. In the EU, energy efficiency ratings run from A to G, with Class A appliances consuming the least amount of energy.

Meanwhile, water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers help conserve this essential resource along with water-saving toilets and shower heads.

Conserving water need not be as big and spendy as say, a new eco-friendly washing machine. You can also spruce up your house with water-efficient fixtures like low-flow toilets and shower heads.

Low Impact Lighting

Going hand in hand (or rather bulb in socket) with energy efficiency is sustainable lighting. Maximizing natural lighting is priority number one, so try to create space that allows the free sunshine to be your main source of lighting.

Beyond that, pay attention to the fixtures themselves and seek eco-friendly and recycled materials paired with energy-efficient light bulbs.

LEDs use at least 75% less energy and last up to 25% longer compared to traditional incandescent bulbs. If you switch all the lightbulbs in your house to LEDs, your annual CO₂ emissions could drop by up to 40kg, the equivalent of driving your car about 145 miles.

Thermal Efficiency

Thermal insulation boosts energy efficiency by storing heat and lowering heating costs. Cover any tiles or hardwood floors with non-toxic rugs and, looking on the other end of the house, consider investing in insulation in your roof. Admittedly, there’s an upfront cost with this one but over time it will pay for itself in the energy cost savings.

Simple, affordable ways to insulate include thermal curtains and blinds, especially since large glass areas—windows and doors—are some of the biggest sources of home heat loss.

Of if you’re really on a budget and wondering what to do with old socks lying around, use them to create door jambs to better insulate your home.

Buying less and buying better is something we want to think about when bringing new items into our homes—especially since a colossal 80% of furniture and furnishing waste ends up in landfills.

The most environmentally friendly interior design approach is to use what you already have. Let’s embrace the 5 R’s of zero waste—refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot—so we can help keep furniture and furnishings out of landfills for as long as possible.

If that sounds boring, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you can’t change things up to keep your home feeling fresh and inspiring. There are lots of easy ways to freshen up a space with existing materials and the simple power of rearranging.

For example, take some old clothes destined for donation and turn them into a textile wall collar or into pillow shams. This works especially well for tops and t-shirts with fun graphics or patterns. Or just update old pieces of furniture with a fresh coat of paint and new handles, reupholster chairs, and simply swap furniture between rooms.

There are endless ways to get an updated look without having to go out and buy new—and if you do still end up buying, make sure it’s new-to-you but not necessarily new. If you’ve ever been in a thrift store or reuse store, you’ll know there is no shortage of used furniture and decor just waiting for a new lease on life.

Since buying secondhand saves virgin resources and means no new materials need to be mined, cultivated, or processed, you can avoid disposable consumer culture by purchasing secondhand furniture and vintage home decor. Plus, pre-loved pieces are also generally more durable and repairable (they don’t make em’ like they used to…)—not to mention more unique than anything you might find at Home Goods.

Raking around your local thrift stores and vintage shops is a fun way to discover new pieces but if you’d rather shop from the comfort of your sustainable sofa, there are plenty of online options:

• Etsy: An etsy-llent first port of call for secondhand, vintage, and refurbished furniture. You can find one-of-a-kind pieces while supporting small independent businesses.
• eBay: Old-school, yes, but it remains a great place to hunt for pre-loved goods at stellar bargains (especially on auction listings).
• Facebook Marketplace has become one of the most popular places in recent years for buying secondhand goods, connecting you with both local and nonlocal goods.
• Kaiyo (US): An online marketplace that only sells vetted furniture. You can find some high-end pieces at a fraction of their retail prices. The Kaiyo team will also do all of the heavy-lifting including delivering and setting up your new piece.
• Chairish (US): is an online marketplace and style emporium. 85% of their inventory is vintage or antique, but you’ll find some contemporary pieces too.
• Selency (UK): An online flea market and community platform with thousands of pre-loved items on offer including vintage and Scandinavian-style pieces.
• Vinterior (UK): Champions independent businesses, bringing together vintage sellers that have been handpicked for their expertise and product range.
• Gumtree (UK): A site for free classified ads in the UK. It was around before Facebook Marketplace and is still a popular site for buying and selling used goods locally.

There’s a wealth of websites, blogs, Pinterest boards, and Instagram accounts full of eco-friendly interior design tips and tricks. Whether your style is bohemian, eclectic, minimalist, scandi, or vintage-inspired you’ll find plenty of inspiration for your own ethically-styled living from sustainable home decor brands, upcycled furniture shops, and more.

Here are a few standouts to get you started:

• Denver-based interior design company Anna Bode (@annabode) creates socially-conscious, sustainable interiors. You’ll find informative articles on their blog and plenty of visual inspiration on their Instagram feed.
• For English country farmhouse inspo, check out Madelaine Oliver’s (@ourcornishcottage) renovation of a Georgian farmhouse in Cornwall using secondhand scores, upcycled pieces, and thrifted vintage.
• If an abundance of color and patterns is your jam, BIPOC-owned Jungalow’s (@thejungalow) Instagram feed is full of eclectic bohemian styles for every room.
• Lockdown hobby turned full-time job, The Flipped Piece (@theflippedpiece) is a furniture restoration blog and shop run by Shayna Alnwick. You’ll find lots of thrifty and creative ideas for upcycling projects, furniture makeovers, and DIY creations.

There are also a ton of different courses out there but if you’re looking for a sustainable interior design course with a difference, have a look at the Architecture Academy’s super affordable course on biophilic design, which is all about creating healthy human spaces by incorporating nature and living processes into indoor environments.

If you’re interested in exploring ideas for how to bring nature indoors through the use of plants (moss walls, anyone?), natural lighting, natural colors, textures, and materials, this plant-centered approach to sustainable interior design might be of interest.

As well as improving your health and well-being, the idea is that by reconnecting you with the natural world, you’ll also be more motivated to act in a more sustainable way.