Sustainable interior design is an important thing, an essential part of a worldview and approach to a right and earth-friendly life. Sustainable, means the use of existing, natural, recycled and environmentally friendly materials in particular, and the planet in general. As a vegan interior designer, associated with the essence and meaning of Mother Earth and its products, I decided to dedicate a separate category to sustainable interior design. This house in Australia is a great example to start with.
Just as children dream about what they will be when they grow up (to me, occupation is less important than finding meaning and the true self), so sometimes I dream about the home I will have when I grow up. What will it look like, what will be the division of the spaces, what will be the materials from which the house will be built? Then I saw the eco-friendly, sustainable home of Tania and Peter in Perth, Western Australia. Because not only the shape of the house is important, but also the material and the meaning.
Sustainable design for a better future
Sustainable is a meaning with an agenda, a worldview for a better future, out of concern for the environment and our personal health. Building materials sometimes emit toxic substances, and it is not only in the walls of the house. Even recycled wood used for furniture, as well as stain-resistant fabrics, release toxic substances on contact with them, did you know ?! It is important to consider sustainable interior design in every sense.
And back to Tania and Peter, whose story sounds like an ideological fantasy. Tanya is a sustainability consultant (green building), and Peter is a manager at a local renovation company in Perth. The land for construction in the city, they found after a two-month trip to Uruguay, and chose it even though Peter was in the middle of a renovation-preservation that lasted about two years for a 120-year-old house they had purchased. The opportunity was perfect because Tanya's sister, Clara, had just opened her architectural design studio.
Sustainable design decisions
The planning process with Clara the architectural sister was thorough and meticulous, with the leading idea being to maximize the limited space as much as possible and make the house feel spacious and large with sustainable interior design. A house with an open plan, spacious and with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, on an area of about 200 square meters.
The result is a two-story house, featuring a high floor and a gallery floor, with an outdoor terrace filled with greenery. A house with a sustainable design, in ecological construction, and inspired by nature, which is also reflected in the interior design and the choice of finishing materials.
In a post first published on the Australian blog THE DESIGN FILES, Tania shared that "our lifestyle and our choices are not only towards ourselves, but also towards the environment. "Living is beautiful and good for our health, and also to do something for the climate. For us, our home shows what is possible and can be done."
The materials from which a sustainable house is built
Exposed concrete is the most prominent motif in the home, and is present in almost all spaces. Recycled concrete, such as that collected from rubble, crushed, and recast. It is rare to see a concrete so beautiful and interesting in its special texture, colors, grains and air bubbles that give the material an organic feeling, and thus contribute to the natural feeling in the house. A special beauty that comes from a sustainable design. White walls, made of demolition bricks from the 1960s, from an old house in the city. Unlike houses in the country, which are covered with dismantling buildings from Europe, and are moved here in a way that is completely contrary to the values of sustainability. The wooden floor and windows also came from the demolition of a large structure, also from that period. The walls were painted in eco-friendly LOW VOC water-based paints, with low volatility of toxic substances. The shades chosen are white and forest green.
All the materials together, serve as a palette of the house, and make up the wonderful composition between the various spaces. An important element in the ecological home, which is not seen in the photos, is the roof. It is equipped with caves with solar panels for electricity generation, a solar hot water system, and a green area that includes philodendrum plants and the mother-in-law's tongue, known as air-purifying plants. All of these were established as part of the 2020 initiative, which is a change initiative that will turn about 20 percent of the city area green by 2020. This is the future of sustainable interior design.
Over the years the population density has increased, air pollution is getting worse, and global warming is already giving its signals around the world. Such water systems on the roofs, allow regulation of the temperature in the house, air purification in the outdoor space, and prosperity of vegetation and animals, such as birds and insects on the roof, in order to gradually increase the biodiversity in the urban space. Access to the roof is possible through a special skylight window, with the possibility of sustainable construction also on the roofs of buildings in the city. Proper planning as an integral part of sustainable design.
Climatic planning of the facades of the house and interior design
The leading style in home design is under the influence of mid-twentieth-century brutalism, which made use of exposed concrete and brought it to the forefront. The combination that creates balance and interest in the encounter with the concrete textures, is the use of interior furniture in the hygge concept ,borrowed from Norway and Denmark and refers to the comfort of living. So the furniture is in a Scandinavian style, practical and functional. There is no fancy furniture or objects in this house, or extravagant ones. Or unnecessary.
The large windows and French doors came from a 50-year-old building. In the design of the house, the front of the double space, faces north, which makes sense in terms of the location of the sun, because Australia is a Down Under, so the sun burns from the north. This is equivalent to a southern front in local climatic planning in our country. Through this façade the low rays of the sun in winter enter a home space and heat it. In summer the sun is high, so it does not enter the house directly at all, which is excellent for the temperature inside the house. Large openings and facades, this is a very important matter in proper climatic planning.
As for the atmosphere and feeling in the house, the couple notes that the atmosphere is relaxing, the house is bright and airy throughout the day, and in a quiet and pleasant evening. The couple attributes this to the amount of natural light, vents and green roof, along with the natural materials, neutral furniture and uniform braces, which contribute to the special feeling in the home.
I will end this post with an accurate and correct quote from the landlady, who corresponds with what I believe in as a home designer for people: "Our home represents everything about us."