Working with used parts and waste streams can make the interior design more sustainable. But how can designers get started on this journey?
In interior design – and many other design disciplines – it is much easier to be unsustainable. Purchasing or developing custom solutions for a space often costs less time and research than sourcing second-hand materials and allows designers to give a clear picture of what a project will look like before it begins.
There are undeniable challenges when trying to operate sustainably, according to eco-friendly interior designer Alicia Storie. In addition to the more technical aspects such as sourcing second-hand parts, or using waste materials or new eco-friendly materials, there is a primary challenge posed when trying to create a space that looks new, out of items that generally aren’t.
But Storie, who is the founder of her eponymous interior design and who practices A Design Storie, says these challenges should not be a deterrent for those committed to designing more sustainably. “I found it more creative working in the studio on ‘unsustainable’ projects than I do now,” she says.
“It definitely requires more coordination.”
One of the main ways Storie ensures the sustainability of her business is by using second-hand furniture. Like its fashion equivalents, so-called “fast furniture” is a big contributor to the climate crisis – according to a study by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away 12 million tons of furniture each year. Because many of these pieces contain multiple different materials, very little is recycled.
It’s an exercise that can be daunting at first, says Storey, but success depends on knowing where to look. She says she gets a lot of her furniture for interior decorating projects from furniture depots, scrap yards, and auctions. For parts that have been damaged, Storey explains that she collaborates with local restorers and cyclists.
“It definitely requires a bit more coordination rather than just buying a new one,” she says. “But it’s actually not as difficult as people think.” She says one of the most common misconceptions when it comes to second-hand items is that they are expensive. But Story refutes this, saying that the nature of the places you export the pieces to means that prices are usually relatively low.
Another misconception that Storie points out as common is the idea that a space cannot be planned if it is outfitted with second-hand furniture. Admittedly, it can be difficult to predict with complete accuracy what a project will look like before the sourcing process begins. But she says that very detailed plans can still be given to the client.
“There is a lot of furniture at the flea market, and once you have a little understanding, it becomes much easier to anticipate the type of pieces you know you will be able to find,” she says. “I don’t think there are many examples of parts that you wouldn’t be able to find used.”
“It just takes intent.”
Second hand furniture isn’t the only way designers make their interior projects more environmentally friendly. As Sean Sullivan, partner of the Rockwell Group, explains, sustainable and responsible materials are an important way to ensure space has minimal impact when it comes to climate change.
For Rockwell’s latest project, 1 Hotel Toronto, the team used “existing structural and reclaimed materials including timber, driftwood, local limestone and native plants,” Sullivan says. They were used throughout the building’s interiors, from bedrooms to restaurants, reception and other public spaces.
Taking advantage of these supply chains has taken a lot of work with local companies, but he insists it’s not hard to pinpoint the source of the liability. “It just takes intent,” he says. One such partnership was with local carpentry studio Just Be Woodsy, which Sullivan explained had exclusive rights to collecting and restoring deciduous trees around Toronto. These results were converted into wooden furniture and furniture pieces for the project.
Rockwell has been involved in several projects recently that Sullivan says indicate a changing client appetite. As clients “have an increasing respect for the environmental impact of their spaces,” responsibly sourced materials and sustainable practices are becoming more and more popular, he says.
“What will this article do?”
Taking a paper from a recent design museum exhibition book Waste Age, another way some designers can challenge unsustainable interior design practices is by intercepting waste streams. London-based design studio GoodWaste’s recent collaboration with Selfridges is proof that materials we consider rubbish can be important resources.
GoodWaste co-founder Rafael Elbaz explains that the collection — which has seen the studio produce household items such as lamps, vases and candles — was developed using waste produced by Selfridges itself. Being a department store, El-Baz says many of the materials the team had to work with were related to the store’s fixtures, so perforated steel and Corian were among the most abundant.
Al-Baz says the process of developing interiors from waste is really just the opposite of what most designers are used to. “Usually as designers, we sit down and ask ourselves what we You want to produce and then at a later stage begin to apply materials, colors, and textures based on aesthetics and price,” he explains. “But in this way, we basically sit with a material in front of us and ask: What is this going to do?”
Like Storie, El-Baz says it requires research into materials properties and behaviours. But he also states that knowing more about some materials can make it easier to understand others.
It can come with negative connotations.
The core of the three designers’ mission is the desire to prove that sustainable interior design methods are as beneficial and effective as their eco-friendly counterparts. “When you work with waste, it obviously has negative connotations,” El-Baz says. “But with good design and good physical research, we try to show that there is no aesthetic difference in the result.”
It’s a challenge Story also faces in working with second-hand furniture. “I have some clients who worry that any space that uses used furniture will look a certain way,” she says, explaining that people worry about spaces that are mismatched, outdated, or unfashionable. “But in reality, using both used and antique pieces can result in some wildly different spaces that vary from room to room,” she says.
“This quality is actually the thing I love so much about working in this way – there is absolutely no chance that this combination of cuts, textures, and colors has ever been done before, or that it will ever be done again.”